Riot Games has detailed its 2026 competitive plans for League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), introducing a “Super Week” to the LCK Cup and shortening the regular season to accommodate the Asian Games. The organizer announced the updates Thursday, outlining adjustments to maintain competitive intensity while keeping the schedule flexible for national-team commitments.

The LCK Cup — first held in 2025 as a preseason-style preview of teams — will continue to operate independently of the LCK Regular Season. The tournament retains its cross-group format featuring the Elder and Baron Groups, with teams earning points toward playoff seeding.

Announcement of 2026 LCK Operation Plan

Beginning in 2026, Week 3 of the LCK Cup will be branded as “Super Week.” During that stretch, teams will face opponents from the opposing group with matching standings, and all matches will be best-of-five. Wins during Super Week will be worth two points, up from the standard one, heightening potential swings in the standings ahead of the playoffs.

The LCK Cup’s postseason will also expand its double-elimination bracket. In 2025, the format began in Round 2 with eight total matches. Next year, double elimination starts from Round 1, increasing the count to 10. Qualification rules and opponent-selection rights are shifting as well: the winning group’s top two seeds and the losing group’s first seed will earn direct playoff spots, while three teams will receive the ability to choose their opponents across different playoff stages.

Riot is also reducing the LCK Regular Season to four rounds. The structure introduced in 2025 will remain, with initial rounds forming the Legend Group (top five) and Rise Group (bottom five). Rounds 3 and 4 will feature matches played only within each group. The fifth round used in 2025 has been removed to leave room for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where League of Legends will return as an official medal event.

Postseason play will be trimmed from four weeks to three, though the playoff match count remains the same. Minor changes are being made to play-in seeding and side-selection rules, along with updated criteria for advancement in the lower bracket.

Weekend match start times for both the LCK Cup and Regular Season will shift from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. beginning in 2026.