The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) will hold the official kickoff ceremony for the "2026 School League" on the 11th of this month at the Daejeon e-Sports Stadium (Dream Arena) in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, the association said Friday.
Introduced this year for the first time, the School League is a regular inter-school competition operated on esports infrastructure built at participating schools. It is designed to allow aspiring professional esports players to continue specialized training and development on campus without leaving school. Participating teams consist of school representative teams approved by their principals.
The kickoff ceremony will be held as an official side event of the "2026 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)." A total of 14 schools nationwide will take part in the second-semester regular season: Mirae Industry Science High School and Eunpyeong Meditech High School (Seoul region); Tongjin High School (Gyeonggi-Incheon region); Gyeryong Digitech High School (Chungcheong region); Mokpo Yeonghwa Middle School, Yeosu Technical High School, Korea Game Science High School, and Korea Science and Technology High School (Honam region); and Gyeongnam Electronics High School, Gyeongnam Information High School, Gyeongnam Tourism High School, Busan Daeyang High School, Masan Jungang High School, and Busan Computer Science High School (Yeongnam region).
The first-semester preseason, which opened in May, has only the League of Legends final remaining, and the final will be held on the day of the kickoff ceremony. Eunpyeong Meditech High School and Korea Game Science High School advanced to the final through the earlier semifinals, and the two schools also secured spots in the main round of the second-half LCK Academy Series (LCK AS).
A variety of side programs are also planned for the day of the event. A developer talk concert will be held featuring Riot Games' Matthew Leung-Harrison, senior gameplay designer for League of Legends, and Paul Bellezza, lead producer for League of Legends. Influencers including Lee Sang-ho and Kim Min-gyo will also participate to communicate with students hoping to pursue careers in the esports industry.
A regional match will also take place. Gyeryong Digitech High School, representing Daejeon, the host city of the 2026 MSI, will face off against Cheonan Middle School, representing South Chungcheong Province.
The 2026 School League second-semester regular season opens at the end of August and runs through November. After the regular season ends, the final champion will be determined through the main and final rounds of the National Middle and High School Tournament. Beginning in the second semester, the League of Legends competition will be operated as a full round-robin format in which all participating teams compete, replacing the previous group league system.
The tournament is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea e-Sports Association. It is sponsored by Krafton, Riot Games, Samsung, Micronics, and the Korea Creative Content Agency. Matches will be broadcast live through the KeSPA School Esports YouTube channel.
