CBLOL has been granted an additional slot for League of Legends Worlds 2026, bringing the total number of attending teams up to 19. The runner-up of CBLOL 2026 Split 2 will fill the slot.
CBLOL will continue to hold only one slot for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI); however, that slot will now directly feed into the main bracket of the competition, bypassing the Play-In stage.
Riot denies Americas Cup influence on Worlds 2026 decision
The news comes after FURIA Jungler Pedro ‘Tatu’ Seixas sparked debate about the slot distribution following the Brazilian roster’s Americas Cup victory.
The Jungler questioned why the LCS was favoured in the distribution while being interviewed following FURIA’s victory over Cloud9, stating, “I want to understand why these guys have 3 spots, and I only have one. I just want to understand that.” (translated)
When asked by Sheep Esports whether pressure from the Brazilian community led to the decision, Riot Games Global Head of League of Legends Esports, Chris Greeley, denied that the two were linked.
Greeley stated, “No, I don’t think pressure from the community had any real influence on the decision. Even recent competitive results, like the Americas Cup, didn’t impact it either.”
Instead, Greeley cited that, “We spent a lot of time last year focused on splitting the LCS and CBLOL back out. In doing so, I’ll be candid: I don’t think we spent enough time at the outset fully considering the implications for international event slots.”
The Riot LoL Esports Head went on to explain that the decision was in the pipeline prior to the Americas Cup, and concluded, “This is something we probably should have done at the time of the original announcement.”
MSI 2026 & Worlds 2026 details revealed
The news came as part of Riot’s announcements regarding the remaining internationals of 2026. MSI 2026 and Worlds 2026’s details were revealed, sharing the following information:
MSI 2026 dates, location, format:
Dates: June 28-July 12
- Play-In Stage: June 28-July 1
- Bracket Stage: July 3-6 / July 8-12
- Upper Final: July 9
- Lower Final: July 11
- Grand Final: July 12
Location: Daejeon Convention Center II, Daejeon, South Korea
Format:
Play-Ins:
- Four-team double-elimination bracket
- Winner advances to the Bracket Stage
- All matches Best of 5
Bracket Stage:
- Eight-team double-elimination bracket
- All matches Best of 5
Worlds 2026 dates, location, format
Dates: October 15-November 14
- Play-Ins: October 15-18
- Swiss Stage: October 23-31
- Playoffs: November 3-8
- Final: November 14
Locations:
- Play-Ins: Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles
- Swiss Stage + Playoffs excluding Grand Final: Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas
- Final: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Format:
Play-Ins:
- Four-team double-elimination bracket
- Winner advances to the Swiss Stage
- All matches Best of 5
Swiss Stage:
- Sixteen-team Swiss Stage
- Qualification and elimination matches Best of 3, all other matches Best of 1
- Three wins to advance; three losses to be eliminated
- Eight teams advance to the Playoffs
Playoffs:
- Single-elimination eight-team bracket
- All matches are Best of 5
Which two teams from Brazil do you want to see at Worlds 2026? Talk about that on Insider Gaming’s Discord!
For more League of Legends-related news, see our Riftbound: Unleashed exclusive card reveal.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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