Multiple new international League of Legends tournaments have been introduced this year, including the Demacia Cup Global Invitational.
T1 Esports Academy won the first-ever World Star Challengers Invitational, making them the best Tier 2 team in the world.
And now, the Demacia Cup 2026 will crown the world’s best team that failed to qualify for LoL Worlds 2026.
The event will see teams, regionally seeded between 4th and 7th, from the LCK, LPL, LEC, LCS, LCP, and CBLOL compete.
Demacia Cup 2026 Opening Matches
The random draw is complete and the Demacia Cup will now open with the following set of best-of-one matches:
- Shopify Rebellion (LCS #4) vs KT Rolster (LCK #5)
- HANJIN BRION (LCK #7) vs JDG (LPL #5)
- Vitality (LCS #5) vs BFX (LCK #6)
- LGD (LPL #7) vs FlyQuest (NA #5)
- GAM (LCP #4) vs Team WE (LPL #6)
- RED (CBLoL #4) vs NAVI (LEC #4)
Demacia Cup Teams to Watch
Last year’s LoL Worlds finalists KT Rolster are Demacia Cup favourites at 33%, according to Polymarket users.
Though their Round 1 opponents, Shopify Rebellion, had an impressive showing in the LCS Playoffs, surprising FlyQuest 3-2.
Meanwhile, BFX started the year well by qualifying for First Stand, but then lost to G2 Esports and parted ways with star ADC Nam ‘Diable’ Dae-geun and haven’t reached the same highs since.
Still, they should have enough quality for the LEC’s Team Vitality, who never lived up their roster’s promise.
While toplaner Kaan ‘Naak Nako’ Okan performed excellently and Vitality finished first and second in the Spring and Summer regular seasons, they failed to win a single Playoffs series in those splits.
Meanwhile, Natus Vincere impressed in the LEC Playoffs during a close series with Movistar KOI, though the team relies heavily on LEC Rookie of the Year Enes ‘Rhilech’ Uçan.
As for the LPL, Team WE could be tournament dark horses if star jungler Wang ‘Monki’ Meng-Qi performs, as we saw in the Spring Playoffs when WE shocked both BLG and Anyone’s Legend.
Meanwhile, not much should be expected from JDG after the team dropped Taiwanese duo Yu ‘JunJia’ Chun-Chia and Tsai ‘HongQ’ Ming-Hong.
Instead, jungler Fang ‘xiaofang’ Zhe-Yu and midlaner Xiang ‘Angel’ Tao will sub in, meaning JDG will play with a less experienced lineup.
Who do you expect to win the Demacia Cup? Share your predictions with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok helped Korea win another Asia Games gold medal. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
An esports journalist for nine years with a focus on LoL Jack has written for national newspapers, interviewed major names, and driven people mad with puns. He's most proud of…
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