League of Legends Worlds 2026 is in full swing, and fans from all over the world are watching their teams compete for the most important trophy of the year. This, however, is a special year for Western fans, who have started believing in their regions again after a seven-year-long drought of results.
2019 was the last time both European and North American fans had hope of achieving something important, something that had almost never been achieved before: an international trophy. G2 did it: in 2019, they took down Team Liquid in the MSI Grand Final and gave their region the trophy it had been chasing for years. But after the Worlds final against FPX, everything changed, and the West fell into a long silence.
This year, however, a star started shining in the sky as a sign of hope, and faith has come back into everyone’s hearts. G2 and LYON achieved amazing results this year: the European team took down teams of Gen.G’s and T1’s caliber, and both reached a top four finish at MSI 2026. But what has realistically changed in Western teams this year that makes them so competitive?
A creative and clean playstyle from Europe
This year has been G2’s and Karmine Corp’s year, as both orgs reached an international final: First Stand and the Esports World Cup, respectively. G2 have been successful thanks to their way of playing around Rasmus “Caps” Winther’s roams, as the Danish legend has become less and less of a lane-centric player and turned into a map-centric one. He is willing to sacrifice his own resources to find advantages on the map, and this, combined with the great synergy between Rudy “SkewMond” Semaan and Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis, has been one of their key strengths.
They majorly underperformed at Worlds, failing to make it out of the group stage with just a single win at the event. Something clearly went very wrong, but their results throughout the year should not be lessened by this underperformance.
Karmine Corp has a ceiling as high, or higher, than G2’s, but they are inconsistent. We saw them run through the EWC grand final, but we’ve also seen them lose 0-3 to MKOI in the LEC Finals, which was surely an unexpected result. Their stars are Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert and Kim “Canna” Chang-dong, who most of the time take over games thanks to Martin “Yike” Sundelin and Alan “Busio” Cwalina, who move around the map to find advantages.
FT. Michał Konkol/Riot Games.
They are still in the competition, having looked like the West’s best chance at success over the past few weeks. A tough matchup against defending champs T1 will be a true test for the roster, but given their international success so far this season, they certainly shouldn’t be counted out.
The rise of North America starts from the jungle
Both Team Liquid and LYON, North America’s best teams, find their success starting from the jungle. Brandon “Josedeodo” Villegas and Kacper “Inspired” Słoma have been their teams’ best-performing players and the ones who stand out the most coming into Worlds.
Ft. Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
Both of them easily slot into the discussion about the 10 best junglers of the event, but they are different. Josedeodo is mechanically gifted, unpredictable, and smart: his Lee Sin stands out as one of the best in the world, and he is just insanely talented. Inspired, on the other hand, is a leader: the mind behind every LYON play, the one who leads the team and calls it out when something is not working.
While both teams are now out of the competition, LYON made it to the quarter finals, the best result for NA at Worlds for the last few years. A difficult draw against Gen.G was always going to be difficult to overcome, but they made the region proud.
Ft. Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
Can the West finally break the drought?
Seven years after G2’s run, the West looked better prepared than ever to take an international title at Worlds. Europe brought creativity and players who can carry from every role, while North America had two of the most impactful junglers at the event leading the way. It was these unique styles of play that got everyone hopeful for Worlds, and believing that maybe this year might be the West’s best chance.
However, those hopes have mostly been dashed. KC are the lone Western team left in the competition, and while they certainly have looked like the best team from the West, beating the top Asian teams on the biggest stage of them all is never guaranteed. They could do it, but they will have to play at their very best to do so. Things have changed in international play, and EU and NA are no longer one team regions at the top international level, but it still feels like they have a way to go before being a dominant force.