The regular season of the 2026 LCK Challengers League (LCK CL), the official secondary league for League of Legends, will begin on Monday, March 30.

This year, the LCK CL regular season will be operated as a single season, with the format reduced from last year’s five-round system to four rounds. Rounds 1 through 4 of the regular season will be played online, while the Play-In and Playoffs will be held offline. The season will run for roughly six months, split into periods before and after the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).

Before MSI, all 10 LCK CL teams will play Rounds 1 and 2 in a double round-robin format. Starting in Round 3, teams will be divided by results: the top five teams will enter the Challenge Group, while the bottom five teams will be placed in the Trial Group, with both groups continuing in a double round-robin format. Qualification for the Play-In and Playoffs will be determined by aggregating results from all four rounds.

Seeding for the LCK CL Playoffs will be assigned based on regular season results. The teams finishing first and second in the Challenge Group will advance directly to Round 2 of the Playoffs, while the third- and fourth-place teams will move on to Round 1. In addition, the fifth-place Challenge Group team and the top three teams from the Trial Group will qualify for the Play-In. The winner of the Play-In winners’ match will receive the No. 5 seed for the Playoffs, while the winner of the final qualification match will claim the No. 6 seed. The Play-In and Playoffs will be played in a seeded tournament and full double-elimination format, respectively, with every match contested as a best-of-five.

The total prize pool for the LCK CL regular season is 99.5 million won. The champions will receive 40 million won, the runners-up 25 million won, third place 15 million won, and fourth place 7.5 million won. In addition, 2.5 million won will be awarded to the Regular Round MVP, 1 million won each to the five players selected to the ALL CL Team, 2 million won to the CL Coach of the Year, and 2.5 million won to the Finals MVP.

The LCK CL regular season will begin on Monday, March 30, at 2 p.m. with KT Rolster facing DN Supers. That will be followed by BNK FEARX vs. Hanwha Life Esports at 4 p.m. and Hanwha BRION vs. Nongshim RedForce at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, March 31, Dplus KIA will take on Gen.G Global Academy at 5 p.m., followed by KIWOOM DRX against T1 Esports Academy at 7 p.m. 

In addition, LCK CL matches will also be held during the 2026 T1 Home Ground, the LCK roadshow event taking place over three days beginning Friday, April 24. The LCK CL schedule there will feature T1 Esports Academy vs. Hanwha BRION on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m., followed by T1 Esports Academy vs. BNK FEARX on Sunday, April 26.

The broadcast talent lineup will remain the same as the Kickoff, featuring casters Shim Ji-su and Park Han-eol, alongside commentators “Nuclear” Shin Jeong-hyeon and “Kuro” Lee Seo-haeng. The matches will be streamed live online via SOOP and CHZZK, with further details available through the official LCK CL channels.

Meanwhile, the 2026 LCK CL is organized and hosted by Riot Games Korea, with overall operations managed by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA). WDG is responsible for broadcast production, and Woori Bank joins as the league’s sponsor.

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.