The League of Legends World Championship, also called Worlds, is Riot Games’ international competition for League of Legends. The 2026 edition uses a Play-In bracket, a Swiss stage and best-of-five knockouts. Swiss records count match wins and losses across rounds.
Find the stage and series length
Riot’s 2026 primer lists four teams in a best-of-five double-elimination Play-In. Its winner joins the other 15 teams in Swiss. The Swiss schedule contains best-of-one and best-of-three matches. The knockouts list best-of-five quarterfinals, semifinals and final. A best-of-three match takes two game wins and a best-of-five takes three.
From Swiss Round 2 onward, Riot draws opponents with the same match record and avoids a repeat matchup during that stage. Teams progress with three match wins and leave after three losses. The opponent can therefore depend on the outcomes of earlier matches rather than being printed in full before the stage begins.
Update a team’s record after the series finishes
Suppose a team enters its next Swiss match at 2–2 and wins a best-of-three 2–1. The 2–1 score belongs to that series. The team gains one match win, moves to 3–2 and reaches the Knockout stage. The opponent takes one match loss. If it also entered at 2–2, its new record is 2–3 and its tournament ends.
When you save the match, keep both numbers with their labels. A 2–1 replay result tells you how many games each side won in that series. A 3–2 Swiss record tells you how many matches the team won and lost across the stage.
Open the quarterfinal draw after Swiss
The 2026 rules pair the two 3–0 qualifiers with two of the 3–2 qualifiers, then draw the remaining four teams into the other two matches. Use the published bracket for the actual opponent. A Swiss record determines which draw grouping applies. The bracket then identifies the knockout match and its scheduled session.
Sources and review
- Worlds 2026 Primer — Riot Games / LoL Esports