Worlds 2026 is here, and all the teams are locked in as we prepare to head to the USA. T1 claimed victory in 2025, but can Faker and the team upset the odds once again to claim it? Or will Worlds being back in the West give a Western side that edge?
Nineteen teams have punched their ticket to Worlds 2026, and every one of them took a slightly different road to get there. Some won their league outright, some scraped in on Championship Points, and one Korean team got in thanks to someone else’s MSI trophy.
Korea and China send four teams each, the LEC, LCS and LCP get three apiece, and Brazil brings two. Here’s who’s going, region by region, and how they actually earned it.
Worlds 2026 Teams
| Region | Team | Seed | How they got in | Starts in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCK | Gen.G | 1 | LCK Season champions | Swiss |
| LCK | Hanwha Life Esports | 2 | MSI 2026 champions | Swiss |
| LCK | T1 | 3 | Third in LCK playoffs | Swiss |
| LCK | Dplus Kia | 4 | Fourth in LCK playoffs | Swiss |
| LPL | Anyone’s Legend | 1 | LPL Grand Finals champions | Swiss |
| LPL | Bilibili Gaming | 2 | Championship Points | Swiss |
| LPL | Top Esports | 3 | Regional Finals winners | Swiss |
| LPL | Invictus Gaming | 4 | Regional Finals runners-up | Swiss |
| LEC | G2 Esports | 1 | LEC Summer champions | Swiss |
| LEC | Movistar KOI | 2 | LEC Summer runners-up | Swiss |
| LEC | Karmine Corp | 3 | Third in LEC Summer | Play-In |
| LCS | Team Liquid | 1 | Top three in LCS Summer | Swiss |
| LCS | LYON | 2 | Top three in LCS Summer | Swiss |
| LCS | Cloud9 | 3 | Top three in LCS Summer | Play-In |
| LCP | Team Secret Whales | 1 | LCP Split 3 finalists | Swiss |
| LCP | CTBC Flying Oyster | 2 | LCP Split 3 finalists | Swiss |
| LCP | MVK Esports | 3 | Championship Points | Play-In |
| CBLOL | LØS | TBC | CBLOL playoff finalists | Final on 10 October decides |
| CBLOL | FURIA | TBC | CBLOL playoff finalists | Final on 10 October decides |
LCK (Korea)
Korea has historically dominated Worlds, and coming off the back of the T1 win in 2025, Korea comes in strong once again. Gen.G take on the first seed, while Dplus Kia and T1 take the remaining two placement seeds. Hanwha Life Esports become the fourth team from Korea to head to Worlds, after their MSI 2026 victory.
Despite coming into Worlds as the regional outsider, Dplus Kia comes to Worlds off the back of a victory at the Esports World Cup. Lucky for them, they secured the spot thanks to Hanwha Life Esports’ victory at MSI 2026.
LPL (China)
China has been chasing Korea for years now, and the LPL sends four teams again in 2026 to try to chip away at Korea’s lead. Anyone’s Legend took the first seed after winning the LPL Grand Finals, while Top Esports and Invictus Gaming fought their way through the Regional Finals for the third and fourth seeds. Bilibili Gaming took the second seed on Championship Points, giving LPL a strong chance to push the LCK to the very end.
Invictus Gaming are the ones to watch. After a rough start to the year, the squad of TheShy, Wei, Rookie, JiaQi and Meiko finally clicked in Split 3, and they booked the final LPL spot by beating JD Gaming 3-1.
LEC (EMEA)
Europe has come close to lifting the trophy plenty of times, and the LEC sends three teams to Worlds once more. G2 Esports take the first seed after winning the LEC Summer playoffs, while Movistar KOI take the second seed as runners-up. Karmine Corp round out the region in third place. It’s become a familiar trio for Europe these days, as Fnatic appear to fade into the annals of history.
Despite having one of the loudest fanbases in the world, Karmine Corp face the hardest road of the three. Finishing third sends them to the Play-In in Los Angeles, where they’ll need to win a four-team bracket before they can even think about the Swiss Stage. That said, Karmine Corp showed up at the Esports World Cup; finishing second place could give them the end in the USA.
LCS (North America)
North America gets home soil advantage this year, and the LCS sends three teams to fly the flag. Team Liquid takes the first seed after a dominant playoff run, while LYON take the second seed. Cloud9 round out the region as the third seed. LYON were a surprise package at the recent Esports World Cup, so could be an outsider to watch at Worlds 2026.
Despite knocking LYON into the lower bracket with a 3-1 upset, Cloud9 finished third, which sends them to the Play-In. Lucky for them, it’s being played in Los Angeles, so they’ll have the home crowd behind them while they fight for the last Swiss spot.
LCP (Asia-Pacific)
The LCP is still finding its feet as a merged league, and it sends three teams to Worlds hoping to prove the region can mix it with the big boys. Team Secret Whales take the first seed, while CTBC Flying Oyster take the second seed after the pair met in the Split 3 final. MVK Esports become the third team from the LCP, earning their spot through Championship Points.
Despite missing the Split 3 final, MVK Esports earned enough points over the year to edge out GAM Esports. That consistency gets them a ticket to Worlds, but it also sends them to the Play-In.
CBLOL (Brazil)
Brazil picked up an extra Worlds slot this year, and the CBLOL sends two teams to the US. LØS and FURIA both qualified by reaching the CBLOL final, which is played in Rio de Janeiro on 10 October. The winner takes the first seed and goes straight into Swiss, while the loser heads to the Play-In.
Despite LOUD being the bigger name, it’s LØS who come in with the momentum after beating them 3-2 to become Brazil’s first confirmed team. FURIA then finished the job by knocking LOUD out in the lower bracket, so Brazil’s most famous team is watching from home.
Who should you keep an eye on?
The most obvious pick is T1. It doesn’t matter what happens over the course of a year; T1 are always a side well worth their weight at these events. The side just shows up when it counts, especially when everyone else is counting against them.
Anyone’s Legend (AG.AL) need to fly the flag for China at Worlds, because the region struggled at the Esports World Cup and can’t afford to slip again. The region has three Worlds Championships already and is chasing Korea’s ten.
In the West, a North American roster will look to push hard on home soil, but the region will once again enter Worlds as the outsider among the “big” regions.
For the LEC, G2 Esports will once again be flying the banner for Europe. The roster keeps showing why they are so good, yet continues to not make it happen all the way. We saw the best of G2 Esports at MSI, until the Grand Final. Can they go one step further at Worlds 2026 and bring in the trophy they ultimately desire?