LEC Summer Split 2026: Format, teams, odds, and predictions

Naerlyn Published July 23, 2026

After G2 Esports’ heroics at the Mid-Season Invitational and Karmine Corp’s at the Esports World Cup, the LEC returns for the Summer Split. Starting July 24 with a roadshow in Paris, the teams will fight over Europe’s three spots at the League of Legends World Championship.

Which of these ten teams has the best odds? With our eternal finalists and now Korean slayers in G2 and KC, which of them should bettors focus on?

Event overview

The LEC 2026 Summer Split schedule. Image credit: Riot Games

Tournament Format and Schedule

The LEC 2026 Summer Split will start on July 24, 2026 at 4 pm CEST / 10 am EST. It will run for nine weeks, over two stages.

Regular Season (July 24 – August 30)

• The ten 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 5 – September 20)

• The six teams that qualified for the LEC playoffs will participate in a double-elimination bracket.
• The top four teams start in the upper bracket, while the bottom two go to the lower bracket.
• All matches are best-of-five.
• The top three teams qualify for the 2026 LoL World Championship.

The playoffs of the LEC 2026 Summer Split. Image credit: Riot Games

LEC Summer Split teams

The LEC Summer Split has the same ten teams as the Spring Split.

• G2 Esports
• Karmine Corp
• Movistar KOI
• GIANTX
• Team Vitality
• Natus Vincere
• Fnatic
• SK Gaming
• Shifters
• Team Heretics

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

Outright odds

Odds as of July 20 on GG.BET.

LEC Summer Split prediction

Here are our predictions for the LEC Summer Split. With G2’s results at First Stand and MSI, and KC’s at the EWC, European teams are back to having an impact at internationals. That makes the LEC an important tournament to watch to stay up to date with some of the best teams.

G2 Esports, the one team of the LEC

It’s no surprise that G2 has the lowest odds again. Now at 19 LEC titles, they’ve only missed eight first places since joining the league in 2016.

While G2 has had many unimpressive years, 2026 isn’t one of those. Two LEC titles, a 3-0 against BNK FearX, another one against Gen.G, a victory against Top Esports and another against T1. This year, G2 currently has a winning record against LPL and LCK teams in Riot events, a first in LoL Esports history.

There’s a good chance that G2 falls behind in the regular season. The team famously tries to not exhaust themselves before the playoffs. Besides, they’ve also had almost no time to recover from MSI and EWC.

However, they will without a doubt show up in the playoffs no matter what. G2 is the favorite heading into the LEC Summer Split. Keep this mind when placing your wagers in League of Legends betting.

Karmine Corp, forging a new legacy

KC just had the fastest redemption arc possible. After a terrible showing at MSI where they lost 0-3 to both T1 and Team Liquid, they had a fantastic EWC. There, they eliminated Sentinels, Anyone’s Legend, and most importantly T1 before falling in the grand final.

This revitalized KC is no longer the team that stays in the shadow of G2. However, it’s important to note that while they went much further than their rivals at EWC, they both fell to the same team. Thus, this isn’t indicative of their relative strengths.

Karmine Corp will most likely top the rankings in the regular season again. Afterwards, they are the team with the best chance at topping G2 in the Summer Split – but they remain the underdogs.

Movistar KOI, rounding out the trifecta

MKOI went to the Esports World Cup to grab their participation trophy and go home. Losing to Bilibili Gaming then GAM Esports, they continued their streak of disappointments at internationals.

Even then, they’re still good regionally. While they might get overlooked because of that EWC performance, they remain a top-three team. At internationals, they make good plays and then either get outplayed or fail to carry their lead to the finish line.

In Europe though, their opponents rarely manage to punish them that way. Thus, MKOI usually finishes third or above. Seeing the form of G2 and KC, third is probably where they’ll land again.

Featured image credit: Wojciech Wandzel / Riot Games