LCP 2026 Promotion Series: All 7 Teams and What They Are Playing For

Seven teams are heading into the LCP 2026 Promotion Series with their place in the 2027 competition at stake. The event runs from November 10–13 at VPS Arena in Ho Chi Minh City. Two incumbent teams are defending their status, while five challengers arrive through domestic competition and the Wild Card route.

The bracket has two distinct paths, so it helps to know which team belongs where before picking a series to watch. The following guide uses Riot’s confirmed team list and format, keeping the focus on qualification stakes rather than predictions about unplayed matches.

1. Ground Zero Gaming: One Series to Defend Its Place

Ground Zero Gaming enters the Regional Merit contest against FRANK Esports. It is a best-of-five, with the winner earning LCP team status for 2027. That makes this a particularly straightforward part of the event to follow: two teams, one series and a clear consequence.

For a viewer, the interest is in how the teams respond across a longer contest. Watch what changes between games and whether an early setback leads to a different approach. Those are questions to take into the broadcast, rather than assumptions about either side’s current form.

2. FRANK Esports: The Regional Merit Challenger

FRANK Esports is Ground Zero’s confirmed opponent. Its opportunity is separate from the larger Free-for-All bracket, so following FRANK does not require tracking several earlier elimination rounds. The best-of-five against Ground Zero is the decisive assignment on its route.

That clarity also makes the matchup a good entry point for a newcomer. You can concentrate on the two teams and learn the stakes quickly. The important question is which side can put together the stronger complete series, rather than which one produces the most memorable opening game.

3. DetonatioN FocusMe: Waiting for the FFA Winner

DetonatioN FocusMe is the other incumbent named in the Promotion Series. It faces the team that comes through the Free-for-All challengers’ bracket, with 2027 LCP status on the line. Its opponent will therefore emerge from a different process than FRANK’s fixed Regional Merit matchup.

Keep that distinction in mind when looking at a bracket graphic. A challenger reaching DFM has completed a stage of the route, not the entire qualification task. For DFM, the eventual series is the point at which its own status must be defended.

4. Saigon Warriors: An FFA Route With Several Steps

Saigon Warriors is one of the four challengers entering the Free-for-All portion. Those teams compete in a single-elimination, best-of-five bracket before the last remaining challenger meets DFM. A single successful series does not finish the job.

Follow the bracket position as well as the individual scoreline. Each result changes who is still in contention and which opponent could be next. For viewers supporting Saigon Warriors, the central storyline is whether the team can keep progressing through that sequence of elimination tests.

5. FENNEL: A Challenger in the Same Elimination Field

FENNEL joins Saigon Warriors, Team Gromp and Nothin’Here in the initial FFA field. The route offers a chance to earn LCP status, but every best-of-five on the way has a direct consequence for staying in the competition. There is little room to treat an early series as a warm-up.

A useful viewing focus is adaptation within the series. Notice what each team prioritizes after it has seen its opponent’s first approach. That keeps the discussion tied to what the broadcast actually shows, rather than relying on a reputation that may not explain the current contest.

6. Team Gromp: Progression Comes Before the Final Test

Team Gromp’s route also begins in the FFA challengers’ bracket. Winning that bracket earns the right to face DFM; it does not itself grant the final status being contested. Keeping those two milestones separate makes the event much easier to explain to someone joining midway through.

If Team Gromp advances, watch how the team carries lessons from one best-of-five into the next. A changing opponent creates a fresh set of questions even when the qualification objective stays the same. Results and specific matchups should come from the official bracket as the event develops.

7. Nothin’Here: The Fourth FFA Challenger

Nothin’Here completes the announced seven-team field and the four-team FFA opening bracket. Like the other challengers on that path, it must survive the elimination rounds and then overcome the incumbent waiting at the end. That is the qualification story to track.

The stakes also extend beyond appearing in next year’s competition. Riot says teams securing LCP status receive a share of the Regional GRP in 2027. The Promotion Series therefore matters even alongside the announced changes to domestic qualification routes next season.

Matches are scheduled to start at 12:00 PT on November 10 and 16:00 PT on November 11–13. Riot lists English coverage on Twitch and YouTube. For the broader context, see our coverage of the LCP’s 2027 domestic-league changes.