SofM and GAM's Kiaya among LCP players out of contract in 2026 as Vietnam's Worlds hopes head to the US

Several of Vietnam's best-known League of Legends players could be free agents this winter. On 8 October, Sheep Esports published a list of League of Legends Championship Pacific players whose contracts end in 2026. It was compiled from Riot's LCP Global Contract Database. The names include MGN Vikings Esports' jungler SofM, four GAM Esports starters and Team Secret Whales' Bie. The list comes a week before the region's two Vietnamese teams start their World Championship campaigns in the United States.

The Vietnamese names on the list

The list shows these players with contracts ending in 2026:

• GAM Esports: Kiaya (Trần Duy Sang), Tiphat (Nguyễn Tiến Phát), Artemis (Trần Quốc Hưng) and Hype (Trần Hữu Toàn)
• MGN Vikings Esports: Gury (Lương Hải Long), SofM (Lê Quang Duy) and Suga (Phan Bá Phúc)
• Team Secret Whales: Bie (Trần Đức Hiếu) and WarHorse (Chen Ju-Chih)

No MVK Esports players appear on the list.

For GAM, the list affects much of their core. GAM did not qualify for Worlds and recently went out of the Demacia Cup in China. That means they have a long off-season ahead, with several key decisions to make.

The rest of the LCP

The contract endings are not limited to Vietnam. Deep Cross Gaming have eight players on the list. Ground Zero Gaming, CTBC Flying Oyster and Detonation FocusMe have seven each, and Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS gaming have five. The list only covers players, not coaches or staff.

The off-season may start later for some teams. Ground Zero Gaming and Detonation FocusMe must play in the LCP Promotion Tournament from 10 to 13 November to keep their places in the league. Some roster decisions may wait until after that result.

Sheep Esports published similar lists for the LCK, LCS and CBLOL around the same time. That suggests a busy transfer window across all major regions after Worlds.

Vietnam's two teams at Worlds 2026

Before any transfers, there is still a world championship to play. Team Secret Whales are the LCP's top seed after winning all three LCP splits in 2026, the first roster to do that. The team was formed from the merger of Team Secret and Team Whales in late 2024. They placed 12th to 14th at Worlds 2025 and fifth to sixth at MSI 2026, where they beat Top Esports. As a top seed, they go straight to the Swiss stage, which runs from 24 October to 1 November in Allen, Texas.

MVK Esports start earlier, in the Play-In stage at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles from 16 to 19 October. The Play-In is double elimination, with best-of-five series, and only one of the four teams goes through to the Swiss stage. MVK's opponents are Karmine Corp, Cloud9 Kia and the second seed from Brazil's CBLOL. That last place will be decided by the CBLOL finals on 10 October.

Los Angeles is 15 hours behind Malaysia, so Play-In games played in the afternoon there will be on early in the morning here. The grand final is at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and falls in the early hours of Sunday, 15 November in Malaysia. Riot's Pick'Em predictions open on 10 October.

Key takeaways

• A Sheep Esports list from Riot's LCP contract database shows SofM, Kiaya, Tiphat, Artemis, Hype and Bie with deals ending in 2026.
• Four GAM Esports starters are out of contract after a season without a Worlds place.
• Ground Zero Gaming and Detonation FocusMe face the LCP Promotion Tournament from 10 to 13 November.
• Team Secret Whales start Worlds in the Swiss stage, and MVK begin in the Play-In on 16 October.

FAQ

Is SofM a free agent? Not yet. His contract with MGN Vikings Esports is listed as ending in 2026. He becomes a free agent only when the off-season opens and the contract expires.

When do Vietnamese teams play at Worlds 2026? MVK Esports play in the Play-In from 16 to 19 October in Los Angeles. Team Secret Whales join the Swiss stage, which starts on 24 October in Allen, Texas.

What is the LCP Global Contract Database? It is Riot's public record of player contracts in the LCP. Teams and media use it to see when each player's deal ends.

Sources: Sheep Esports, Inven Global, Gamemeca, Crypto Briefing