The 2026 LCK Cup kicks off on Wednesday, the 14th, running for a month at the LCK Arena located in LoL Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Much like last year, this LCK Cup features a group-based opening round. Ten teams are split between the Baron and Elder groups, with the cumulative performance of each group dictating the competitive advantages for the subsequent rounds.

The group selection followed the same 'snake draft' method as 2025, where the two group heads took turns picking their cohorts. Gen.G, the 2025 LCK champions, opted for T1 in the Baron group, followed by T1 picking NS RedForce, who then chose DN Super, and finally DN Super selecting Brion. It is quite the lineup, putting Gen.G—who dominated the LCK, MSI, and EWC last year—alongside T1, the protagonists of the World Championship 'three-peat', in the same group.

The Elder group is hardly a pushover, either. Hanwha Life Esports, the inaugural LCK Cup winners and group head, selected Dplus KIA. Dplus KIA brought in KT Rolster, who then picked BNK FearX, followed by DRX. This group is loaded with dark horses, including the ever-dramatic KT Rolster and the resilient BNK FearX, who made quite a splash in the playoffs last year.

Expect some heated exchanges when the tournament opens on Wednesday, the 14th, with KT Rolster taking on DN Super. All eyes will be on how DN Super performs following their rebrand and fresh start, pitted against a KT Rolster squad that has managed to retain its top, jungle, and mid laners from their World Championship runner-up campaign.

As we head into the 2026 season, most rosters have undergone a significant overhaul. With only Gen.G and BNK FearX sticking to their 2025 lineups, there has been a massive wave of roster shifts, particularly among bottom laners and coaching staff.

The most striking trend is the game of musical chairs among bottom laners. T1, having secured an unprecedented third consecutive World Championship title in 2025, saw their finals MVP 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyeong depart, opting instead to sign 'Peyz' Kim Su-hwan from the Chinese LPL. Meanwhile, Hanwha Life Esports filled the void left by 'Viper' Park Do-hyeon’s move to China by signing Lee, while also recruiting 'Kanavi' Seo Jin-hyeok from the LPL to replace the retired jungler 'Peanut' Han Wang-ho.

2025 World Championship runners-up KT Rolster saw bottom laner 'Deft' Seo Dae-gil and support 'Peter' Jeong Yun-su move to DN Super. In response, they’ve recruited former Dplus KIA bottom laner 'Aiming' Kim Ha-ram, paired with 2020 World Champion 'Ghost' Jang Yong-jun and former Brion player 'Pollu' Oh Dong-gyu.

NS RedForce, having retained top laner 'Kingen' Hwang Seong-hoon and support 'Lehends' Son Si-woo, finalized their squad by bringing in 2021 World Champion 'Scout' Lee Ye-chan as their mid laner, along with 'Sponge' Bae Young-jun in the jungle and 'Taeyoon' Kim Tae-yoon in the bottom lane. Dplus KIA has also injected some youth, recruiting former T1 bottom laner 'Smash' Shin Geum-jae and support 'Career' Oh Hyeong-seok.

Brion has completely overhauled their 2025 lineup, assembling a new squad featuring 'Casting' Shin Min-je, 'Gideon' Kim Min-seong, 'Fisher' Lee Jeong-tae, 'Teddy' Park Jin-seong, and 'Namgung' Namgung Seong-hoon. DRX has also made moves, bringing in 'Willer' Kim Jeong-hyeon and 'Vincenzo' Ha Seung-min as junglers, alongside former NS RedForce bottom laner 'Jiwoo' Jeong Ji-woo.

Beyond the players, the coaching carousel is spinning just as fast. After a disappointing World Championship run, Gen.G hired Yoo Sang-wook—the mastermind behind BNK FearX's surprising 2025 performance—as their new head coach. Hanwha Life Esports parted ways with Choi In-kyu and brought in Yoon Seong-yeong, who previously led teams in the LPL, while Choi has moved on to take the helm at NS RedForce.

Dplus KIA promoted coach Kim Dae-ho to head coach. Conversely, Brion recruited Kim Sang-soo from DRX, pushing former head coach Lee Ho-seong into a coaching role. With Kim Sang-soo’s departure, DRX handed the reins to 'Joker' Jo Jae-eup, while BNK FearX promoted Park Joon-seok, formerly of their Challengers team, to head coach of the main roster.

One major change to this LCK Cup is the introduction of the 'Super Week'. This new format, implemented in response to fan feedback during the 2025 LCK Cup, features head-to-head matchups between teams with the same seeding across the Baron and Elder groups.

Winning during this period grants the victor’s group 2 points, which could significantly sway the playoff race. It is intended to inject extra tension into the group stage, hopefully making it a more compelling watch. All matches during this period will be best-of-five affairs.

The 'Super Week' is slated for the third week of the tournament. It kicks off with a clash between 5th seeds Brion and DRX, followed by DN Super vs. BNK FearX, NS RedForce vs. KT Rolster, T1 vs. Dplus KIA, and finally, Gen.G vs. Hanwha Life Esports.