← all stories
League of Legends
League of Legends is in its 2026 season with a new champion, a Classic mode, and a weekend-only ranked queue, while its esports scene sees T1 and Faker in the news and HLE winning MSI 2026.
Synthesized from 11
Yomimono stories · updated
4d ago
Riot Games has introduced Locke, an Assassin-class demon hunter, as the only new champion of the 2026 season, arriving in patch 26.13. A Dev Update on May 28 also announced a weekend-only 5v5 ranked queue to be tested from June 27 to September 7, and changes to the Mayhem mode removing traits and adding new augments. New skin series include Sinister Shores, Wilderness, and Broken Covenant.
On July 12, Riot announced League of Legends Classic, a mode that recreates past versions of the game with old systems like Rune Pages and the Revive summoner spell, releasing July 30 in patch 26.15. Community voting will shape future updates. The mode was first teased on June 27 with a trailer showing Executive Director Paul "Pabro" Bellezza suggesting eras like the beta with 40 champions.
In esports, Hanwha Life Esports won MSI 2026 on July 13, defeating Bilibili Gaming 3-2 in the Grand Final and denying BLG a Golden Road. Zeus was named Finals MVP. T1 player Faker was appointed an honorary police officer by the Korean National Police Agency on July 22, serving as a public relations ambassador for a youth cyber gambling self-reporting system. Asus Japan announced limited-edition T1 graphics cards on July 23, featuring player designs and releasing July 24. The Philippine Department of Education includes League of Legends as a recommended teaching material in its Grade 10 esports and digital literacy unit. Twitch's Summer Drops Fest 2026, running June 16 to August 7, offers in-game rewards for League of Legends among over 40 titles. FENNEL's MayR was selected for the Japan national team in the Esports Nations Cup 2026 League of Legends division. The LTK Season: Pandemonium playoffs, a streamer tournament with a three-tier format, began June 20.
Key facts
- New champion Locke revealed
- Locke, an Assassin-class demon hunter, is the only new champion of the 2026 season, arriving in patch 26.13. ↗
- League of Legends Classic release date
- League of Legends Classic releases July 30 in patch 26.15, featuring old systems like Rune Pages and the Revive summoner spell. ↗
- Weekend-only 5v5 ranked queue announced
- A weekend-only 5v5 ranked queue will be tested from June 27 to September 7. ↗
- MSI 2026 winner
- Hanwha Life Esports defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-2 to win MSI 2026, with Zeus named Finals MVP. ↗
- Faker appointed honorary police officer
- Faker was appointed an honorary police officer by the Korean National Police Agency on July 22, 2026, as a public relations ambassador for a youth cyber gambling self-reporting system. ↗
- Asus Japan T1 graphics cards
- Asus Japan announced limited-edition T1 graphics cards, models T1-RTX5070-O12G-GAMING and T1-RTX5060TI-O8G-GAMING, releasing July 24, 2026. ↗
- Philippine curriculum includes League of Legends
- The Philippine Department of Education's MATATAG Curriculum includes League of Legends as a recommended teaching material for a Grade 10 esports and digital literacy unit. ↗
- Twitch Summer Drops Fest 2026 includes League of Legends
- Twitch Summer Drops Fest 2026, running June 16 to August 7, offers in-game rewards for League of Legends among over 40 titles. ↗
Timeline
- Jul 23, 2026 Asus Japan Announces T1 Collaboration Graphics Cards With Player Designs
- Jul 23, 2026 Faker Appointed Honorary Police Officer by Korean National Police Agency
- Jul 17, 2026 Twitch Summer Drops Fest 2026 Brings Rewards for Over 40 Titles
- Jul 13, 2026 HLE Wins MSI 2026 in Five-Game Thriller, Denies BLG Golden Road
- Jul 12, 2026 Riot Games Announces League of Legends Classic Release Date
- Jul 4, 2026 Philippine Curriculum Includes Valorant and League of Legends as Teaching Materials
- Jun 27, 2026 Riot Games Announces League of Legends Classic Mode
- Jun 21, 2026 FENNEL's MayR Selected for Japan National Team at Esports Nations Cup 2026
- Jun 18, 2026 LTK Season: Pandemonium Playoffs Bring a Three-Tier Format to League of Legends
- Jun 9, 2026 Riot Games Reveals New League of Legends Champion Locke in Cinematic
- May 29, 2026 League of Legends Dev Update Reveals New Champion Lock, Weekend-Only 5v5 Ranked Queue
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Noted
- Partnering with games like League of Legends · 2026-07-17
- Release
- short_film · 2026-06-09 · 2026-06-09
- Release
- game · patch 26.13 · 2026-05-29
- Announced
- new champion Locke · 2026-06-09
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/league-of-legends.
CC BY 4.0.
Claim activity
When a claim about League of Legends was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against
open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
- Confirmed game patch 26.13 May 31 · source
- Disputed game patch 26.13 May 30 · source
All coverage
4d ago
Asus Japan has announced two limited-edition graphics card models in collaboration with T1, the League of Legends world champion esports team. The cards, named T1-RTX5070-O12G-GAMING and T1-RTX5060TI-O8G-GAMING, are based on Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 Ti GPUs, respectively. Both models feature silk-screen prints of T1 players on the card, with the T1 logo on the front and back. Each card also includes limited T1 collaboration stickers and magnets. For cooling, the cards use three Axial-tech fans with dual ball bearings, which the company says provide up to 23% more airflow than standard fans and have up to twice the lifespan of sleeve bearing designs. The cards will be released in limited quantities starting July 24, 2026. The announcement comes from Asus Japan and covers two SKUs, one for each GPU tier. No pricing information was provided in the announcement.
5d ago
On July 22, 2026, Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker, the professional League of Legends player for T1, was appointed as an honorary police officer by the Korean National Police Agency and as a public relations ambassador for the Cyber Gambling Self-Reporting System targeting youth. Faker appeared at the event in a police uniform with a name tag reading "Faker" and was given the rank of Senior Patrol Officer. The appointment aims to leverage Faker's influence among young people to promote awareness of the self-reporting system, which was implemented in May 2025 to address the serious problem of youth addiction to online gambling. At the press conference, Faker said he felt honored and a great sense of responsibility, and expressed willingness to actively participate in activities as a public relations ambassador. The appointment comes during a busy period for Faker and T1, who recently competed in MSI 2026 and the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, with the LCK Split 3 starting July 29.
Jul 17
Twitch is running the large-scale Drops event 'Twitch Summer Drops Fest 2026' from June 16 to August 7, 2026, featuring over 40 titles. Partnering with games like League of Legends, Street Fighter 6, Marvel Rivals, ARC Raiders, Fortnite, and Overwatch, the event offers limited-time in-game items and Twitch chat badges. Rewards are obtained by watching eligible streams or subscribing to designated channels. Account linking is required for each game.
Jul 13
Hanwha Life Esports defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-2 in the MSI 2026 Grand Final, winning their first MSI title on home soil. BLG entered the final undefeated and chasing a Golden Road of all major titles in a single season, but fell short in a five-game series. Zeus was named Finals MVP.
Jul 12
Riot Games will release League of Legends Classic on July 30, letting players experience the game with old systems like Rune Pages and the Revive summoner spell. The mode arrives in patch 26.15 and includes community voting on future updates.
Jul 4
The Philippine Department of Education's MATATAG Curriculum includes a Grade 10 unit on esports and digital literacy. Recommended materials include Valorant, League of Legends, Minecraft, and Tekken. Students will learn competitive gaming skills, event organization, and online etiquette. The curriculum is being phased in from 2024, with full implementation by 2028.
Jun 27
Riot Games announced League of Legends Classic, a new game mode that recreates past versions of the MOBA, on June 27. A trailer shows Executive Director Paul "Pabro" Bellezza suggesting eras like the beta with 40 champions or the time of the Heart of Gold item. Details will come at the MSI finals on July 11.
Jun 21
MayR, a member of FENNEL's League of Legends division, has been selected for the Japan national roster in the League of Legends division of the Esports Nations Cup 2026. He is the only FENNEL player on the team. Japan will compete in the Asian qualifiers starting June 19, aiming for a spot in the main tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this November.
Jun 18
The offline playoffs for the streamer tournament LTK Season: Pandemonium start June 20 at TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO. Four teams of 15 players each compete in a three-tier system (MASTERS, NEXT, CORE) with a special BO4 point system that rewards strategic tier deployment. Dahlia Diadem enters as the top seed, but the format makes raw strength secondary to tactical choices.
Jun 9
Riot Games released a cinematic on June 9, 2026, introducing Locke, a demon hunter who wields stakes and has a history with Vayne. Locke is an Assassin-class champion arriving in patch 26.13, the only new champion planned for the 2026 season.
May 29
Riot Games released a Dev Update on May 28 for League of Legends Season 2 Act 2. The new assassin champion Lock arrives in patch 26.13. A weekend-only 5v5 ranked queue will be tested from June 27 to September 7. The Mayhem mode is removing traits and adding new augments like Multi-Shot. New skin series include Sinister Shores, Wilderness, and Broken Covenant.