(Photo credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images)

The League of Legends LCS Summer Split kicked off Saturday in Los Angeles, and LYON wasted little time asserting its dominance in the opening match of the event.

In a stark contrast, Sentinels and Dignitas needed a third map to decide their match, the second of the opening-day doubleheader.

The LCS Summer Split is an eight-team event beginning Saturday and running through the finals in October. The seven-week round-robin regular season -- in which each all teams play each other once in a best-of-three match, will set the field for the six-team playoffs.

The top two teams in the regular season will advance to the semifinals in the playoffs, while the third- through sixth-place teams will advance to the quarters. The bottom two teams in the standings are eliminated.

The playoffs, which run Sept. 12 through Oct. 4, are best-of-five and double elimination. The top three teams will advance to the World Championships, played in New York, Los Angeles and Allen, Texas, from Oct. 15 through Nov. 11.

In Saturday's first match, LYON dominated from the start, winning in 28 minutes on red and 33 minutes on blue. South Korean Kim 'Berserker' Min-cheol led all players with 16 kills across the two maps, posting a 16/7/12 kill/death/assist ratio. Jonathan 'Armao' Armao led all players with 24 assists in the win.

The second match opened with a tightly played first map, which Dignitas ultimately won in 37 minutes on red. Sentinels bounced back with a 27-minute on red then won the deciding match on blue, wining in 30 minutes.

Ham 'HamBak' Yoo-jin of South Korea led the winners with a 27/5/24 K/D/A.

Week 1 continues Sunday with a pair of matches.

LCS 2026 Summer Split Schedule

Sunday

--Team Liquid vs. Cloud9

--Shopify Rebellion vs. Disguised

LCS 2026 Summer Split Standings

Place, Team (Match Record, Map Record)

1. LYON (1-0, 2-0)

2. Sentinels (1-0, 2-1)

T3. Team Liquid (0-0, 0-0)

T3. Dignitas (0-0, 0-0)

T3. Disguised (0-0, 0-0)

T3. Shopify Rebellion (0-0, 0-0)

7. Dignitas (0-1, 1-2)

8.. FlyQuest (0-1, 0-2)

--Field Level Media