Outright
Pick the winner of the event before or during it. In a double-elimination playoff the favourite needs two series losses to go out.
So what: bigger payout but a bigger margin, and your stake is locked until the trophy is lifted.
Tournament · League of Legends
LCS betting: the 2026 season, playoff odds and every summer champion
The LCS is Riot Games' top League of Legends league for North America. It returned in 2026 after one season as the north conference of the LTA, with eight teams and three splits: Lock-In, Spring and Summer. Team Liquid Alienware won the Summer playoffs on 4 October 2026, with LYON second, and both go to Worlds; Cloud9 KIA starts Worlds in the play-in.
Below: what the 2026 results tell a bettor, how outright odds work in a double-elimination playoff and every summer champion since 2013.
8 teams, 3 splits
3 teams at Worlds 2026
18+ only
By
Liam Fletcher
Updated Oct 6, 2026
- 2026 Summer
- Team Liquid LYON runner-up
- 2026 Spring
- LYON Team Liquid runner-up
- 2026 Lock-In
- LYON Cloud9 KIA runner-up
- Teams
- 8 franchised league
- Most split titles
- TSM · 7 2013–2020
Liquipedia: LCS 2026 Summer; Wikipedia: League Championship Series (esports), seasons table.
Short answer
How do you bet on the LCS?
Every LCS series has a match-winner market, and most bookmakers add map handicaps, total maps and kill or objective props. Regular-season series are best-of-three; the playoffs are double elimination, so a favourite that drops one series can still win the split through the lower bracket. Outright odds on the split winner reward patience but tie up your stake for weeks.
Teams
8
North America
Splits
3
Lock-In, Spring, Summer
Regular season
BO3
Spring and Summer
Playoffs
Double elim.
a second chance for favourites
2026 season
LCS 2026 results by split
LYON reached all three 2026 finals and won two of them. Team Liquid won the split that counted most, Summer, which decides the top Worlds seeds.
| Split | Champion | Runner-up | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lock-In | LYON | Cloud9 KIA | Cloud9 KIA top seed (6–1) |
| Spring | LYON | Team Liquid Alienware | Cloud9 KIA top seed (7–0) |
| Summer | Team Liquid Alienware | LYON | Final weekend at Gas South Arena, Duluth |
Liquipedia: LCS 2026 Summer; Wikipedia: League Championship Series (esports), seasons table.
Outright vs match
Three ways to bet on the LCS
Match winner
Pick the winner of one series. Regular-season series are best-of-three, so the better team wins more often than in a single game.
So what: the lowest margin on most books, and you can react to form, patches and roster news.
Specials and props
Total maps, first blood, first dragon or baron, and kill handicaps on single maps.
So what: thin markets with wide margins; compare two or three books before you bet.
Odds through the bracket Example odds
How outright odds shrink as a team advances
A worked example: a team with a 60% chance in every series and an example outright overround of 25%. It shows a straight knockout path.
Quarter-final
4.63
fair odds · 3 series to win
3.70
example book odds
Semi-final
2.78
fair odds · 2 series to win
2.22
example book odds
Final
1.67
fair odds · 1 series to win
1.33
example book odds
Champion
Won
title chance 100%
How it is worked out
Title chance = chance per series to the power of the series still to win. With 3 series left the chance is 21.6%, fair odds 4.63. Each series win removes one factor.
What it means: a price of 3.70 before the playoffs only pays if the team wins every series, so compare it with backing the team series by series.
The LCS playoffs are double elimination. A favourite that loses once drops to the lower bracket and needs more series to win, which lowers its title chance but does not end it.
Worked example, not a forecast. Book odds = fair odds ÷ (1 + overround).
Example odds Example odds
What a LCS split outright market looks like
Example odds, not live prices. The sum of the implied probabilities shows the bookmaker's margin.
| Team | Example odds | Implied | Fair odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Liquid Alienware | 3.40 | 29.4% | 3.87 |
| LYON | 3.60 | 27.8% | 4.10 |
| Cloud9 KIA | 4.33 | 23.1% | 4.93 |
| FlyQuest | 7.00 | 14.3% | 7.97 |
| Shopify Rebellion | 11.00 | 9.1% | 12.52 |
| Sentinels | 21.00 | 4.8% | 23.90 |
| Dignitas | 34.00 | 2.9% | 38.69 |
| Disguised | 41.00 | 2.4% | 46.66 |
| Sum | 113.8% | margin 12.1% |
Reading an outright market
Add up 1 ÷ odds for every runner. Here the sum is 113.8%, so the book keeps about 12.1% of outright stakes on average.
What it means: outrights suit a strong view on one team. The names show how the table works; they are not predictions. The eight teams are the 2026 Summer field.
Example odds set by esportranker. Not live, not a forecast.
Past winners
Every LCS summer champion
TSM won four of the first eight summer finals; since 2018 no team has won summer twice in a row except Team Liquid. There was no LCS in 2025, when the league played as LTA North.
| Year | City | Champion | Runner-up | Final | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Team Liquid Alienware | LYON | |||
| 2024 | FlyQuest | Team Liquid | |||
| 2023 | NRG | Cloud9 | |||
| 2022 | Cloud9 | 100 Thieves | |||
| 2021 | 100 Thieves | Team Liquid | |||
| 2020 | Team SoloMid | FlyQuest | |||
| 2019 | Team Liquid | Cloud9 | |||
| 2018 | Team Liquid | Cloud9 | |||
| 2017 | Team SoloMid | Immortals | |||
| 2016 | Team SoloMid | Cloud9 | |||
| 2015 | Counter Logic Gaming | Team SoloMid | |||
| 2014 | Team SoloMid | Cloud9 | |||
| 2013 | Cloud9 | Team SoloMid |
Wikipedia: League Championship Series (esports), seasons table; 2026: Liquipedia, LCS 2026 Summer.
LCS betting FAQ
Who won the LCS in 2026?
LYON won the Lock-In and Spring splits. Team Liquid Alienware won the Summer playoffs, which ended on 4 October 2026, with LYON second.
Which LCS teams play Worlds 2026?
Team Liquid Alienware and LYON start in the Swiss stage; Cloud9 KIA, third in Summer, starts in the play-in. See our Worlds betting page.
Why was there no LCS in 2025?
In 2025 Riot merged the LCS with Brazil's CBLOL and Latin America's LLA into one league, the LTA. Riot brought the LCS back as its own league for 2026.
Can I bet on single maps in an LCS series?
Yes, most bookmakers that cover the LCS offer map-winner markets, map handicaps and total maps alongside the series winner.
What does double elimination mean for my bet?
A team must lose two series to be knocked out. An outright on a favourite is safer than in single elimination, but a team that falls to the lower bracket needs extra series wins, so its odds drift.
Do patches matter for LCS betting?
Yes. A new patch can change which champions and team styles are strong, and results from before a patch tell you less after it. Check the patch notes before backing a team on recent form alone.
Where can I compare LoL bookmakers?
Our League of Legends betting page ranks the bookmakers for LoL. Betting is 18+ and the rules depend on your country.
Responsible gambling
Bet only if you are 18+ and it stays fun
Esports betting attracts a younger audience than most sports. These rules apply on every page of this site.
Esports fans are young
Licensed bookmakers check age and ID before you can withdraw. If you are under 18, this site is for information, not for betting.
Our responsible gaming policySet a limit first
Decide what a month of betting may cost before you deposit, and use the deposit limits your bookmaker offers. Outright bets lock money up for weeks, so count them in that budget.
Gambling addiction helpFree help in any country
Gambling Therapy offers free, confidential support by chat and in forums, in several languages, wherever you live.
Gambling TherapyOther tournaments