As Korea’s Spring Split equivalent, the LCK Rounds 1-2 and Road to MSI 2026 is one of the most important League of Legends tournaments worldwide. Our LCK Rounds 1-2 preview includes everything you need to know about the tournament, including its format, dates, teams, and odds.
South Korea’s Spring tournament will go on for two and a half months. Rounds 1 and 2 make way for Road to MSI, after which the two best teams will play for the LCK at the Mid-Season Invitational 2026 in June and July.
In this article, find our predictions about which teams we think will do well at the event. Will Gen.G steamroll every opponent again, or did the loss to G2 Esports show other candidates the way to beat them?
| Event | LCK Rounds 1-2 2026 / Road to MSI 2026 |
|---|---|
| Start Date | April 1, 2026 |
| End Date | June 14, 2026 |
| Rewards | Top 2 teams qualify for MSI 2026 Top team qualifies for EWC 2026 Top 5 teams are seeded into the Legend group for Rounds 3-4 |
| Teams | 10 Teams |
| Venue | LoL PARK – LCK Arena, Seoul |
The LCK Spring Split will run for 10 weeks, over two stages.
Road to MSI qualifies the teams for the Mid-Season Invitational but does not crown a champion for the split. Afterwards, Rounds 3-4 will keep going from the teams’ current scores without resetting them.
The LCK Rounds 1-2 retains the same 10 teams. This will be the single split where they all play in the same group. It’s important to be well-informed of the participants when betting on LoL esports. The 10 teams competing are:
For more on these teams, read up on their rosters there.
| Team | Odds to win |
|---|---|
| Gen.G | 1.9 |
| T1 | 5 |
| Hanwha Life Esports | 7 |
| BNK FearX | 10 |
| Dplus KIA | 13 |
| DN SOOPers | 24 |
| Nongshim RedForce | 26 |
| KT Rolster | 31 |
| Kiwoom DRX | 34 |
| HANJIN BRION | 51 |
Odds as of March 27 on GG.BET.
Here are our predictions for the LCK Rounds 1-2. The LCK Cup brought many surprises, and so did First Stand. With most teams having a break since then, the rosters will be more accustomed to playing together. Because of that, Rounds 1-2 should not repeat the upsets of the LCK Cup.
Gen.G went through the LCK Cup without losing a match, and with only two game losses. However, coming into First Stand, their streak was broken, and by G2 Esports of all teams. It seems like the weakness of “the best team in the world 11 out of 12 months” isn’t Worlds, but rather single-elimination formats.
Despite their shocking loss at First Stand, Gen.G remains the favorite to win the LCK Rounds 1-2. Image source: Cesar Galeao / Riot Games
Luckily for them, there is no single-elimination in the LCK. No “high-stakes with a single chance” games. Gen.G will be back to dominate the LCK and claim first place as always. No team seems capable of standing up to them.
Everyone expected either T1 or HLE to finish in second place in the LCK Versus. However, after also having an undefeated regular season, they lost both of their playoff matches. Falling to BFX and DK, T1’s run ended short.
T1 is a team that ramps up over the season, though. The six-time world champions will always show up at some point, the question is when. Doubtless that they’ll fare better in Rounds 1-2 with the extra time to find their identity. “Better”, while the starting point is a team that went 5-0 in the Cup’s group stage.
Will T1 rise again in the LCK Rounds 1-2? Image source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games
Gen.G, T1, and HLE are the eternal top 3 of the LCK. Yet, they finished last in the LCK Cup. In practice, this is due to the weird format of this tournament, and they had a better score than several of their competitors.
Still, HLE vastly underperformed when compared to their expectations. The 2025 iteration was a superteam, and then they picked up Gumayusi of all players. HLE will most likely pick up the pace come Rounds 1-2.
The real question is whether they’ll place above T1. Winter results should say no, but this one is a risky bet.
Featured image source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games
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