Everything we know about Locke, the new League of Legends Champion in 2026

This is everything you need to know about Locke, the newest champion that will be added to League of Legends in 2026.

Even though the roll out of new characters has greatly decreased in recent times, considering how big the champion roster is in the game, we know that a new champion is coming to LoL some time this year. After Zaahen’s release at the end of 2025, the community only received a Shyvana rework in 2026 so far, and that has also been met with mixed reactions.

Locke – the LoL new champion will be an AP mid lane assassin

The new League of Legends champion is Locke and has been confirmed to be an AP mid lane assassin. The name was mentioned in an April Fool’s post by Riot Games’ director Pu ‘PuPuLasers’ Liu. The last AP mid lane assassin released was Aurora in 2024, although she is considered more of a mage assassin hybrid.

According to leaks from content creator Big Bad Bear, Locke was seen in a motion comic with a hooded figure and red glasses, similar to the ones Vayne uses in many of her skins. Considering the latter is also at the center of Season 2 Act 1, it seems more than just a coincidence. This has been later confirmed in a teaser the Korean community, with Locke approaching Vayne with a cryptic message: “Long time no see, Vayne.”

Big Bad Bear was able to get a glimspe of Locke’s abilities, with his Q being a skillshot that throws a “Soul Nail”. In the leak video, there are also clips of the champion activating a second form and collecting a “sealed artifact”, although both don’t seem to be tied to any specific skill at the moment.

When does the League of Legends new champion release?

According to head of League studio Andrei ‘Meddler’ van Roon, Locke is expected to be released some time around the middle of the year. It’s likely going to be some time during the summer, ahead of the grand final at MSI.

Judging by this timing, and considering how Act 1 will kick off on April 26 and last six weeks, Locke could be released some time around June. The patch could either be Patch 26.12, which releases on June 10, or Patch 26.13, on June 24, and right before the start of MSI.