After shaking up the league structure in 2025, the LCK is doubling down for the 2026 season with the introduction of a 'Super Week' and a more compressed schedule for the LCK Cup. Riot Games, the organizer of the Korean League of Legends (LoL) professional circuit, announced on the 6th that they are implementing a new 2026 operational plan, which includes the introduction of a 'Super Week' and a more compressed regular season.

The LCK Cup, which debuted in 2025, serves as a tournament to gauge the form of the 10 participating teams before the regular season. The format proceeds in the order of group stages, play-ins, and playoffs. In the group stage, the 10 teams are divided into 'Elder' and 'Baron' groups, competing against the opposing group to earn one point per win, with their final group standing determining their placement in the play-ins and playoffs.

While the core flow of the tournament remains unchanged, 2026 introduces a 'Super Week' in the third week of the LCK Cup, where teams face off against their counterparts from the opposing group based on their current ranking. All matches during the Super Week are played as best-of-five series, and the winning group earns two points (compared to the usual one point for non-Super Week matches).

The operational format for the 2026 LCK Cup play-ins and playoffs (post-season) has also been modified. In 2025, the top three teams from the winner's group advanced directly to the playoffs, but in 2026, only the 1st and 2nd place teams from the winner's group and the 1st place team from the loser's group advance directly. Consequently, the criteria for teams participating in the play-ins have changed; in 2026, the 3rd-5th place teams from the winner's group and the 2nd-4th place teams from the loser's group will compete in the play-ins.

The method for selecting opponents during the post-season has also changed. Previously, only the 1st seed of the playoff second round could select their opponent, but in 2026, the 1st seed of the play-in second round, the 3rd seed of the playoff first round, and the 1st seed of the playoff second round are all granted the right to choose their opponents.

In 2025, the double-elimination format was applied starting from the second round of the playoffs with a total of 8 matches, but in 2026, it will be applied from the first round, increasing the total number of matches to 10.

The 2026 LCK regular season will be reduced to four rounds. As in 2025, the 10 teams will face each other twice during the first and second rounds, and based on their rankings, the top 5 teams will be placed in the 'Legend' group and the bottom 5 in the 'Rise' group. In the 3rd and 4th rounds of 2026, the Legend group will play a round-robin within their group, as will the Rise group, with final rankings determining their placement in the play-ins and playoffs.

The reason for the shift from the 3-5 round structure in the latter half of 2025 to 3-4 rounds in 2026 is to prepare for the Asian Games. Riot Games stated that with LoL being adopted as an official event for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, they decided to reduce the LCK schedule to accommodate the national team players, ensuring they have sufficient time to train and build synergy.

The play-ins and playoffs held after the regular season will also be conducted in a more compressed manner. While it took 4 weeks from the end of the regular season to crown a winner in 2025, the schedule has been condensed to 3 weeks for 2026. The total number of playoff matches remains at 10, but the duration has been shortened.

The format for the play-ins, which features the 5th seed of the Legend group and the 1st-3rd seeds of the Rise group, has been slightly modified. In 2025, the four teams competed in a double-elimination format, but in 2026, the Legend 5th seed and Rise 1st seed will face off in the first round, with the winner advancing directly to the playoffs. The Rise 2nd and 3rd seeds will then compete, and the winner will face the loser of the first round to determine the final team to join the playoffs. Side selection for the first set of the play-in first round, previously decided by a coin toss, will now be granted to the higher-seeded team in 2026.

The method for determining which team advances to the second round of the playoff loser's bracket has also changed. Previously, the team with the lower regular-season ranking between the winner of the first-round loser's bracket and the losers of the second-round matches advanced, but in 2026, it has been changed to the team with the lower playoff seed among the losers of the second-round matches.

Weekend match times for both the LCK Cup and the LCK regular season have been adjusted to 5 PM. Previously, weekend matches started at 3 PM, but in the 2026 season, the first match will begin at 5 PM.