CBLOL receives one additional slot at Worlds 2026 as play-ins stage will take place in Los Angeles

With First Stand coming to an end, Riot Games has announced that CBLOL will receive one additional slot at Worlds 2026, increasing the number of teams to 19.

Worlds 2026 play-in stage will take place at the Los Angeles Riot Games studio

Initially set to take place in Allen, Texas, Riot has confirmed that the first part of the world championship will move to the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles due to logistical challenges. The play-in stage will feature a total of four teams competing in a double-elimination Bo5 bracket, with one team advancing to the wiss stage. The seeding for the qualified teams will be determined based on regional performance, including results from MSI 2026.

As a result, Worlds 2025 will have a total of 19 teams:

• 3 teams each from LCK, LCS, LCP, LEC, and LPL (15 total)
• 2 teams from CBLOL
• 1 team: MSI Champion* (team must qualify for the home region’s playoffs)
• 1 additional team from the second-place region at MSI

Swiss Stage, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals will take place at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center (CUTX) in Allen, Texas, before moving to Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center, for the grand final.

CBLOL gets one more slot

The addition of one more team from the Brazilian league comes at a time when fans and even pros complained about the seeding allocation after the split of the LTA. Despite the complaints from the community backing CBLOL, Head of LoL Esports Chris Greeley denied that the decision came after the backlash: “I don’t think the pressure had any influence on the decision,” he shared in a press conference with media journalists ahead of the First Stand grand final.

“Even the competitive results like the Americas Cup didn’t have really any impact on the decision. We spent a lot of time focused on splitting the LCS and CBLOL back out last year and I don’t think I spent enough time with the team thinking through the implications on international events. We put the CBLOL back at parity to where we were before the merger, which was one slot for all events,” he added.

“I think after the announcements, we sat down in January, and started looking at our formats for the year and for next year. We came to the conclusion that maybe we could’ve given a second slot for CBLOL for Worlds so we spent the last two months talking through the implications of that would be for Worlds, for play-ins, for the future.”

O CBLOL terá duas vagas no Worlds! pic.twitter.com/wThqyLRHYF

— CBLOL (@CBLOL) March 22, 2026

Worlds 2026 Schedule

The tournament will kick off on October 15 and end on November 14:

• Play-In Stage: October 15–18 (Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles)
• Swiss Stage: October 23–26 and October 28–31 (Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas)
• Knockout Stage: November 3-8 (Credit Union of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas)
  • Quarterfinals: November 3–6
  • Semifinals: November 7–8
• Final: November 14 (Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York)

Tickets for Worlds 2026 will be released mid-late July.