Quick answer: Swiss Pick'Ems for Worlds 2026 are open now at lolesports.com/pickems and lock on Friday, October 23 at 17:05 UTC (12:05 PM CDT, 6:05 PM UK, 7:05 PM CEST). Pick 8 teams to advance for 10 points each; your first three picks earn a 15-point bonus if they go 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2. Knockout picks open October 31 and lock November 3 at 22:05 UTC. Top rewards: True Damage Yasuo for the top 5,000 players and seven Ultimate skins for a perfect 320 points. Last checked against the official Pick'Ems page: October 20, 2026, 19:40 UTC.
How do Worlds 2026 Pick'Ems work?
Pick'Ems is Riot's free prediction game for the League of Legends World Championship. You predict results stage by stage, each correct call is worth points, and your final score decides which in-game rewards land on your account after the final on November 14. Riot's Worlds 2026 primer puts it this way: "Pick'Ems and Crystal Ball are returning for Worlds 2026 with familiar ways to play and all brand new rewards!"
You play at lolesports.com/pickems or directly in the League of Legends client. You need a valid Riot Account. The primer lists the regions where it is not available, including China and other territories where League is run by a local publisher.
Each stage opens only after the previous one is decided, and you can keep editing picks until that stage locks. If you missed the Play-In, you have not missed much: 285 of the 320 points are still open.
How many points is each Pick'Ems stage worth?
These values come straight from the official Pick'Ems page for Worlds 2026.
| Stage | What you pick | Points per correct pick | Picks | Max points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play-In | Winner of each Play-In series | 5 per match, 10 for the Play-In final | 6 | 35 | Locked, scored |
| Swiss | 8 teams that reach 3 wins; your first three picks double as 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 record calls | 10 per correct advancing team, plus a 15-point bonus for each of the three record calls that hits | 8 | 125 | Open now |
| Knockouts | The full bracket before it starts | 10 per Quarterfinal, 20 per Semifinal, 80 for the Final | 7 | 160 | Opens Oct 31 |
Three numbers stand out:
- The Final is worth 80 points, as much as all four Quarterfinals and both Semifinals combined.
- The Swiss Stage is 125 points: 80 for advancing teams and 45 for record bonuses. A decent Swiss bracket alone clears every tier's minimum score.
- The Play-In was only 35 points, about 11% of the total. A missed Play-In does not lock you out of anything except the perfect score.
The official instructions read: "Pick 8 advancing teams. Your first three picks will earn bonus points if they advance with the corresponding win-loss record (i.e., 3-0, 3-1, or 3-2)." So only three of your eight picks carry a record bet, one per record. The other five score 10 points each if they qualify, with any record. In the real Swiss Stage two teams finish 3-0, three finish 3-1 and three finish 3-2, but you only name one team for each.
When do Worlds 2026 Pick'Ems lock in my time zone?
Riot's primer says each stage locks "before the first" match of that stage. The lock timestamps on the official page are 17:05 UTC for Swiss and 22:05 UTC for Knockouts, five minutes after the scheduled first match. Treat the match start as your real deadline.
Swiss picks lock: Friday, October 23
| Time zone | Swiss lock |
|---|---|
| UTC | Oct 23, 17:05 |
| US Pacific (PDT) | Oct 23, 10:05 AM |
| US Central (CDT) | Oct 23, 12:05 PM |
| US Eastern (EDT) | Oct 23, 1:05 PM |
| Brazil (BRT) | Oct 23, 2:05 PM |
| UK (BST) | Oct 23, 6:05 PM |
| Central Europe (CEST) | Oct 23, 7:05 PM |
| Korea (KST) | Oct 24, 2:05 AM |
| Sydney (AEDT) | Oct 24, 4:05 AM |
Knockout picks open and lock: October 31 to November 3
Europe leaves summer time on October 25 and the US on November 1, so the Knockout times shift by an hour against the Swiss times in most zones.
| Time zone | Knockout picks open | Knockout picks lock |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | Nov 1, 05:00 | Nov 3, 22:05 |
| US Pacific | Oct 31, 10:00 PM (PDT) | Nov 3, 2:05 PM (PST) |
| US Central | Nov 1, 12:00 AM (CDT) | Nov 3, 4:05 PM (CST) |
| US Eastern | Nov 1, 1:00 AM (EDT) | Nov 3, 5:05 PM (EST) |
| Brazil (BRT) | Nov 1, 2:00 AM | Nov 3, 7:05 PM |
| UK (GMT) | Nov 1, 5:00 AM | Nov 3, 10:05 PM |
| Central Europe (CET) | Nov 1, 6:00 AM | Nov 3, 11:05 PM |
| Korea (KST) | Nov 1, 2:00 PM | Nov 4, 7:05 AM |
| Sydney (AEDT) | Nov 1, 4:00 PM | Nov 4, 9:05 AM |
The window for Knockout picks is short, about 65 hours, and it starts on a weekend night in the Americas. The Swiss Stage only ends on October 31, so you are filling the bracket with the Quarterfinal draw fresh. Our Worlds 2026 schedule with every match time has the Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final slots in the same time zones.
What are the Worlds 2026 Pick'Ems rewards?
The rewards panel on the official page lists five tiers. Percentile tiers also carry a minimum score. Reaching the minimum does not guarantee the reward: you still have to finish inside the percentile or the top 5,000, and those cutoffs are only known after the Final.
| Tier | Requirement | Minimum score | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | Make a pick | None | Laying It Down |
| Tier 1 | Top 50% of players | 10 points | Groovy Pup Icon |
| Tier 2 | Top 25% of players | 20 points | Spicy Dog |
| Tier 3 | Top 5,000 players worldwide | 35 points | True Damage Yasuo (skin, champion included) |
| Perfect | Every pick correct | 320 points | All seven Ultimate skins (champions included) |
True Damage Know My Name Yasuo is this year's featured Worlds skin, per the primer, and the top-5,000 tier is the only free way to it. The cap is a fixed number of players, not a percentage, so it is far harder than the 25% tier with millions of entries.
The perfect-score bundle is the seven Ultimate skins: DJ Sona, Elementalist Lux, Gun Goddess Miss Fortune, K/DA ALL OUT Seraphine, Pulsefire Ezreal, Soul Fighter Samira and Spirit Guard Udyr. It needs every pick across all three stages right, Play-In included, so if you skipped the Play-In it is already out of reach.
When will I get my Pick'Ems rewards?
Scores finalize when the Worlds Final ends on November 14 in Brooklyn, New York. The primer says rewards "will be aimed to be distributed within 48 hours" and that performance-tier rewards arrive "on or around November 14." If you think you qualified and have nothing by November 21, Riot asks you to contact Player Support.
The primer also notes that "eligibility for prizes and rewards may vary in different regions due to local regulations," so check the page if you play from an unusual region.
How do I fill in my Swiss Pick'Ems?
The Swiss Stage starts at 0-0 for all 16 teams on October 23 with eight best-of-one matches. Round 1, per the official schedule:
- Gen.G vs Invictus Gaming (opens the stage, 12:00 PM CDT)
- Hanwha Life Esports vs TOP Esports
- Bilibili Gaming vs Movistar KOI
- Anyone's Legend vs Karmine Corp
- G2 Esports vs Dplus KIA
- Team Liquid Alienware vs CTBC Flying Oyster
- LOS vs T1
- Team Secret Whales vs LYON
A practical order of operations:
- Choose your eight advancers first. They are worth 80 of the 125 points, and each one scores whether it qualifies at 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2.
- Order matters: your first three picks are your record bets. They map to 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 and are worth 15 bonus points each if the team finishes with that exact record. A 3-0 run means three straight wins, including two best-of-ones, so it rewards consistency more than reputation.
- Use the 3-2 call on a strong team with a tough path. Rounds 1 and 2 are best-of-one, so a favorite can drop an early game and still qualify through the best-of-three rounds.
- Check the bracket again before the lock. Picks stay editable until 17:05 UTC on October 23.
Our Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage standings page tracks every record and result after each Swiss day, so you can see how your bracket is doing.
How do I fill in my Knockout Pick'Ems?
The Knockout bracket locks before the first Quarterfinal, so you predict all seven series at once: four Quarterfinals, two Semifinals and the Final. The Final alone is 80 of the 160 points, so the champion pick is worth exactly half of the stage.
- Quarterfinals and Semifinals: take the team you think is stronger. A correct upset scores the same 10 or 20 points as a correct favorite.
- The Final: if you are aiming for the top 25%, back your strongest favorite. If you are chasing the top 5,000 and True Damage Yasuo, remember that a correct favorite also lifts everyone who picked it, so a less popular champion pick is one way to move up the ranking if it hits.
What is Crystal Ball?
Crystal Ball is a side prediction game that runs next to Pick'Ems, where you answer tournament-wide prompts instead of picking match winners. It opened together with Play-In picks on October 10 at 4 PM PDT, and the primer says "Scoring for Crystal Ball predictions takes place after Worlds concludes." It is a separate game from the stage brackets, so it does not change the Pick'Ems points in the tables above.
FAQ
When do Worlds 2026 Swiss Pick'Ems lock? On Friday, October 23 at 17:05 UTC, which is 12:05 PM CDT, 1:05 PM EDT, 6:05 PM in the UK and 7:05 PM CEST. Riot's primer says "before the first Swiss match," so lock in before Gen.G vs Invictus Gaming starts at 12:00 PM CDT.
Can I still play Pick'Ems if I missed the Play-In? Yes. The Play-In was worth only 35 of 320 points. Swiss (125) and Knockouts (160) are still open, which is enough for every tier except the perfect-score Ultimate skins.
How does Swiss Pick'Ems scoring work? You pick 8 teams to advance and get 10 points for each one that qualifies. Your first three picks are also record bets for 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2, each worth 15 bonus points if the team finishes with that exact record. The stage maximum is 125 points.
How do you get True Damage Yasuo from Pick'Ems? Finish in the top 5,000 players worldwide with at least 35 points. It is a fixed-size tier, so it takes a strong Swiss bracket and usually a correct Final pick.
How many points do you need for Pick'Ems rewards? The official page sets a minimum of 10 points for the top-50% Groovy Pup Icon, 20 points for the top-25% Spicy Dog and 35 points for the top-5,000 True Damage Yasuo. The real cutoff is your percentile, which is only known after the Final.
When are Worlds 2026 Pick'Ems rewards given out? Riot aims to deliver them within 48 hours of the Final on November 14. If nothing has arrived by November 21, contact Riot Player Support.
Where do I make my Worlds Pick'Ems? At lolesports.com/pickems or inside the League of Legends client, signed in with your Riot Account.
