The primary weekend of LEC Versus 2026 marked the beginning of a brand new season, with followers welcoming the return of Europe’s high League of Legends competitors.
Nonetheless, Los Ratones, which made its LEC debut, was unable to safe a victory in its first weekend.
Nonetheless, from chaotic end-games to unconventional builds, the opening days of LEC Versus 2026 gave the passionate followers a lot to speak about.
Within the first weekend, seven out of the 12 groups within the league completed the opening weekend with a 2-1 rating. Amongst these are the newly-named Shifters, previously Crew BDS.
Then again, the defending champions, G2 Esports, struggled throughout its first two days, discovering 1-2 alongside Karmine Corp Blue, Crew Heretics, and SK Gaming.
Los Ratones’ LEC Debut
This 12 months, the league launched a revised format for its Winter break up, which included two ERL groups, Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue, taking part within the competitors.
Followers have been desirous to see Los Ratones, which dominated the ERL scene each on social media and in competitors final 12 months. The group got here into LEC Versus 2026 with excessive expectations and loads of hype. Nonetheless, when it got here time to convey that confidence to the Rift, the group seemed shaken, struggling to adapt.
Los Ratones opened its weekend in opposition to Fnatic, and regardless of a reasonably even early sport, a key struggle round minute 20 allowed Fnatic to snowball and safe the win. On day two, Los Ratones fell to Karmine Corp Blue, additionally debuting within the LEC as an ERL group.
The weekend closed with a matchup in opposition to Karmine Corp, the place Los Ratones confirmed flashes of promise with energetic mid-lane play and group strain, however finally misplaced once more, ending the weekend debut with a 0-3 rating.
GIANTX vs Shifters’ Chaotic Endgame
Proper after Los Ratones’ debut match in opposition to Fnatic, Shifters vs GIANTX saved the hype up with a hard-fought sport that had followers questioning till the very finish who would win.
Each groups traded benefits all through the sport, with fixed rotations, skirmishes, and tense goal fights holding the scoreline shut.
Shifters practically destroyed GIANTX’s Nexus within the last minutes, however a defensive play from GIANTX stopped the group simply in time. GIANTX then countered into Shifters’ base and completed the sport, rapidly changing into one of many weekend’s most talked-about matches.
G2 Esports’ Basic Begin of the Season
G2 Esports is thought for its sturdy finals performances within the LEC, however lately, the beginning of the season has hardly ever mirrored that dominance. This previous weekend was no completely different, because the reigning champions started with shaky outcomes, struggling to seek out rhythm within the first matches.
On day one, G2 confronted MKOI, the place a misclick by Rasmus ‘Caps’ Borregaard Winther on teleport allowed KOI to seize an early benefit. The sport rapidly snowballed in opposition to G2, which was unable to get well.
The LEC powerhouse secured a decisive win over SK Gaming, however a loss to NAVI left the group at 1–2, reinforcing the concept that the beginning of the season continues to be G2’s weak level.
