The 2026 League of Legends World Championship begins October 15 on patch 26.20, the designated Worlds patch featuring targeted buffs to fringe pro options like Lucian alongside nerfs to outliers such as Rocketbelt and Experimental Hexplate. Recent pro solo-queue data from qualified players shows concentrated play on Jayce, Lee Sin, Camille, Olaf, and Lucian, suggesting an initial meta that could limit early diversity across the Play-In and Swiss stages. Total unique champions picked will hinge on the overall number of matches in the format, regional stylistic differences between LCK, LPL, and LEC squads, and whether later knockout rounds surface off-meta or situational picks once the pool narrows. Historical tournaments on stabilized patches have typically featured 90–110 distinct champions, with patch-driven shifts in priority often determining whether the count trends higher or lower.