Next year’s international calendar brings a fresh mix of returning hosts and new stops.
League of Legends (LoL) developer Riot Games has confirmed all venues for the international LoL Esports events in 2026.
At the 2025 Worlds Press Conference on Friday (7 November), Chris Greeley, director of LoL Esports, announced that First Stand will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, while the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will be hosted in Daejeon, South Korea. Finally, Worlds 2026 will feature two major locations: Texas for the Play-ins, Swiss Stage, and Knockout Stage, and New York City for the Grand Finals.
First Stand 2026 to take place in São Paulo, Brazil
The first international event of the year will be First Stand, where five teams from each region will compete for Season 2026’s opening international title. The tournament will run from 16 to 22 March 2026.
“Brazil has one of our most passionate player bases,” Greeley said, adding that they can’t wait to see the city come alive once again for LoL. The last time a League of Legends international event was held in Brazil was in 2017. According to him, every match in this tournament will be a best-of-five.
MSI to take place in Daejeon, South Korea
MSI is returning to South Korea, this time in Daejeon, the country’s fifth-largest metropolis. In this tournament, 11 teams from different regions will compete, and only one team will qualify from the Play-ins into the Bracket Stage, where the double-elimination format remains “to ensure every match will have [enough] attention.” The event will take place from 26 June to 12 July 2026.
New York City and Allen, Texas will be the host cities for Worlds 2026
Worlds is heading back to North America next year, this time with only two cities hosting. Instead of bringing the matches to the Riot Games studio in Los Angeles, the Play-ins through to the Semifinals will all take place in Allen, Texas. The Worlds 2026 Grand Finals will then be held in New York City, which last hosted Worlds in 2022.
Fearless Draft is here to stay
Fearless Draft is set to continue at international events following its well-received use throughout 2025. Having been trialed across the major tournaments this season with positive feedback, organisers have decided to carry it forward into the upcoming year.
More venues in the future: Southeast Asia in 2027
Fans can expect even more new locations in the coming years, with Southeast Asia previously announced as the venue for First Stand in 2027, and MSI set to take place in Europe.
Meanwhile, Worlds 2025 is about to wrap up in Chengdu with a Telecom war version of the Grand Finals where back-to-back World Champions 
T1 are going to face 
KT Rolster on 9 November.
