Riot Games shared details Thursday on the 2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) season, including format changes, a replacement event, and more. While a lot of what was revealed is still being fleshed out, Riot said that some of the changes are based on fan feedback from the 2025 season.
Winter Split Replaced With LEC Versus
First and foremost, the Winter Split will be replaced with a new competition called “LEC Versus – The EMEA Invitational.” LEC Versus will feature two European Regional League (ERL) guest teams joining the 10 LEC partner teams to kick off the 2026 season in a single round robin, best-of-one stage, where every team competes against each other.
One ERL team will be the 2025 EMEA Masters Summer Champions (Los Ratones), and one team will be selected “based on consistent, standout performance across the 2025 EMEA Masters season.”
The winner will be crowned Versus Champion, receive a “new trophy designed just for this invitational,” and qualify for a spot at the First Stand competition. Details about LEC Versus, including official dates, venue, ticketing, and other information, will be shared at a later date this year, per Riot’s announcement.
It should be noted that ERL teams are not gaining an LEC slot and will only compete in LEC Versus. Of course, if an ERL manages to win, they earn a spot at First Stand.
Spring and Summer Split, and LEC Roadtrips
For the 2026 LEC season, the Spring and Summer Splits will feature the 10 partner LEC teams competing in single-round robin, best-of-three matches, with six teams qualifying to go head-to-head in best-of-five during the Playoffs. The Spring Champions and runners-up will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), while the Summer Champions, runners-up, and third-place team will qualify for Worlds.
Finally, Riot said that it was pleased with LEC Roadtrips in 2025, hosted by Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp, and promised to deliver more of such events in 2026, with plans to include more cities, serving Europe’s most enthusiastic fans. Details on LEC Roadtrip events will be released at a later date.
More details about the 2026 LEC can be found in this LEC video on YouTube.