Riot Games Reveals 2026 League of Legends Esports Schedule and New Twilight’s End Cinematic

On Friday, Riot Games shared new details about its 2026 international esports calendar for League of Legends, along with a new cinematic created in collaboration with longtime partner Fortiche. The announcement highlights host cities, tournament formats, and viewing milestones for the coming competitive season.

2025 Worlds Play-Ins Viewing Milestone

Riot noted that the 2025 Worlds Play-Ins reached a record audience, with the match between T1 and Invictus Gaming becoming the most-watched Play-Ins game in the event's history. Although exact numbers were not revealed, this milestone reflects ongoing global interest in the esport.

2026 Season Tournament Details

Stand Tournament

The first major event of 2026 will be the Stand Tournament, held from March 16 to 22 at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. This competition will feature two double-elimination groups that progress into single-elimination knockout rounds. All matches are best-of-five, a format Riot aims to use to preserve competitive integrity throughout the tournament.

Mid-Season Invitational

The Mid-Season Invitational will take place in Korea next year, hosted in Daejeon. Eleven teams will participate, starting with a Play-In Stage that advances one team to a double-elimination Bracket Stage. According to Riot, this format offers emerging regions a clearer path while ensuring top-seeded teams face tough competition.

Riot Games stated the format is "designed to give emerging regions a clearer path while ensuring top-seeded teams face rigorous competition."

Riot Games continues to innovate its League of Legends esports structure to enhance competitive balance and global engagement.

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Inven Global — 2025-11-08