LEC Versus 2026: teams, format and players to watch

The 2026 League of Legends season begins with a brand-new first-quarter tournament. LEC Versus replaces LEC Winter and features all ten partner teams in addition to two invited teams from the EMEA Regional Leagues.

From the tournament format, schedule, and players to watch, Esports Insider breaks down everything there is to know about the inaugural edition of LEC Versus 2026.

LEC Versus 2026 consists of the regular season and playoffs. The regular season, beginning on January 17th, uses a single round-robin format where the 12 teams compete in eleven best-of-one matches. The top eight from the regular season advance to the playoffs, where a double-elimination bracket will determine the eventual champion.

The first two rounds of the playoffs are contested over a best-of-three using Fearless Draft. From round three onwards, teams will compete in best-of-fives.

The inaugural LEC Versus 2026 champion earns qualification to the 2026 First Stand Tournament, the first international event of the season.

Below is a list of the teams competing in LEC Versus 2026:

Based on their performances in ERLs, Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue have received invites. In 2025, the team founded by Marc ‘Caedrel‘ Lamont dominated regional events, winning three NLC Splits and two EMEA Masters titles.

Karmine Corp Blue also achieved plenty of success, winning EMEA Masters 2025 Summer and the LFL’s Winter and Summer Splits.

Heading into his eighth season representing G2 Esports, Rasmus ‘Caps‘ Borregaard Winther aims to cement his place among Europe’s most successful mid laners.

Following victory at LEC Summer 2025 and a top-eight finish at the 2025 World Championship, Caps and G2 Esports aims to keep the momentum rolling with a strong showing in LEC Versus 2026.

In addition to Caps, Panagiotis ‘Empyros‘ Tantis, the newest addition to Fnatic’s roster for 2026 will be having a spotlight. After competing in the LFL while representing Gentle Mates in the tier-two ecosystem, the Greek top laner makes his tier 1 debut at LEC Versus 2026.

Fnatic came close to qualifying for several international tournaments in 2025, and with the winner of Versus earning a place at First Stand, victory in the first LEC tournament of the year could lay the foundations for a potentially fruitful season.

Elsewhere, Marek ‘Humanoid‘ Brázda heads into 2026 looking to spark Team Vitality into life after joining from Fnatic. Having missed out on victory since the 2021 Summer Split, the newest mid laner for the French organisation looks to restore hope after struggling to find success since it joined the LEC in 2016.

Another notable name returning to the LEC in 2026 is Martin ‘Rekkles‘ Larsson. The former Fnatic player joined Los Ratones in 2024 and continues to make an impact with several victories in the tier-two ecosystem this year. LEC Versus 2026 marks the first time in three years that Rekkles has competed in Europe’s highest tier. It will be interesting to see how he and the team fare against some of the region’s powerhouse rosters.

Riot Games will broadcast the inaugural the event across a range of platforms, allowing fans to keep track of all the action as it unfolds.

Fans can tune into matches on Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. For an alternative perspective of the action, several notable personalities will co-stream matches throughout the Split.