Team Liquid claimed the LoL LCS Summer 2026 championship title, defeating LYON 3:1 in the grand final. This victory, secured on October 4, marked Liquid's first championship since Spring 2024 and finally allowed them to take revenge on LYON for all previous losses in the season.
Both teams finished the regular season with a 6-1 record, but LYON took first place thanks to a better game differential. In the playoffs, Team Liquid's path was flawless: they confidently advanced through the upper bracket, sweeping FlyQuest (3:0) and defeating Cloud9 (3:1). LYON, on the other hand, after an unexpected loss to Cloud9 (1:3) in the first round, were forced to fight their way through the lower bracket, where they beat Shopify Rebellion (3:1) and took revenge on Cloud9 (3:1) in the lower-bracket final.
The main storyline of the grand final was the potential for LYON's jungler, Inspired, to secure his eighth title and tie the all-time North American record. However, the main star of the series was his counterpart—Team Liquid's jungler Josedeodo, who completely dominated the match and deservedly earned the Finals MVP award.
- Game 1: Josedeodo controlled the entire map on his signature Lee Sin. Inspired's Trundle pick proved ineffective, and despite Saint's best efforts on Syndra, a decisive maneuver (kick-flash) by Josedeodo in the dragon fight brought Liquid the victory.
- Game 2: LYON's picks of Twisted Fate, Gwen, and Skarner ended up being a complete failure. Josedeodo on Qiyana easily deleted opponents in a single combo, especially the support Isles on Karma.
- Game 3: LYON managed to temporarily seize the initiative thanks to proactive ganks by Inspired. Although Liquid nearly closed the gap and secured the Cloud Soul, the key teamfight went to LYON thanks to the actions of Isles on Alistar and a timely Zhonya's use by Berserker.
- Game 4: LYON's hopes for a comeback were quickly crushed. The game turned into an absolute stomp by Team Liquid, where Morgan delivered a brilliant performance on Jax, and Josedeodo once again served as the main catalyst for success.
The loss ended Inspired's personal streak at five consecutive titles (a record he now shares with Doublelift), leaving him with a total of seven North American championships.
Following the tournament, the spots for the 2026 World Championship were distributed: Team Liquid heads to Worlds as the LCS first seed, LYON takes the second seed (both teams advance directly to the main event), and Cloud9 finished third and will represent the region in the Play-In stage.
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