Riot Games has unveiled a new competitive initiative designed to foster cross-regional rivalry and player development between North America’s LCS (League Championship Series) and CBLOL (Brazilian League of Legends Championship): The Americas Cup, a new tournament scheduled for the week before the First Stand international event, will see the second- and third-place teams from the previous LCS and CBLOL splits face off at the Riot Games Arena in São Paulo.

The five-day event, featuring both Best-of-Three and Best-of-Five series, is intended to spark early-season rivalry in front of a live audience. The third-place LCS team from Spring season, the second- and third-place CBLOL teams, and the Americas Cup winner will all receive funded bootcamps in Korea during the MSI (Mid-Season Invitational) period. If a team qualifies through multiple paths, the extra slot will be awarded to their league.

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“This Americas-focused approach is a key part of strengthening regional competitiveness and growing fandom across leagues,” stated Riot Games in the announcement. The company added that “feedback from teams and fans will continue to guide how the program evolves.”

The announcement also detailed the three splits format for the 2026 LCS season, bringing it in line with the LEC (League of Legends EMEA Championship). The season begins with the LCS Lock-In Tournament in January, where the winner qualifies for the First Stand event in Brazil. The subsequent Spring Split will qualify its top two teams to MSI in Daejeon, South Korea, while the Summer Split will send three teams to the World Championship (Worlds) in North America.

Furthermore, Riot outlined plans to connect more with local fans by hosting more events outside of its Los Angeles base. The strategy involves rebalancing operations to use the FaceOff studio for some broadcast days, thereby redirecting resources to support regional roadshow events, a tactic successfully employed by other major leagues like the LEC. Opening weekends and playoffs will remain in Los Angeles, but the goal is to “bring the LCS to fans in more cities, more often.”

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