News On Japan

Who won LCP 2026 Split 1, and what can we expect from Spring Split?

Mar 31, 2026 (News On Japan) - The first League of Legends Pacific League Spring Split marked the end of CTBC Flying Oyster's dominance and brought several other surprising twists.

Who won LCP 2026 Split 1, and what can we expect from Spring Split?

How did LCP 2026 Split 1 go, and what can we expect from the region's top teams in the Spring Split? We'll tell you all about it in our 1xBet review.

Regional leagues new structure

In 2025, Riot Games revamped the regional league structure, introducing the brand-new League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP). Now, the best teams in the Pacific region compete in the LCP without prematurely crossing paths with elite teams from Korea (LCK) and China (LCP). Thanks to the Promotion series tournaments, the best teams from the PCS, VCS, LJL, and OPQ leagues have the chance to compete in the LCP season. At the end of last year, Deep Cross Gaming earned promotion by winning all three PCS splits in 2025.

CTBC Flying Oyster was the clear leader of the first LCP season, winning all three regional slots and taking part in all three international tournaments: FST, MSI, and Worlds. This team was named Team of the Year, and 18-year-old mid laner Tsai “hongQ” Ming-hong was named Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and Finals MVP.

After the season ended, Riot Games kicked one of the region's strongest teams, PSG Talon, out of the league for “failing to meet league standards, especially significant delays in payments to players and coaches.” Ground Zero took their spot in the league.

LCP 2026 Winter Split results

LCP 2026 Split 1 started on January 16 and ended on March 1, 2026. Secret Whales and newcomers Deep Cross Gaming were the best teams in the regular season, each with an identical 6-1 record. GAM Esports and Ground Zero rounded out the top four (4-3), while CTBC Flying Oyster and SoftBank HAWKS (3-4) were the last teams to advance to the playoffs. MVK Esports managed only 2 wins in their first 5 games (2-5), and DetonatioN FocusMe failed to celebrate a single victory (0-7)!

GAM Esports and CTBC Flying Oyster were the first to leave the playoffs. The result of last season's best team was unpleasant but expected. During the offseason, three players from the winning lineup left the squad (hongQ, JunJia, and Kaiwing), so it was clear the Oysters would not repeat last year's success.

In the second round of the playoffs, the regular-season leaders, Secret Whales and Deep Cross Gaming, made it clear they would not let anyone interfere with their fight for the title, winning their matches with identical 3-1 scores. The upper bracket final was a rehearsal for the grand final, with the only difference being that in the first match, Secret Whales beat DCG 3-2, and in the second, they secured a clean 3-0 victory.

As a result, Secret Whales will represent the region at the top international tournament, the 2026 First Stand Tournament in São Paulo, for the second consecutive time. Their first appearance came at the 2025 Worlds. The MVP of the Spring Split was the winners’ mid laner, Dire, who collected a total of four MVP awards during the season.

LCP 2026 Spring Split predictions

LCP 2026 Split 2 will start on April 4 and last until June 7, 2026. All league participants will have a whole month to rest and train. Only Secret Whales will spend their vacation more actively, competing against the world's best teams in Brazil.

Judging by the results at the start of the season, the Spring Split is once again likely to feature a rivalry between Secret Whales and Deep Cross Gaming. For now, they clearly outperform the rest of the regional competition, although SoftBank HAWKS, Ground Zero, and GAM Esports could still challenge them. Meanwhile, a return to the top for CTBC Flying Oyster seems unlikely, just as a major improvement from MVK Esports and DetonatioN FocusMe is not expected.

As a reminder, based on the results of LCP 2026 Split 2, the best team in the region will go straight to two top tournaments – Mid-Season Invitational 2026 and Esports World Cup 2026. That is why the struggle for victory will be as intense and exciting as it can be!

Follow the clashes in the LCP with 1xBet, and you will always be up to date with the most interesting events from the League of Legends world!

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has drawn criticism over a social media post describing five hours of sleep as a rare luxury, as the extended Diet session prepares to begin Upper House debate on a controversial bill to establish secondary capitals outside Tokyo.

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Breathtaking 4K footage filmed from a helicopter offers a sweeping aerial view of Mount Fuji and its majestic surrounding landscape.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Sports NEWS

Japan's largest pickleball facility has opened in Higashiizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, with 20 courts available by reservation as the town seeks to establish itself as a leading destination for the fast-growing sport.

Foreign tourists are filling an interactive sumo show venue in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, where former wrestlers introduce the basics, rules and history of the sport in English as Japan’s traditional pastime enjoys growing popularity at home and abroad.

Waseda Jitsugyo held off a ninth-inning rally by Hachioji to win a first-round showdown between two schools with Koshien experience in the West Tokyo high school baseball tournament on July 10.

Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu, captain Ko Itakura of Ajax, Daizen Maeda of Celtic, Yukinari Sugawara of Bremen and Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto visited Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto on July 8 following Japan's campaign at the FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player to reach 300 career home runs in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo shot in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles on July 7.

Shonan Galleon, a 210 million yen colt by Flightline, made a striking debut at Hakodate Racecourse on Sunday, July 5, winning the fifth race over 1,800 meters on turf in record time for a 2-year-old on the course.

Two yokozuna seeking to rebound after time away from the ring drew loud cheers from about 5,000 spectators on July 4 as they performed the traditional ceremonial ring entry at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya ahead of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

Some names change the game, and Conor McGregor is one of them.