LCS Spring Split 2026 playoffs betting preview: Odds and favorites

LoL Contributor

Publish Date: May 22, 2026

LCS Spring Split Playoffs Preview: Cloud9

The LCS Spring Split regular season has come to an end. Disguised and Dignitas are out, while the other six teams advance to the LCS playoffs.

Once again, Cloud9 is on top of the regular season standings. Will they finally win a split, or will LYON take the title from them once more? The two finalists will represent North America at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, and the winner will also claim the region’s first seed at the Esports World Cup.

LCS Spring Split 2026 playoffs odds

Team	Odds
Cloud9	2.50
LYON	2.90
Team Liquid	3.80
FlyQuest	7.00
Sentinels	17.00
Shopify Rebellion	30.00

Odds courtesy of Stake.com, on May 19, 3am CEST.

Six playoffs teams remaining

The LCS Spring 2026 playoffs teams (with regular season wins-losses) are:

1. Cloud9 (7-0)
2. LYON (5-2)
3. Team Liquid (5-2)
4. FlyQuest (4-3)
5. Sentinels (3-4)
6. Shopify Rebellion (2-5)

Playoffs schedule and first matches

May 23: Round 1 upper bracket match 1 (C9 vs FLY)
May 24: Round 1 upper bracket match 2 (LYON vs TLAW)
May 30: Round 1 lower bracket match 1
May 31: Round 1 lower bracket match 2
June 6: Round 2 upper bracket (First MSI qualification match)
June 7: Round 2 lower bracket
June 13: Lower bracket finals (Second MSI qualification match)
June 14: Grand finals

The LCS Spring Split Playoffs bracket. Image Source: Riot Games

Playoffs format

The LCS Spring Split playoffs is a double-elimination bracket among the remaining six teams.
The top four teams start in the upper bracket, the remaining two in the lower bracket.
All matches are Best of 5s, and the first three weeks will be played in the LCS Arena in Los Angeles. The lower and grand finals will take place in the Mullett Arena in Arizona.

The two finalists will represent North America at the Mid-Season Invitational 2026, starting June 28 in Daejeon, South Korea. The winner will also play in the Esports World Cup from July 15.

LCS Spring Split playoffs: Who are the favorites?

Logically, Cloud9 should be an obvious favorite to win the LCS. Going 7-0 as the second team to ever finish a (long) regular season undefeated, it would only make sense that they would then go on to win the title.

However, this is C9’s third consecutive year of consistently topping the standings during the round robin. In spite of that, they haven’t won a single one of those six splits. While Spring 2026 has been their best thus far, there’s no telling if it’ll be enough to convert into a championship victory.

Cloud9’s competition

Against them, the best contender is LYON. For the second split in a row, they haven’t had a particularly impressive regular season. LYON has done great and finished second, but second is below what they should be aiming for.

This is a team that levels up during the playoffs, though. In the LCS Lock-in, the LYON that showed up during the knockout stage was much better than the Swiss stage’s. Kacper “Inspired” Słoma always demonstrates why he is the MVP of the league. On top of that, the fact that they’re now playing with a six-man roster will empower them in Bo5s.

LYON is the strongest candidate to beat Cloud9 in the LCS Spring Split playoffs. Image Source: Heaven Wolf / Riot Games

Below them come both Team Liquid and FlyQuest. TLAW showed great potential, but their inability to win against either Cloud9 or LYON doesn’t bode well. Liquid still shows the same demons that hold them back.

Showing a strongly different story, FLY came in with little expectations, but improves week after week. While they’re still below C9 and LYON in Bo5s, they’ll be the team to look at for upsets.

In short:

C9 isn’t a clear favorite despite their undefeated split, LYON is just as likely to win.
TLAW and FLY round out the top four, able to upset but with little odds to finish first.

Featured image source: Shannon Cottrell / Riot Games