Who leads League’s oldest regional rivalry?

Europe vs. North America has been one of many sport’s defining regional rivalries for the reason that inaugural League of Legends World Championship in 2011. It has survived years of trash discuss, Rift Rivals, worldwide upsets, and one-sided stomps.

For a lot of the final 15 years, although, Europe had the stronger argument. The area produced deeper worldwide runs, received main trophies, and usually appeared just like the clear third-best area behind Korea and China. Nevertheless, that’s turning into a lot tougher to say now.

North America is main the current head-to-head, whereas Europe continues to carry out considerably higher towards the areas really competing for worldwide titles. So who actually has the higher hand in League’s oldest regional rivalry right this moment?

Methodology: This evaluation counts particular person video games performed at Worlds, MSI, and First Stand by MSI 2026, together with play-on matches. Groups are labeled by the league or convention by which they certified, with LTA North groups grouped with North America and LYON counted as an LCS consultant in 2026. Rift Rivals and different competitions exterior Riot’s three international tournaments are excluded. Global Power Rankings (GPR) scores are correct as of Sep. 1, 2026. 

Since First Stand 2025, LCS and LTA North groups have a 12–3 document towards LEC groups at Riot’s worldwide occasions.

That’s 4 sequence wins for North America and one for Europe. The pattern stays comparatively small, however the path of journey is troublesome to disregard.

MSI 2026 was particularly ugly for the LEC. Staff Liquid swept Karmine Corp earlier than LYON did the identical to G2 Esports, leaving Europe with a 0–6 document towards the LCS in a single event.

In case your definition of third-best is just, ‘When LEC and LCS play one another, who wins?’, the reply proper now could be North America.

That is the place the argument utterly flips.

Throughout First Stand, MSI, and Worlds in 2025, in addition to First Stand and MSI in 2026, the LEC, LCS, and LCP produced the next sport data towards LCK and LPL groups:

These numbers come from each matchup on the final 5 worldwide tournaments. The ultimate column is especially brutal for North America.

Because the starting of 2025, no LCS or LTA North crew has received a single best-of-three or best-of-five sequence towards an LCK or LPL crew at a world occasion.

Now, that’s to not say there haven’t been any good performances — there undoubtedly have.

For instance, FlyQuest took Bilibili Gaming to 5 video games at MSI 2025, whereas 100 Thieves even upset the Chinese language titan in a best-of-one at Worlds. Nevertheless, there have been no sequence wins, whereas the LEC has 5 and the LCP has two.

Europe’s benefit towards Korea and China comes with one main caveat: most of it belongs to G2 Esports.

MSI 2026 could be the proper instance of how unusual the broader regional debate has turn out to be. G2’s main-stage outcomes had been:

This implies G2 went 6–6 towards Korea and China earlier than being swept by LYON. Against this, the LCS champions’ outcomes towards Japanese groups had been:

Staff Liquid additionally misplaced 0–3 to T1 twice throughout the play-in stage. Put every part collectively, and MSI 2026 appeared like this:

North America destroyed Europe within the head-to-head, whereas the LEC was vastly extra aggressive towards the event’s Korean and Chinese language groups.

Nevertheless, G2 accounted for 16 of the LEC’s 21 sport wins towards LCK and LPL opposition throughout the 5 tournaments analyzed. It additionally produced 4 of Europe’s 5 sequence victories. With out G2, the remainder of the LEC went 5–15 towards Korea and China and received solely a single sequence.

This doesn’t essentially erase Europe’s benefit. Nonetheless, it suggests the area has just one crew able to consistently challenging the East reasonably than considerably better depth throughout the whole league.

Riot’s GPR provides one other solution to examine the areas. As of Sep. 1, the regional scores are:

The GPR isn’t a conventional opinion-based energy rating. Riot’s Elo-based system combines particular person crew Elo and regional Elo utilizing an 80/20 weighting.

The present rating has LYON fifth on the earth with a Energy Rating of 1458, simply forward of G2 in sixth at 1444. Karmine Corp sits eighth at 1409, Staff Liquid is thirteenth at 1346, and FlyQuest is fifteenth at 1340.

Take the highest three groups from every area, and it will get virtually comical:

I wouldn’t deal with a one-point distinction as definitive statistical proof, particularly since each crew’s Energy Rating already features a regional part. It does, nevertheless, present simply how carefully matched the highest of the 2 leagues presently is.

If we zoom out from the final two seasons, Europe’s historic benefit turns into a lot simpler to see. The 2 areas have been competing for the reason that first World Championship in 2011, however their worldwide résumés are very completely different.

Formally, there is no such thing as a debate over Fnatic’s 2011 title. Riot acknowledges the crew because the Season 1 World Champions, and the gamers even have their very own World Championship skins. Nevertheless, loads of followers nonetheless place an asterisk subsequent to that victory for an comprehensible purpose.

Season 1 Worlds appeared nothing like right this moment’s event. Korea and China weren’t represented, and the competitors was held as a part of DreamHack reasonably than as the big standalone occasion that Worlds later grew to become.

No matter how a lot weight followers give that event, Europe has received main worldwide trophies. Fnatic received Season 1 Worlds, whereas G2 received MSI 2019 after sweeping Staff Liquid 3–0 within the ultimate.

Europe has additionally produced much more deep runs at Worlds. Moscow 5 and CLG Europe reached the semifinals in 2012, with Fnatic following in 2013. Fnatic and Origen each reached the ultimate 4 in 2015 earlier than H2K did the identical in 2016.

The area’s strongest interval within the fashionable period occurred between 2018 and 2020. Fnatic reached the Worlds ultimate in 2018, G2 reached the ultimate in 2019 after successful MSI earlier that yr, and G2 reached one other Worlds semifinal in 2020.

CLG reached the MSI 2016 ultimate, Cloud9 grew to become the primary North American crew since Season 1 to achieve a Worlds semifinal in 2018, and Staff Liquid produced one of many greatest upsets in League historical past after they beat reigning World Champions Invictus Gaming at MSI 2019.

Sadly for North America, that run ended with G2 sweeping Staff Liquid within the ultimate.

Traditionally, Europe clearly has the stronger trophy cupboard and a for much longer document of deep worldwide runs. The direct EU vs. NA document, nevertheless, is far nearer.

If we rely particular person video games at Riot’s three worldwide competitions — Worlds, MSI, and First Stand — from Season 1 by MSI 2026, Europe leads all-time head-to-head: EU 66–59 NA.

That’s solely a seven-game distinction throughout 125 video games, and most of Europe’s benefit was established years in the past.

It’s value noting that Rift Rivals isn’t included in that whole. Though it was an official Riot competitors constructed particularly round regional rivalries, it was not a worldwide event like Worlds, MSI, or First Stand.

By the tip of 2020, Europe led the matchup 45–30. Since 2021, North America has led 29–21. Because the starting of 2023, that benefit has grown to twenty–9, together with North America’s present 12–3 run towards Europe since First Stand 2025.

That tells the story of the rivalry higher than virtually anything.

Traditionally, Europe had each arguments: it carried out higher towards the remainder of the world and normally had the higher hand towards North America. As we speak, solely the primary half remains to be clearly true.

If that is strictly concerning the LEC vs. LCS rivalry, North America has the higher hand. It has received 4 of the final 5 worldwide sequence between the areas and leads the matchup 20–9 since 2023.

But when the query is which area stays stronger internationally, Europe nonetheless has the higher case. It owns the superior historic résumé and continues to provide a lot better outcomes towards Korea and China, though most of that current resistance has come from G2.

Europe stays the extra completed area, however North America is presently successful the rivalry itself. For the primary time in years, these are now not the identical argument.