League of Legends World Championship 2026 heading to Texas and New York
Riot Games has announced that the League of Legends World Championship 2026 will take place across Texas and New York City.
League of Legends World ChampionshipThe season-ending event for the League of Legends esports circuit is the first time the event will take place in North America since 2022.
During the media day ahead of the Worlds 2025 Grand Final between T1 and KT Rolster, Riot Games revealed that the city of Allen, Texas will play host to the Play-In, Swiss stage, and the Playoffs.
New York City, New York, will host the Grand Final. Details on the locations for each phase of the tournament have yet to be revealed.
Outside of the years where Worlds took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2026 will mark the first time in three years that the tournament has taken place across two cities. In 2023, the South Korean cities of Busan and Seoul hosted each phase of the tournament.
In addition to unveiling the location for next year’s World Championship, Riot Games also shared details on the second edition of First Stand, the first international tournament of the 2026 season.
Taking place from March 16th to 22nd, First Stand 2026 heads to São Paulo, Brazil. Alongside a location, Riot revealed an increase in teams competing from six to eight, along with best-of-five matches for the duration of the tournament.
League of Legends esports is no stranger to the Brazilian city. In 2017, it hosted the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), won by SK Telecom T1.
MSI heads back to South Korea for the first time since 2022. The city of Daejeon will host the second international event of the year at an unannounced location.
Riot Games has yet to share the date for MSI 2026. The 2025 edition took place in late June and early July.