NA leads LEC vs LCS rivalry head-to-head
North America leads the recent head-to-head against Europe in League of Legends international play, but the LEC maintains a stronger record against top Eastern regions.
North America holds a 12-3 game record against Europe in international League of Legends matches since First Stand 2025. According to an analysis by Esports Insider, this includes four series wins for the LCS and LTA North teams against just one for the LEC.
MSI 2026 was particularly one-sided. Team Liquid swept Karmine Corp, and LYON swept G2 Esports, giving the LEC an 0-6 record against North America for that tournament alone. If the rivalry is judged purely on who wins when the two regions meet, North America currently has the clear advantage.
The LEC dominates against Korea and China
The argument flips when comparing each region's performance against the world's best. Across five international tournaments from 2025 through MSI 2026, the LEC has a far better record against LCK and LPL teams than the LCS does.
Since the start of 2025, no LCS or LTA North team has won a single best-of-three or best-of-five series against a Korean or Chinese team at a global event. The LEC, by contrast, has secured five such series wins in the same period, with the LCP managing two.
There have been notable North American performances. FlyQuest took Bilibili Gaming to five games at MSI 2025, and 100 Thieves scored a best-of-one upset over the Chinese titan at Worlds. These were not series victories, however.
G2 Esports carries the region's Eastern record
The LEC's superior performance against the East comes with a major caveat. The success is heavily concentrated on a single team. G2 Esports accounted for 16 of the LEC's 21 game wins against LCK and LPL opposition across the five tournaments analyzed. G2 also produced four of the region's five series victories against Eastern teams.
Without G2, the rest of the LEC went 5-15 against Korea and China and won only one series. This suggests the region has one team capable of consistently challenging the East, rather than significantly greater depth across its entire league.
The strange dynamic was clear at MSI 2026. G2 went 6-6 against Korean and Chinese teams on the main stage before being swept by North America's LYON. Meanwhile, the LCS champions' results against Eastern teams were far less competitive.
| Team | Record vs LCK/LPL (MSI 2026 Main Stage) |
|---|---|
| G2 Esports | 6-6 |
| LYON | 1-3 |
| Team Liquid | 0-3 (plus two 0-3 losses in play-ins) |
Riot's rankings show a razor-thin margin
Riot's Global Power Rankings (GPR) offer another comparison. As of September 1, 2026, the regional scores place the LEC just ahead of the LCS.
The GPR uses an Elo-based system combining individual and regional performance. The top teams are closely bunched. LYON is ranked fifth globally, just ahead of G2 in sixth. Karmine Corp is eighth, Team Liquid is 13th, and FlyQuest is 15th.
The combined score of the top three teams from each region is almost identical. LYON, Team Liquid, and FlyQuest combine for 4144 points, while G2, Karmine Corp, and Movistar KOI combine for 4143 points.
Historical context favors the LEC
Zooming out from the last two seasons reveals the LEC's historical advantage. The regions have competed since the first World Championship in 2011, but their international resumes differ greatly.
The LEC has won major international trophies. Fnatic are the recognized Season 1 World Champions, and G2 won MSI 2019. The region has also produced far more deep runs at Worlds, including finals appearances by Fnatic in 2018 and G2 in 2019.
North America's international highlights are fewer. CLG reached the MSI 2016 final, Cloud9 made a Worlds semifinal in 2018, and Team Liquid upset reigning champions Invictus Gaming at MSI 2019. That run ended with a sweep by G2 in the final.
The all-time head-to-head game record at Riot's three global tournaments, from Season 1 through MSI 2026, shows the LEC leading 66-59. This is only a seven-game difference across 125 games, and most of the LEC's advantage was built years ago.
Since 2021, North America has led the matchup 29-21. Since the start of 2023, that advantage has grown to 20-9, which includes the current 12-3 run that began at First Stand 2025. This recent dominance tells the current story of the rivalry better than the historical totals.
