LCS Summer Split 2026 preview, teams, favorites to win, & more

Naerlyn Published July 24, 2026

Instead of a trophy, North America returns from MSI with the bragging rights of taking down Europe. While still powerless against the East, NA has proven that it needs to be taken seriously by the other regions. On July 25, the LCS will return to determine who will represent the region at the 2026 World Championship. Which of these eight teams has the best odds?

Event overview

Tournament format and schedule

The LCS 2026 Summer Split will start on July 25, 2026 at 10 pm CEST / 4 pm EST. It will run for ten weeks, over two stages.

Regular season (July 25 – September 6)

• The eight teams play a double round robin.
• Each match is a best-of-three with Fearless draft.
• The top six teams advance to the playoffs.

Playoffs (September 12 – October 4)

• The six teams that qualified for the LCS playoffs will participate in a double-elimination bracket.
• The top two teams get a bye to round 2, while the next four start in round 1.
• All matches are best-of-five.
• The top three teams qualify for the 2026 LoL World Championship.

Will LYON win every LCS 2026 split? Image credit: Christina Oh / Riot Games

LCS Summer Split teams

The LCS Summer Split has the same eight teams as the Spring Split.

• LYON
• Team Liquid
• Cloud9
• FlyQuest
• Sentinels
• Shopify Rebellion
• Disguised
• Dignitas

For more on these teams, read up on their rosters here. 

Outright odds

Odds as of July 20 on GG.BET.

LCS Summer Split prediction

Here are our predictions for the LCS Summer Split. North American teams are still far below the level of the East, but they’ve proven that they will make an impact at internationals. As such, it’s important to follow the LCS to know which NA teams are a threat.

LYON, the reign of Inspired

Kacper “Inspired” Słoma has won the last four LCS splits in a row. The teams that he plays for simply reach a level that’s above the rest. Importantly though, the jungler will miss the first weeks of the LCS. While this will drag the team down, they will still qualify for the playoffs and work their magic from there on.

LYON is the clear favorite to win the LCS again. With their slower playstyle, they exploit the fact that their opponents will always let them find the perfect fight they’re looking for. From this point on, they can snowball the game to a victory.

Cloud9, the playoff chokers

C9 has been a top team in the regular season, when not the top team, for over three years. The last time they didn’t finish in the top three was in 2022, and their most recent match loss in a regular season was in Split 2 of 2025.

However, they’re incapable of keeping up the performance once playoffs arrive. In the past seven splits in a row, they’ve lost the match that would qualify them to the international. Moreover, C9’s last LCS win was in Spring 2023.

For this split, they’ve added Lee “Loki” Sang-min and Edward “Tactical” Ra, and it’s unclear whether they’ll be sharing play time with their previous starters. Additionally, they’ve also revamped their coaching staff. Maybe, just maybe, that’ll finally allow them to win the LCS again.

Team Liquid graduated from being fourth. Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Team Liquid, the challengers

TL is the best LCS team not named LYON or C9. The expectations on them are simple: they’re better than the rest, and they’re in charge of pushing out Cloud9 in the playoffs. Depending on whether this succeeds, Team Liquid is an easy pick for either top two or top three. Beyond that, they’re unlikely to win the split or to fail to qualify for Worlds.

Featured image credit: Riot Games