LEC Versus 2026 preview: Teams, odds and predictions

Naerlyn Published January 9, 2026

Our LEC Versus preview includes everything you need to know about the tournament including its format, dates, teams, and odds. The EMEA’s Winter tournament will decide which team represents Europe at First Stand 2026 in March. Find our predictions about which teams we think will do well at the event. Will Fnatic win for the first time in 8 years, or will G2 take it again?

Latest: LEC Versus 2026 playoffs preview: Who are the favorites?

Event Overview

Latest LEC Versus Odds

Format and Schedule

The LEC Versus will run for 6 weeks, over 2 stages.

Regular Season (January 17th – February 8th)

• 12 teams participate.
• Teams will play a single round robin.
• All matches are Best of 1s.
• The top 8 teams advance to the playoffs.
• Six games are played every day, from Saturday to Monday (Saturday and Sunday only for the final week)

Playoffs (February 16th – March 1st)

• All 8 qualified teams play in a double elimination bracket.
• All round 1 and 2 matches are Best of 3s (first 10 matches). The next matches are Best of 5s (last 4 matches). All matches use Fearless draft.
• The winner qualifies for First Stand 2026.

Learn more about LEC Versus announcement here.

LEC Versus event schedule. Image Source: LEC 

LEC Versus Teams

The LEC Versus 2026 features 12 teams: the 10 LEC teams and two guests from the EMEA Regional Leagues. When betting on LoL esports, it’s important to be well-informed about the participants. The 12 squads competing are:

• G2 Esports
• Movistar KOI
• Fnatic
• Karmine Corp
• GIANTX
• Team Vitality
• Team Heretics
• Shifters (formerly Team BDS)
• SK Gaming
• Natus Vincere
• Los Ratones (guest team)
• Karmine Corp Blue (guest team)

For more on these teams, read up on their new rosters there.

The teams at the LEC Versus. Image source: LEC

Outright Odds

Below is a list of teams and their respective odds to win the event. Odds provided by GG.Bet on Jan. 9.

LEC Versus Predictions

Now, here are our LEC Versus predictions. Many team rosters changed since 2025 and it’s impossible to guess what form each team will show up in, but there’s enough to make educated guesses – and the LEC Versus odds at esports betting sites reflect that.

G2 Esports, the LEC Versus Odds Front-Runner

When in doubt, bet on G2 (odds to win: 3). Not only will this team always finish in the top 3, they win the LEC more often than not.

While it took a while for G2 to find their footing in 2025, they reminded everyone why they were the team to beat by the end of the year.

Since then, they haven’t changed their roster. So they’re continuing to build on top of a winning base, while most of Europe has to find their synergy again. What’s more, G2’s “weak splits” in 2025 were two second place finishes.

Once they reach the playoffs, the kings of Europe are a different team altogether, and they’re consistently better than the rest in Bo5s. Our LEC Versus predictions have G2 winning the event.

Movistar KOI, the runners-up

Just like G2, MKOI stuck with the same roster for 2026. MKOI is always a top team in the LEC, but they fall short at internationals. Everyone dismisses them as a result, but they always come back to be a challenger for G2.

MKOI isn’t as likely to win the LEC as G2, but they’re next in line.

Our other LEC Versus Predictions

We do not recommend betting on Fnatic or Karmine Corp to win the whole thing.

KCorp is a top team in the LEC, but they lack the polish to reproduce what they did last Winter. KC has changed part of their roster and the players who stayed have grown since last year, but so did the competition. The French team is third in line to pull it off, but there’s little reason to bet on them instead of G2.

As for Fnatic, it doesn’t matter how they look through the season, they don’t win the playoffs. FNC hasn’t won playoffs since 2018, and it’s not going to change in 2026.

SK Gaming, the underdog bet

SK changed their whole roster in 2026 to go with an assortment of playmakers. If they win, it’ll be a surprise for everyone, but given their LEC Versus odds, they’re not a bad bet if you want to go for an underdog.

Natus Vincere is a similar story. NaVi (or Rogue that they replaced last year) was a bottom-tier team, but they just changed their entire team with the goal of giving young players a chance to prove themselves. Both of these are unknown quantities.

Featured Image Source: LEC via X.