The Korea e-Sports Association said the "2026 LoL KeSPA CUP," Korea's only short-term League of Legends (LoL) cup tournament, will open July 20, the association announced Monday.
Ten teams from LoL Champions Korea (LCK) will compete in the 2026 LoL KeSPA CUP. The tournament will run for about a month from July 20 to August 18, held every Monday and Tuesday. The qualifiers through the first round of the playoff Stage 2 will be played online, while the second round of playoff Stage 2 and the finals will be held August 17 and 18, respectively, at the Daejeon e-Sports Arena.
The qualifiers will divide the 10 teams into two groups of five, played in a single round-robin format, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. Playoff Stage 1 will use a modified Swiss format in which teams of the same qualifier ranking face off, playing four rounds in total to determine the teams advancing to Stage 2. The final Stage 2 will be played as best-of-five across all three rounds to decide the champion.
As it did last year, Disney+ will exclusively broadcast all matches of the KeSPA CUP this year. This tournament will be held as a charity event, with donations made in the names of the participating teams and the association going toward medical expenses for children from vulnerable groups through Save the Children. Fans can also participate through individual donation programs and events.
The 2026 LoL KeSPA CUP features 10 LCK teams: T1, Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus Kia, KT Rolster, DRX, DN Freecs, BNK FearX, Nongshim RedForce, and Hanwha BRION. The event is hosted by the Korea e-Sports Association and co-organized by the Korea e-Sports Association and the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency. Logitech G is the sponsor, and the total prize pool is 52 million won.
