The LEC Spring Split 2026 Playoffs kick off this weekend (May 23) to crown EMEA’s new League of Legends champions.
As well as the trophy, teams will be competing for Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and Esports World Cup qualification.
Though G2 Esports and Karmine Corp have already qualified for EWC. Should they win the Spring Split, Movistar KOI will join them at the $2 million international tournament.
The top six teams will compete in a partially double-elimination (not for NAVI or GIANTX) bracket made up entirely of best-of-fives.
G2 Esports vs Karmine Corp
Kicking off a LEC Spring Playoffs is a behemoth clash between the league’s two strongest teams on paper.
In a rematch of both the LEC Versus final and the recent Esports World Cup EMEA Qualifier final, G2 will be heavily favoured.
The LEC Versus final was a spectacular series, which went to all five games and was extremely close.
Meanwhile, the online meeting between the two last week resulted in a straight 3-0 stomp for G2, who appear to have levelled up substantially.
The key match-up in this series will likely be between the team’s two star junglers, G2’s Rudy ‘SkewMond’ Semaan and KCorp’s Martin ‘Yike’ Sundelin.
Skewmond has gotten the better of Yike in recent meetings, leaving a tough task for the KCorp pro if he wants to take down his former team.
Movistar KOI vs Team Vitality
The other Upper Bracket bout looks like a very interesting series between two inconsistent teams with very high ceilings.
Movistar KOI barely squeaked into the top four and have repeatedly lost to KCorp, yet they also defeated G2 in their last LEC series.
Meanwhile, Team Vitality has been the surprise team of the year, finishing first in the Spring regular season.
Yet, they were eliminated early from the EWC qualifiers after losing 2-1 to MKOI and a surprising 2-0 loss to Shifters
Both teams have had standout solo-laners who will likely be the difference makers in this next meeting.
Vitality toplaner Kaan ‘Naak Nako’ Okan has been a monster this, regularly accruing solo leads and making the difference in his team’s inspired form.
Similarly, Joseph Joon ‘Jojopyun’ Pyun has had a phenomenal split and regularly performed while his teammates around him have struggled.
The Lower Bracket Teams
Natus Vincere and GIANTX don’t get any second chances, as they will have to try and struggle through the Lower Bracket.
Neither team is considered to be on the same level as the top four, yet they have shown bright sparks.
NAVI have impressed throughout the year with explosive talent and appear to have gotten over their issues with closing out games.
Meanwhile, GIANTX don’t appear much better than last year, yet they recently defeated KCorp — though that may have had something to do with the opposing Brand top.
Still, these two teams have more time to practice and prepare, which could allow them to pull off a big upset or two.
Share your predictions for the LEC Spring Playoffs with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
And see the new EMEA Masters Spring format as Riot Games responded to community backlash.
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