LCK 2026 Rounds 3-4 preview: Format, teams, and favorites to win

Naerlyn Published July 27, 2026

At the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and Esports World Cup, the LCK finally corrected the world order. With South Korea once again being on top, the LCK is an important league to watch to be aware of who the top contenders at Worlds will be.

Rounds 3-4 will kick off July 29, just after the end of the KeSPA Cup. While the standings are already halfway done, the ten teams will fight hard to claim South Korea’s four spots at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. Now, with a deadly top five, which ones should bettors focus on?

Event overview

Tournament format and schedule

The LCK 2026 Rounds 3-4 will start on July 29, 2026, at 10 am CEST / 4 am EST. It will run for seven weeks, over three stages, and is the continuation of Rounds 1-2. Teams carry on with their Spring record going into the final split of 2026.

Regular Season (July 29 – August 23)

• The ten teams are split into two groups by their Rounds 1-2 placement. The top five make up the Legend Group, while the bottom five are in the Rise Group.
• Teams play a double round robin within their group.
• Each match is a best-of-three with Fearless draft.
• The top four Legend teams advance to the Season Playoffs. Below them, the last Legend team and the top three Rise ones qualify for the Season Play-in.

Season Play-in (August 26 – August 28)

• The Legend team and the first-place team in the Rise group play a playoffs qualification match. Then, the other two Rise rosters play an elimination match. Lastly, the two remaining teams play another qualification match.
• All matches are best-of-five.

Season Playoffs (August 29- September 13)

• The six teams that qualified for the Season Playoffs will participate in a double-elimination bracket.
• The top two Legend teams start in round 2 while the other four join them in round 1.
• All matches are best-of-five.
• The top three teams qualify for the 2026 LoL World Championship, as well as Hanwha Life Esports. If they are already at the top, the fourth best will also qualify.

LCK Rounds 3-4 teams

Here are the LCK 2026 teams, split by group and with their record heading into Rounds 3-4.

Legend Group

• 1. Hanwha Life Esports (15-3)
• 2. T1 (14-4)
• 3. Gen.G (14-4)
• 4. KT Rolster (13-5)
• 5. Dplus KIA (11-7)

Rise Group

• 6. HANJIN BRION (6-12)
• 7. BNK FearX (6-12)
• 8. Kiwoom DRX (5-13)
• 9. Nongshim RedForce (5-13)
• 10. DN SOOPers (1-17)

Find a tracker of the roster swaps ahead of the Summer Split here.

Outright odds

Odds as of July 20 on GG.Bet.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and T1 will always be near the top of the LCK. Image credit: Yicun Liu / Riot Games

LCK Rounds 3-4 prediction

Here are our predictions for the LCK Rounds 3-4 and Season Playoffs. By the end of Rounds 1-2, the top four teams were deadlocked and all tied at 1-1. Now, DK has shown that they can make an impact in this group as well. So who will win the LCK Season 2026?

Hanwha Life Esports, from tenth to MSI winners

After picking up Choi “Zeus” Woo-je and now Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong from T1, HLE aimed for the stars. At first, though, the only stars they saw were the ones circling around their heads as they crashed into a last-place finish at the LCK Cup.

Then, Spring came and they were suddenly at the top. Starting nearly undefeated, they finished Round 2 in first place, got the LCK’s first seed, and won MSI.

In Rounds 3-4, HLE will be the team to beat, as the odds indicate. A hyperaggressive, LPL-style team, they’ve also shown weaknesses at both internationals. When their form falters, they’re suddenly easy to topple. Thankfully, that rarely happens, and HLE will be the favorite to win the LCK Season 2026.

Gen.G, seeking their past glory

In 2024 and 2025, it was all Gen.G (aside from Worlds). Then, a single 3-0 loss against G2 Esports at First Stand nullified it all. Now mortals again, they’ve lost that shine. Regardless, they’ve remained a top three team that stands toe-to-toe with the favorites. With seven more weeks of variance ahead, Gen.G is just as capable of winning the split.

T1, the eternal threat

Long gone are the days of T1 claiming every single championship. Now, they’re always on time to win Worlds, but domestic play is another story. Nevertheless, they claimed the LCK’s second seed at MSI by eliminating Gen.G, and they finished Round 2 in second as well. Clearly, they’re no pushover either.

Possibly even more so than HLE, T1 will never pass up on an opportunity to fight. The team’s specialty is to drag their opponent down to the circus, where whatever happens, happens. While it mostly works, their form at MSI and EWC has been concerning, showing more cracks than reasonable. T1 is a guaranteed top team but are also unlikely to win the trophy.

Dplus KIA is the new threat in the LCK after winning the EWC. Image credit: Riot Games

Dplus KIA, the EWC surprise

After a comfortable Round 1, DK fell behind. Far ahead of them was a clear top four, far below them was a clear bottom five. Thus, DK easily lands in the Legend Group, albeit as the one team with no hopes in the competition.

Then, the EWC arrived. There, DK shocked the world by beating several of the best teams in Bilibili Gaming and Gen.G, and winning the trophy. Not only that, they had great performances there.

A meta empowering creativity strongly benefits Heo “ShowMaker” Su whose champion pool is boundless. DK seemed much more in their element than the rest with the way the game currently plays. If this keeps up, all five Legend Group teams could be actual contenders for the trophy.

Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games