Riot Have Taken Split Prize Pools Out of Three Major Leagues and the Pacific League Kept Its Own Model
The 2026 financial overhaul removed split prize money from the LEC, LCK and LCS while leaving international events untouched.
Riot's January announcement of a financial overhaul for 2026 removed split prize pools from the LEC, LCK and LCS. Regional splits in those three leagues now pay nothing directly to the teams that win them.
Two leagues were left alone. The LCP and CBLOL keep their existing partnership and funding models. International events are untouched: First Stand, MSI and Worlds all retain their prize pools.
That makes the LCP an unusual case. It is the Pacific league, and its 2026 field is three Vietnamese organisations, three Taiwanese and two Japanese, with CTBC Flying Oyster, GAM Esports and SoftBank Hawks among the partner teams. It was also the first region to finish qualification for Worlds, between 22 and 29 August, sending Team Secret Whales, MVK Esports and CTBC Flying Oyster.
Team Secret Whales won all three LCP splits in 2026 for their third league title.
On the ticketing side, Riot ran a second Worlds sales wave opening at eight in the morning Pacific time on 1 September, with eligibility confirmations sent the previous day and a 24-hour purchase window. Unlike the first wave, every eligible registrant entered the queue rather than being randomly selected.