The Demacia Cup Goes Global by Inviting Everyone Who Missed Worlds

Business

27 August 2026 13:03

Consolation prize but a welcome one.

TJ Sports and Huya will turn Demacia Cup into the 2026 Demacia Cup Global Invitational, running 3 to 17 October with 12 teams from the LPL, LCK, LEC, LCS, LCP and CBLOL.

Every invitation goes to a team that failed to reach Worlds, and it will run in the two weeks immediately before the World Championship. So while the best teams in the world prepare for the biggest tournament of the year, the next tier down plays each other in Beijing.

Who gets in

Slot distribution follows regional performance at MSI 2026, with the top two regions getting three invitations, third and fourth getting two invitations, and the rest one each.

LPL: fifth to seventh on Championship Points
LCK: fifth to seventh eligible
LEC: fourth and fifth
LCS: fourth and fifth
LCP: one, via Championship Points
CBLOL: fourth place, because of the region's schedule

If a team declines, the next eligible one will take the spot. The full lineup won't be invited until regional seasons and Worlds qualification finish, starting with the LCP crowning its champion on 30 August.

Format

Swiss stage, 3 to 8 October, online.

Knockouts, 12 to 17 October, at JDG's home venue in Beijing. Single elimination, every match best-of-five. Quarter-finals on the 12th and 13th, semi-finals on the 14th and 15th, final on the 17th.

Coach Comms

The offline stage. Coaches can speak directly to players up to three times per game, 45 seconds each, without pausing play.

The Demacia Cup tried it during its 2025 playoffs before the LCK Cup and LCP ran their own versions earlier this year, so this is the system's third outing rather than an experiment.