Riot Games revealed details for LEC Versus, the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) EMEA Invitational that will serve as the launch of the 2026 season.
LEC Versus will feature a new 12-team tournament launching on Jan. 17, 2026—with all 10 LEC teams including Shifters (formerly Team BDS), FNATIC, G2 Esports, Team Heretics, GIANTX, SK Gaming, Karmine Corp, Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, and Movistar KOI, plus ERL guest teams Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue.
Each of these 12 teams will face every other team in a single round robin of best-of-ones, with the top eight best performing teams qualifying for double-elimination Playoffs—with best-of-threes in early rounds and best-of-fives in later stages.
The overall winner will ultimately claim the EMEA slot at First Stand.
All match days begin at 17:00 CET and will take place in person at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, according to Riot, with match schedules available on lolesports.com.
Tickets for Weeks 1-4 go on sale on Dec. 17. Playoff tickets will be released in batches in January, starting with the Upper Bracket Round 1 going on sale Jan. 5, and more available Jan. 12, according to Riot. More details on tickets can be found at emeatickets.lolesports.com.