Worlds 2026 opens today with the Play-In: dates and times
League of Legends' world championship brings 19 teams to the United States and ends on Nov. 14 with the final in Brooklyn.
Worlds, the League of Legends world championship, opens today (Oct. 15) in Los Angeles with the Play-In. Nineteen teams from six regions take part, and the whole tournament is played in the United States, ending with the Nov. 14 final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, according to Red Bull.
The four Korean teams (Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, T1 and Dplus KIA) skip the Play-In and go straight to the Swiss stage. The opening round is a double-elimination bracket of best-of-five series between MVK Esports, FURIA, Karmine Corp and Cloud9 KIA. Only the winner moves on, according to Wikipedia.
The sources list start times in UTC. The conversion to Mexico City time, which is UTC-6 with no daylight saving, is ours.
| Stage | Dates | Venue | Mexico City time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play-In | Oct. 15 to 18 | Los Angeles | 12:00 (some series, 17:00) |
| Swiss stage | Oct. 23 to 26 and 31 | Allen, Texas | 11:00 |
| Swiss stage | Oct. 28 to 30 | Allen, Texas | 14:00 |
| Quarterfinals | Nov. 3 to 6 | Allen, Texas | 16:00 |
| Semifinals | Nov. 7 and 8 | Allen, Texas | 16:00 |
| Final | Nov. 14 | Brooklyn | 13:00 |
The Swiss stage has 16 teams playing five rounds: three wins qualify and three losses eliminate. The first two rounds are one game per series; after that, series are best-of-three. Eight teams then play the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, and the two teams that arrive undefeated face teams with a 3-2 record, according to Red Bull. The prize pool is $5 million, with $1 million for the champion, per the same guide.
Who represents Latin America
None of the 19 teams is Mexican. Latin America's representation is Brazilian: Los Grandes enters at the Swiss stage and FURIA starts in the Play-In.
Every series streams free on Twitch, YouTube and lolesports.com. Swiss stage games land between morning and midday in Mexico, and the semifinals and final fall around lunchtime.
The semifinal venue is unconfirmed: Wikipedia places them in Allen, and Red Bull also mentions Brooklyn for the knockout stage. The Swiss stage begins Oct. 23.
