Worlds 2026 schedule, venues and start times
· 3 min read · by Daniel
Every date, venue and start time for the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, from the Play-Ins in Los Angeles to the Final at Barclays Center on 14 November.
Worlds 2026 is in the United States, spread across three cities, and the schedule is awkward enough that I kept having to look it up. So here it is in one place, with the start times in the venue's own clock.
I am going to one of these days in person, which I have written about separately.
The whole thing at a glance
| Stage | Dates | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play-Ins | 15 to 18 October | Riot Games Arena | Los Angeles |
| Swiss Stage | 23 to 31 October | Credit Union of Texas Event Center | Allen, Texas |
| Quarterfinals and Semifinals | 3 to 8 November | Credit Union of Texas Event Center | Allen, Texas |
| Final | 14 November | Barclays Center | Brooklyn, New York |
Start times
| Days | Starts |
|---|---|
| Play-Ins, 15 to 18 October | 11am PDT |
| Swiss, 23 to 26 October | 12pm CDT |
| Swiss, 28 to 30 October | 3pm CDT |
| Swiss, 31 October | 12pm CDT |
| Quarterfinals and Semifinals, 3 to 8 November | 4pm CST |
| Final, 14 November | 2pm EST |
Two things to watch. The 28th to the 30th start three hours later than the other Swiss days, so if you are travelling for a specific day, check which one you have. And the clocks change in the United States on 1 November, which is why the Swiss days are CDT and the knockouts are CST.
Times and venues come from Riot's venue and event policies post. The stage formats below come from the tournament's Wikipedia page.
How each stage works
Play-Ins is four teams in a double-elimination bracket, best of five, in Riot's own arena in Los Angeles.
The Swiss Stage is 16 teams over five rounds. You advance at three wins and you are out at three losses, so no team's run is fixed in advance. Rounds one and two are single games, rounds three to five are best of three. That means the opening days have the most matches and the fewest decisive ones, and the later days are where teams get knocked out in front of you.
Quarterfinals and Semifinals are single elimination, best of five.
The Final is a best of five at Barclays Center on 14 November.
T1 are in
T1 qualified, and arrive as the defending champions.
I mention this with some relief. When I got tickets back in August I wrote that the one thing that would ruin the plan was T1 not making it, and that given the week I was having I could not rule it out. That one worked out.
Going in person
If you have tickets, the venue rules are stricter than people expect, especially on bags. I put the practical details, including what it is like planning this around a six year old, in my post about going to Day 1.
One more thing for Riftbound collectors
Day 1 of the Swiss Stage, 23 October, is also the day Radiance releases. If you are at the venue that day, you are not opening packs at your local store, and Pre-Rift events run the week before, 16 to 22 October. Worth knowing before you plan your week.