December 13th was a historic day in the history of Tetris as Fehmi Atalar from Turkey lifted the 2025 Red Bull Tetris World Final trophy in Dubai.

With the Final taking place at the Dubai Frame, the esports event featured over 60 National Finalists from across the world, with Peru’s Leo Solórzano and Atalar advancing to the Grand Final.

The 19-year-old Tetris player posted an impressive score of 168,566, which was more than double the target set by Solórzano. However, the Turkish representative’s journey to becoming world champion wasn’t without a series of twists and turns.

Atalar booked his ticket to Red Bull Tetris Dubai by winning the 16-player National Final in Turkey.

As a result, the player earned a direct bye to the Round of 32 in the Semi-finals. The player did not just win every single best-of-three series on his path to the Grand Final, but completed the run without dropping a single match.

Talking to Esports Insider about his journey, Fehmi Atalar said: “I just played [Tetris] casually, and when I saw this opportunity, I just said, ‘OK, let’s do this’, and I just went to the Qualifiers, the National Finals and the World Finals.

“I just dominated all of them without giving a single point, which is a crazy run, I must say. And in the end, I just feel very happy about it.”

The final showdown began with both players competing in a three-minute pre-final match, with the winner determining the playing order. After winning the opener, Atalar chose to go second on the Dubai Frame, which acted as a playing field for the event.

In the best-of-one Grand Final, both players were given five minutes each, and the goal was to score the highest total within the time limit. 

Adding to the intensity, no power-ups or multipliers were available during the decider match, making the battle even more competitive, especially as both players were competing using drones for the first time ever.

Solórzano took a measured approach from the start, carefully placing blocks while adjusting to the 150-metre-high screen formed by 1,400 drones for each player. After completing the full five minutes of play, he put 57,164 on the board through a number of T-spins, before handing over the controller to the opponent. 

Playing second on the frame allowed Atalar to plan his moves around the target score, and his confidence was evident from the beginning. The Turkish player showcased exceptional speed, though it resulted in multiple misplacements before reaching the one-minute mark, almost costing him the entire game.

As he was about to hit the top of the board, it was his remarkable adaptability that brought him back into contention. Atalar recovered quickly, clearing the majority of lines within the next minute. In the end, it was his sharp decision-making that helped him surpass the score set by Solórzano with more than two minutes still on the clock.

“I was actually surprised that I got out of that,” Atalar told Esports Insider after winning the tournament despite a series of misplacements. “To be honest, I can say I was kind of lucky because of the system, being actually blessed.”

He then added: “Other than that, I stayed calm and just thought about the best way possible to get out of it. I mean, even I was surprised when I misdropped like three or four times in a row, but after that I just got the flow with the controller and with the gameplay itself, I just went with it, and we are here right now.”

Once Atalar had effectively sealed the victory, he increased the pace to close out the Grand Final with a score of 168,566, lifting the trophy and also winning a three-day all-inclusive Dubai trip.

Red Bull, an energy drink brand that has embraced esports through its unique events, also made history with arguably one of the most iconic Tetris tournaments ever held.

The energy drink/ esports tournament organiser brought together the world’s best players to showcase their reflexes live on drones for the very first time, creating a real-life canvas for the game to be played on.

Editor’s Note: Esports Insider was invited to the event on behalf of Red Bull. This included travel and accommodation. Esports Insider has full editorial control of the content. 

Vietnam has secured a gold medal in the SEA Games 2025 after a dominant performance in the Arena of Valor women’s event.

The 33rd SEA Games, taking place right now in Thailand, features esports as a medal category for the fourth consecutive edition.

Vietnam entered the women’s tournament as clear favourites and never looked fazed. The team cruised through to the grand final after a dominant showing in the group stage and upper bracket final, where it didn’t drop a single game.

Vietnam carried this momentum into the grand finals as well and completed a clean 4-0 against Laos to lock in the gold medal. Three of the four maps ended before the 11-minute mark, showcasing Vietnam’s domination as it maintained constant pressure.

Game two was the only one which stretched slightly longer to around 14 minutes, but even then, Laos struggled to gain any real map control.

Laos’ presence in the gold medal match came after a significant scandal involving the home team, Thailand.

On December 15th, the Thai Esports Federation (TESF) announced that Thailand’s Warasin Naphat, had been expelled by the organising committee for using an unauthorised third-party software. She was found using this in the upper bracket grand finals against Vietnam, a match the team lost nonetheless.

Following the suspension, the Thailand women’s team withdrew from the tournament after Game 1 of the lower-bracket final.

That decision allowed Laos to get a bye into the grand final and awarded Timor-Leste the bronze medal.

For the country of Timor-Leste, this moment allowed it to earn its second overall medal so far at the 2025 SEA Games.

Esports action in Thailand is just getting underway. Notably, Arena of Valor’s men’s competition is scheduled to take place on December 18th and 19th.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is also reaching its final stages. Both the men’s and women’s Grand Finals feature the same matchup, with the Philippines set to face Malaysia in the fight for gold.

Free Fire is also part of the SEA Games line-up in 2025, and will commence on December 17th as 12 teams battle it out for the gold medal.

DreamLeague Season 27’s Group Stage has concluded, and the final eight teams have been decided for the Playoffs.

The remaining Dota 2 teams will compete for a spot in the Grand Finals, hoping to secure crucial ESL Pro Tour points and the lion’s share of a $1m (~£745,000) prize pool.

24 teams have competed in the Dota 2 tournament since December 10th, each playing six matches to earn as many wins as possible and secure a place in the Playoffs.

Only eight teams have managed to advance to the final stage of the competition:

In the Playoffs, teams will compete in a double-bracket elimination format until only two squads remain in the Grand Finals.

The Quarterfinal matches in the Playoffs are crucial as they decide which teams will compete in the Upper bracket Semi-Finals, and which rosters will be at risk of elimination in the Lower Brackets.

One of the first matches will see OG Esports face London-based organisation Tundra Esports in what could be the fiercest clash of the tournament so far. OG topped the Group Stage with 5–1 win/loss ratio, and Tundra has dominated in the Dota 2 scene in events such as the BLAST Slam series in 2025. As such, this match could go either way.

Another exciting match in the Playoffs will see Team Falcons, The International 2025 champion, face off against PARAVISION, the winners of DreamLeague Season 26. So far, PARAVISION has suffered one loss against Team Falcons, and so will be looking for revenge in the Playoffs.

The DreamLeague Season 25 champion Team Spirit will begin its Playoffs run with a match against Xtreme Gaming, one of the top teams from China. Xtreme Gaming has had a strong run in 2025, winning the Asian Champion League and FISSURE Special, and most notably placed as the runner-up of The International 2025. However, only time will tell which of the two teams will come out on top.

The last two teams facing off are Virtus.pro and Team Yandex, both of which are considered underdogs in the Playoffs. Virtus.pro’s underwhelming performance in 2025 means the team is desperate to flip the narrative ahead of the new year.

On the other hand, Team Yandex entered the Dota 2 scene back in June 2025 after signing the Cyber Goose roster, achieving varying levels of success in its first competitive year. The team has already beaten Virtus.pro before in the Group Stage, and will be looking to repeat history in the Playoffs.

Predictions are running rampant on which Dota 2 team will win DreamLeague Season 27, and there are a few favourites based on how the competition has transpired so far.

As it currently stands, OG Esports, Team Spirit, and Team Falcons are the frontrunners for reaching the Grand Finals based on the results of the Group Stage. Despite all three teams ending on a 5-1 win/loss ratio, OG Esports has displayed the strongest performance so far with a Buchholz score of 12.

The winner will be decided on December 21st, 2025, where two of the top teams from the Playoffs will compete in a best-of-five series, with the winner securing the grand prize of $200,000 (~£148,980) in prize funds and $30,000 (~£22,340) in club rewards.

Fans will be able to catch all the action live on ESL Dota 2’s official YouTube and Twitch channels.

With the 2025 League of Legends esports season ending and fans now looking at transfer news to see where players end up, it seems right to look at who were the standout players throughout the year. Many have risen to the occasion to take the year by storm, whether they be young guns aiming for the spotlight or veteran legends proving they’ve still got it.

From the legends like Faker, to the best rookies, like HongQ, we’re looking across all the League of Legends regions and determining the best players in each of the five LoL roles. 

These LoL roles are as follows:

Plenty have shone throughout the year, and some have done so in the most important matches of the season, like Gumayusi’s MVP performance at LoL Worlds. But for the best in 2025, consistency is key. It isn’t just about one or two good performances; it’s about who can show up week in and week out.

Of course, individual accolades will be taken into consideration, like MVP and seasonal awards, although we will also note team trophies. The best players play on the best teams and are often favourites to win the biggest prizes in League of Legends esports.

When people name the best top laners, names like TheShy and Kingen will come up as all-timers, but when looking at the 2025 season, it’s tough to look past Zeus of Hanwha Life. While some could argue that Zeus isn’t the most consistent, when he’s at his best, there isn’t anyone with a higher skill ceiling in the world. When it comes to talent, no one matches Zeus.

For those who prefer consistency, Kiin of Gen.G is the cream of the crop. Bin is another of the best League of Legends players in the top lane, playing for Bilibili Gaming. These two, along with Zeus, form the top three for this lane. We have chosen Zeus as the best in the role for his immense skill ceiling and versatile champion pool. 

It’s impossible not to mention Faker when talking about the best mid laner in LoL, but while he is the most recognisable name, 2025 belongs to Chovy of Gen.G. He won Player of the Year at the League Awards, having been part of the Gen.G side that dominated domestically and internationally. Aside from not winning League of Legends Worlds, Chovy’s 2025 season has been perfect.

He was the MVP of MSI 2025, had the most player of the match awards in the LCK, and was that season’s Regular Round MVP. Despite all the trophies Gen.G won, Chovy has practically matched that with his individual awards. HongQ, who played for CTBC Flying Oyster in 2025, also deserves a mention in the mid lane, earning Rookie, Finals MVP, and Player of the Year for the LCP. At 18, he has the potential to sit at the table with players like Choovy and Faker one day.

Jungle is arguably the hottest contested role when it comes to deciding who is best. Oner of T1, Kanavi of Hanwha Life, and Tarzan of Anyone’s Legend could all be contenders for the crown. But we have chosen Tarzan, who won a myriad individual awards in the LPL, from being the Split 2 Finals MVP to being named to the 1st All-Pro Team in Split 1.

Tarzan is best known for his strong game sense that has made him one of the best in his role, even if Oner, like the rest of T1, showed up in a big way at the League of Legends World Championship. While we have chosen Tarzan as the best Jungle player in LoL 2025, Oner and Kanavi are at a similar level.

Despite his Finals MVP award at LoL Worlds, we haven’t chosen Gumayusi, although he is probably the hottest name in the ADC role. He struggled to stay in and out of the team in early 2025, while Ruler of Gen.G has been insurmountable. Gen.G, in general, has dominated practically everything but Worlds, and Ruler has been a big reason why.

After transferring from JD Gaming to Gen.G Esports, he won the LCK 2025 Season, MSI, and the Esports World Cup, and was the LCK Finals MVP. This has primarily been down to his high mechanical skill and genius positioning. It’s hard enough to stand out in a team as stacked as Gen.G, but Ruler has managed to do so by being one of the best LoL players. 

Mata will likely go down as the best support player League has ever seen, and as the coach of T1, it seems his wisdom has rubbed off on Keira, who has been consistent in 2025 but really showed off what he could do at Worlds. His strategic play was vital to T1’s historic LoL Worlds hattrick, and he always seems to show up whenever there’s a League Worlds around the corner.

The other option for the best support player in LoL is Luo ‘ON’ Wen-Jun of Bilibili Gaming, who managed a whopping 14 MVP awards in the LPL during the 2025 season. But Keria managed a greater trophy haul with Worlds, despite a lacklustre domestic campaign, at least by T1 standards, and Mata’s coaching will only serve to make Keria one of the best League of Legends players around.

The best players in every League of Legends role tend to be debatable, depending on what is valued most, but these are our picks for who reigns supreme going into the 2026 season. Still, the subjective nature is what makes the LoL esports scene so dramatic and competitive. 

The best are continually challenged and constantly have to prove why they’re at the top of their game. Rookies are always looking to usurp those at the top, with talent seemingly coming through all the time, but the best are the cream of the crop for a reason, whether that be because of talent, decision-making, or sheer consistency.  

Esports tournament organiser PGL has partnered with gaming furniture manufacturer Secretlab for the 2026 season.

As part of the deal, the manufacturer will provide on-stage and practice setups across all of PGL’s tournaments taking place over the next 12 months.

Secretlab will provide a range of items that form its On-Stage Standard collection. Launched this year, the collection helps players replicate their practice setups across various tournaments around the world.

The tournament organiser aims to provide players with ‘consistency in their environments,’ enabling them to focus on their performance without the concern of using different equipment on stage and in practice.

“This partnership is about creating the best possible environment for everyone involved our events,” said Silviu Stroie, CEO of PGL. “Players spend countless hours practising and competing, and having equipment that supports them makes a real difference.”

Secretlab becomes the second partner to support PGL’s efforts across the 2026 season. In February, the tournament organiser joined forces with 1xBet, with the online gambling company becoming the exclusive betting partner of PGL Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 events until the end of 2026.

Alongside securing new partnerships, PGL is positioning itself as one of the leading tournament organisers across several titles in 2026.

The tournament organiser is hosting four Tier 1 Counter-Strike 2 tournaments between February and October, beginning with PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026. Alongside its Tier 1 events, it is also hosting the second Major of the year in Singapore from November 25th to December 13th.

In November, PGL made several adjustments to its 2026 CS2 calendar to avoid overlaps with other high-profile events operated by rival tournament organisers.

Outside of Counter-Strike, PGL will host three Dota 2 tournaments in March, April, and November as part of its long-term commitment to Valve’s MOBA title, which sees the tournament organiser hosting events until the end of 2028.

Featuring 32 of the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams, the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 was one of the most competitive events for Valve’s first-person shooter title.

With several teams in contention to lift the trophy, the season-ending event delivered plenty of surprises, along with powerhouse rosters cementing their place at the top.

Esports Insider looks at some of the key takeaways from the StarLadder Budapest Major as attention turns towards the start of the 2026 season.

After rounding off 2025 with two Major titles and eight Tier 1 event victories, the Team Vitality era is well and truly underway.

Despite showing a few cracks in its once-impenetrable armour during the second half of the season, the French organisation has established itself as one of Counter-Strike’s greatest teams. In addition to a vast collection of trophies, the team recorded the second-longest LAN winning streak in history, scoring 30 wins between February and June.

Heading into 2026 as the team to beat, Team Vitality has withstood the pressure with incredible levels of consistency against any opponent standing in its way.

With the rise of Asia and South America, North America’s Counter-Strike scene has struggled to make an impact throughout the 2025 season.

Despite this, the region showed signs of improvement in the Hungarian capital, with M80 topping the Stage 1 standings and Passion UA almost securing a spot in the Playoffs.

M80 is already making changes ahead of 2026 with the goal to dominate the region, while Passion UA fields a strong roster that has proven its ability against multiple established names.

Despite besting TYLOO and Astralis in Stage 2, Team Liquid crashed out of the StarLadder Budapest Major in the third Stage, failing to win a single map.

Overcoming Team Spirit and The MongolZ in the opening two rounds was always going to be a struggle, but Team Liquid’s attack collapsed against Passion UA, scoring four rounds in its 2-0 defeat.

With several teams expected to make changes during the off-season, Team Liquid has a chance to inject a breath of fresh air into a roster that has struggled to find consistency over the last 12 months.

Since winning PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, MOUZ has placed no lower than the top eight over the past ten months, demonstrating its ability to compete among the very best in the world.

However, another top-eight finish and this time as a result of a 2-0 sweep against FaZe Clan, shows that the German organisation is unable to take the next step required to earn regular Grand Final appearances and outright victories.

With rumours of a roster change continuing to circulate, a new recruit could be what MOUZ requires to move forward and add more trophies next to its Cluj-Napoca title.

FaZe Clan’s eventful 2025 came to a head in Budapest and proved that the international roster can still make deep runs in Counter-Strike’s biggest tournaments.

The Red Militia came within half a second away from a Stage 1 elimination against RED Canids before dominating Stage 2 and successfully navigating its way into the Playoffs with a 3-2 record in Stage 3.

The run didn’t stop there. A 2-0 sweep of MOUZ, followed by a 2-1 victory over NAVI, secured a place in the Grand Final against Team Vitality, where the team even managed to win the opening map of the best-of-five series.

Despite the defeat, FaZe Clan has once again proven that the magic is still there and could start next year on the front foot if it can carry this Major momentum forward.

What do you get the gamer in your life? Or what do you get the friend or family member who really wants to improve their gaming setup, whether that’s for enjoyment, competitive ambitions, or because they desperately need an upgrade or replacement? Well, we’ve got some ideas, and we’re going to share them with you in this esports gifts for gamers list. 

Not every gamer likes the same gear, and not everyone needs the most expensive options available. That’s why, below, we’ll go through key items and offer some alternatives for what to pick up. We’ll run through the options for an esports mouse, keyboard, monitor, headset, and even a GPU if hardware is more important than peripherals.

Whether you’re a professional or amateur, esports gaming demands more than undoubted skill and dedication. It also requires gear that can deliver the smooth, high-quality experience you need to win. That may be a high-refresh-rate monitor or peripherals that can respond rapidly to key presses, but having the right gear is key. 

For example, professional gamers depend on their setups and will often be spotted using the same model esports keyboard competition after competition. It’s familiarity, but it’s more than that: it’s the assurance of quality that comes with specific makes and models, and that comes with a reliability that is tied to repeated game-winning plays or clutch kills. 

A crucial part of any setup for a player of competitive titles is an esports headset. Sound is critical in hearing opponent footsteps, skills, and voice cues from teammates. The wired variant of SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Pro is a top pick. This is thanks to its zero latency and ANC (active noise cancellation), which allows for a greater focus on in-game audio.

The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best gaming headsets, but it’s $280. There are more affordable alternatives: the first is the wireless Razer BlackShark V2 Pro, at $200. It offers high-quality audio, it’s regarded as very comfortable, and it has up to 70 hours of battery life. A more affordable wired option? The HyperX Cloud III can be found for under $100. 

The best gaming mouse for esports depends on the game and the player wielding it. A mouse needs to deliver the correct, timely response for movements, button presses, and potentially even allow specific mouse button binds. For competitive play, Razer’s Viper V3 Pro is renowned for its performance and 8KHz wireless polling rate, but it comes in at $160.

Our mid-range pick is also a well-known option for esports gamers, and is the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro. The V4 Pro is available, but the older V3 is still great and often costs around $100. The budget pick here is even more affordable. We’d go for the Logitech G305 Lightspeed, which is usually around $50, is lightweight, and has programmable buttons.

For games where a mouse and keyboard aren’t the best option (e.g., Rocket League), options for the best controller for PC gaming can pick up the slack. And there are far more choices than getting an Xbox controller. One of the best and our top-end pick? The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. It’s a speedy option with rapid esports switches built in for quick actions. 

For a mid-range option, we’d suggest gifting the GameSir G7 Pro. This controller costs around $80 and is a very responsive option thanks to its 1000Hz polling rate. Even more affordable is the GameSir Cyclone 2, available for $56 and a balanced option with good features, including responsive buttons and a charging stand. 

Picking keyboards may be trickier than choosing other peripherals for esports because of the various form factors available. The best gaming keyboard for esports (for example) may be the $220 Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL. As a ‘TenKeyLess’, it omits the numpad, making the keyboard smaller. But not all gaming keyboards are the same. 

Another popular option is the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini Black. This is a $180 keyboard, but it’s also a 60% esports gaming keyboard, so it lacks the numpad, F1 to F12 keys, and navigation keys like the arrows, Home, End, etc. There are also wired or wireless gaming keyboard options. The Corsair K70 CORE TKL Wireless is one option here, at $150.

Generally pricier than peripherals, the best graphics cards for esports can cost several hundred dollars. But you won’t necessarily need the top models available if you’re an esports gamer. This makes gifting one a little easier, because Full HD 1080p gaming and 2K (1440p) resolutions are far more common in esports for speed and competitiveness.

In terms of the best GPU for gaming when gifting, for big frame rates at 1440p (for the foreseeable future), Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti or AMD’s RX 9070 XT would be excellent options. Meanwhile, for super-quick Full HD 1080p resolutions, Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti cards, Intel’s Arc B580, or the AMD RX 9060 XT can offer plenty of power. 

And finally? A key part of any setup is an esports monitor. As with graphics cards, the very best (and most expensive) monitor isn’t necessary. However, a decently sized 27-inch monitor with a high refresh rate for smooth gameplay at hundreds of frames per second is essential, as is a quick response rate. 

For 1440p resolutions, a monitor like the Asus ROG Strix 27-inch XG27AQDMG will support up to 240Hz, with a super-quick 0.03ms response time. The XG27AQDMG is a superb choice at around $550. For Full HD (1080p), the $350 Alienware 25 AW2525HM supports 360Hz, or the more affordable Alienware 27 AW2725DM supports 180Hz for $280.

So there you have it. There are plenty of options for esports gifts for gamers, whether you’re buying for a friend, family member, or even treating yourself. There are plenty of expensive peripherals and bits of gear, but you also don’t necessarily need to buy the very best item to get something that will help a gamer looking for an upgrade.

The key elements to consider for esports gear are reliability, utility, and responsiveness. This list should help you focus on items that offer that, so you can pick high-quality peripherals and items that can be depended on when competitive gaming kicks up a notch. If in doubt, the best approach is always to spend on quality, rather than spending big.

China’s premier League of Legends competition, the LPL, is set to undergo a major restructuring in 2026.

The reformatted competition follows a challenging 2025 campaign for China, with LPL representatives falling short at international events and failing to win the world championship for a fourth consecutive year.

In response to these disappointing results, teams across the league are attempting to make sweeping changes yet again, including some of the 2025’s powerhouses. 

Many big names have changed teams as some organisations opted for full rebuilds. With such a major shakeup and the renewed urgency to restore China’s status on the international stage, Esports Insider has outlined all confirmed rosters ahead of the LPL 2026 season.

Editor’s note: This article will be regularly updated as additional roster moves are confirmed.

Starting off this list is Anyone’s Legend, the most consistent LPL team during the 2025 season.

After a strong season, which saw Anyone’s Legend finish in the top eight at Worlds 2025, the organisation was able to retain all five members for yet another season.

That said, the LPL 2025 Split 2 champion had to bring in a new head coach following Wong ‘Tabe’ Pak Kan’s departure. The new head coach is Kwon ‘Helper’ Yeong-jae, formerly of Gen.G, and he will be supported by Jiang ‘Teacherma’ Chen.

If there is one team that is expected to dominate the LPL in the 2026 season, it’s BiliBili Gaming.

After a disastrous end to its 2025 Worlds run, which saw the team eliminated in the Swiss Stage, BLG has had an incredible off-season. The LPL Split 3 champion has brought back jungler Peng ‘Xun’ Lixun and imported Korean ADC Park ‘Viper’ Do-Hyeon from the LCK.

With head coach Yang ‘Daeny’ Dae-in also joining, BiliBili Gaming is the undisputed biggest winner of the LPL off-season. 

While EDward Gaming is years away from the golden era when it lifted the Summoner’s Cup back in 2021, the team’s roster for the 2026 season has some potential.

Notably, top laner Zhu ‘Zdz’ De-Zhang, jungler Peng ‘Xiaohao’ Hao, support Wang ‘Parukia’ Ping-Yang, and mid laner Xiang ‘Angel’ Tao are all staying for another season. 

The team only changed one member, replacing ADC An ‘Ahn’ Shan-Ye with Hu ‘Leave’ Hong-Chao, who played for Ninjas in Pyjamas this year. With LPL Rookie of the Year Parukia alongside him, the EDG bot lane could do some damage.

As the most popular team in the LPL, many fans were wondering whether Invictus Gaming would run its 2025 roster for another year. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen, as ADC Chen ‘GALA’ Wei left and top laner Kang ‘TheShy’ Seung-lok has decided to take a temporary break from pro play. 

However, the team was able to extend the contracts for jungler Yan ‘Wei’ Yang-Wei, mid laner Song ‘Rookie’ Eun-jin, and Tian ‘Meiko’ Ye.

In the top lane, TheShy will be replaced by former BNK FearX academy player Lim ‘Soboro’ Seong-min, while the new ADC will be Ying ‘Photic’ Qi-Shen. Additionally, IG also added two extra substitute players for mid lane and support, bringing in former Anyone’s Legend academy player Zhang ‘Renard’ Xing-Che and Sun ‘Jwei’ Jun-Wei, previously of FunPlus Phoenix.

After failing to qualify for Worlds this year, JD Gaming has gone for a major rebuild in the off-season, only retaining top laner Xu ‘Xiaoxu’ Xing-Zu.

The jungle-mid duo of Peng ‘Xun’ Li-xun and Lee ‘Scout’ Ye-chan has been replaced by Yu ‘JunJia’ Chun-Chia and Tsai ‘HongQ’ Ming-Hong, after their standout year on LCP team CTBC Flying Oyster.

The new bot lane will be formed by former Invictus Gaming ADC Chen ‘GALA’ Wei and Team WE support Zhao ‘Vampire’ Zhe-Can. The biggest pickup for JDG, however, comes from the coaching staff, as the team was able to bring in Wong ‘Tabe’ Pak Kan from Anyone’s Legend. The head coach is regarded as one of the best coaches in the scene, and has consistently led LPL teams to international tournaments over the past years. 

LGD Gaming has made two changes in mid and jungle, picking up Lin ‘Tangyuan’ Yu-Hong from Royal Never Give Up and jungler Yang ‘Heng’ Cui-Heng from Oh My God (OMG).

The other three players, Yan ‘sasi’ Rui, Qiu ‘Shaoye’ Guo-Bin, and support Zhao ‘Ycx’ Wen-Hao are all staying for the 2026 LPL season. 

LNG Esports is one of the LPL teams that have opted to import Korean players to complete their line-ups. For 2026, the organisation has brought in Lee ‘BuLLDog’ Tae-young from DN Freecs in the LCK, as well as Kim ‘Croco’ Dong-beom, who played for OK BRION.

The three remaining players are top laner Xu ‘sheer’ WenJie, joining from FunPlusPhoenix, ADC Li ‘1xn’ Xiu-Nan and Lou ‘MISSING’ Yun-Feng. The latter returns to the competitive scene after taking a break from pro play, while 1xn joins from ThunderTalk Gaming.

Ninjas in Pyjamas is another team that dropped its 2025 roster and has rebuilt from scratch by using two Korean players. Top laner Yoon ‘HOYA’ Yong-ho joins after three years with ThunderTalk Gaming and will play alongside former T1 Esports Academy jungler Koo ‘Guwon’ Kwan-mo.

The other three players are Yang ‘Care’ Jie, Zou ‘Assum’ Wei, and Wang ‘Zhuo’ Xu-Zhuo. Care and Assum previously played for FunPlusPhoenix, while Zhuo had a short stint on JDG.

OMG has retained its bot lane of Lei ‘Starry’ Ming and Jeong ‘Moham’ Jae-hun and promoted jungler Xu ‘re0’ Han-Yang from the academy.

The new players joining OMG are top laner Wang ‘Hery’ He-Yong and mid laner Zhang ‘haichao’ Hai-Chao. Hery rejoins OMG after leaving in May earlier this year, while haichao played for LNG in 2025. 

Top Esports’ biggest loss during the off-season was the departure of jungler Seo ‘Kanavi’ Jin-hyeok, as he went on to join Hanwha Life Esports in the LCK. As a result, Top Esports replaced him with Yang ‘naiyou’ Zi-Jian, one of Top Esports’ former academy players who recently played for NIP. 

The rest of the roster is expected to be the same as its 2025 line-up, with Bai ‘369’ Jia-Hao, Lin ‘Creme’ Jian and Yu ‘JackeyLove’ Wen-Bo all extending contracts. Having said that, JackeyLove might sit out at the start of the season due to his worsening health conditions and might be temporarily substituted by Zi ‘JiaQi’ Jia-Qi.

The team has two supports as well. As a result, Fu ‘Hang’ Ming-Hang and Wang ‘fengyue’ Run-Lai might share some stage time in the new season.

With most of its players leaving the team, ThunderTalk Gaming has made drastic changes to its 2026 line-up. Aside from support player Wang ‘Feather’ Tian-Ci-Fu, who got retained, ThunderTalk Gaming will have four new players.

The bot lane will be filled by Chen ‘Ryan3’ Qi-Hong, promoted from ThunderTalk Gaming’s academy team, while top laner Li ‘Keshi’ Qing-Hua, jungler Luo ‘JunHao’ Jun-Hao, and mid laners Kim ‘Heru’ Min-Seong, and Shi ‘xlun’ Jia-Lun have been signed. The latter is from LNG’s academy team. Heru and Keshi played for BiliBili Gaming’s academy team in 2025, while Junhao represented Ultra Prime in the past season. 

Two new players have joined Ultra Prime for 2026, with the team retaining its mid laner Song ‘Saber’ Dai-Lin and the bot lane of Liu ‘Baiye’ Wen-Xue and Xia ‘Xiaoxia’ Jing-Yao.

The top lane will be split between Chen ‘1Jiang’ Yi-Chin and Zhang ‘Liangchen’ Liang-Chen, while the jungler will be Shi ‘luoyiyu’ Jia-Jun. Both Liangchen and luoyiyu were previously of BiliBili Gaming’s academy team.

Weibo Gaming are set to be another major contender for the upcoming season, having picked up ADC Zhao ‘Elk’ Jia-Hao from BLG, former IG and FPX jungler Zhao ‘jiejie’ Li-Jie, and LNG top laner Tang ‘Zika’ Hua Yu.

The latter is likely going to split stage time with Chen ‘Breathe‘ Chen, and the same is expected to happen in the support role between Shi ‘Erha‘ Xu-Ye and Liu ‘Crisp‘ Qing-Song.

Crisp, however, is set to take a break in the first split of the 2026 season, leaving Erha the starting player for now.

Following a strong 2025 campaign by Team WE, the team had to make two roster changes after Kim ‘Taeyoon‘ Tae-yoon went back to the LCK, and support Zhao ‘Vampire‘ Zhe-Can moved to JD Gaming.

To replace them, the organisation went with yet another pair of unexpectedsignings, ADC Moon ‘About‘ Hyeong-seok and support Bi ‘yaoyao‘ Haotian. About previously played for Gen.G’s academy team, while former ThunderTalk Gaming player yaoyao returns to competitive play after taking a hiatus in 2025.

The new LPL season will kick off sometime next month, although no starting date has been confirmed as of yet. Before that, the teams are currently competing in the Demacia Cup, featuring the LPL squads as well as two streamer teams.

The first split of the LPL 2026 season will see the top two teams represent the region at the first international tournament of the year, First Stand, which will take place in São Paulo, Brazil.