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2026 LEC EMEA 2026 LEC Versus Week 1 Day 1 at the Riot Games Arena. Photo by Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
The first weekend of LEC Versus 2026 marked the start of a new season, with fans welcoming the return of Europe’s top League of Legends competition.
However, Los Ratones, which made its LEC debut, was unable to secure a victory in its first weekend.
Still, from chaotic end-games to unconventional builds, the opening days of LEC Versus 2026 gave the passionate fans plenty to talk about.
In the first weekend, seven out of the 12 teams in the league finished the opening weekend with a 2-1 score. Among those are the newly-named Shifters, formerly Team BDS.
On the other hand, the defending champions, G2 Esports, struggled during its first two days, finding 1-2 alongside Karmine Corp Blue, Team Heretics, and SK Gaming.
Los Ratones’ LEC Debut
This year, the league introduced a revised format for its Winter split, which included two ERL teams, Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue, participating in the competition.
Fans were eager to see Los Ratones, which dominated the ERL scene both on social media and in competition last year. The team came into LEC Versus 2026 with high expectations and plenty of hype. However, when it came time to bring that confidence to the Rift, the team looked shaken, struggling to adapt.
Los Ratones opened its weekend against Fnatic, and despite a fairly even early game, a key fight around minute 20 allowed Fnatic to snowball and secure the win. On day two, Los Ratones fell to Karmine Corp Blue, also debuting in the LEC as an ERL team.
The weekend closed with a matchup against Karmine Corp, where Los Ratones showed flashes of promise with active mid-lane play and team pressure, but ultimately lost again, finishing the weekend debut with a 0-3 score.
GIANTX vs Shifters’ Chaotic Endgame
Image credit: Wojciech Wandzel, Riot Games
Right after Los Ratones’ debut match against Fnatic, Shifters vs GIANTX kept the hype up with a hard-fought game that had fans questioning until the very end who would win.
Both teams traded advantages throughout the game, with constant rotations, skirmishes, and tense objective fights keeping the scoreline close.
Shifters nearly destroyed GIANTX’s Nexus in the final minutes, but a defensive play from GIANTX stopped the team just in time. GIANTX then countered into Shifters’ base and finished the game, quickly becoming one of the weekend’s most talked-about matches.
G2 Esports’ Classic Start of the Season
G2 Esports is known for its strong finals performances in the LEC, but in recent years, the start of the season has rarely reflected that dominance. This past weekend was no different, as the reigning champions began with shaky results, struggling to find rhythm in the first matches.
On day one, G2 faced MKOI, where a misclick by Rasmus ‘Caps’ Borregaard Winther on teleport allowed KOI to grab an early advantage. The game quickly snowballed against G2, which was unable to recover.
The LEC powerhouse secured a decisive win over SK Gaming, but a loss to NAVI left the team at 1–2, reinforcing the idea that the start of the season continues to be G2’s weak point.
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