League of Legends is currently in Season 3 of 2026, themed "Classic". The season started July 29, 2026 at 12:00 noon local server time with patch 26.15, headlined by the launch of League of Legends Classic. Your 15-win Victorious mission reset when the season started, so everyone begins the new skin grind from zero. Riot has not yet named the Season 3 Victorious skin.
Season 2 ("Pandemonium") ended July 28, 2026 at 23:59:59 local server time. Its reward, Victorious Rengar, can no longer be earned, and Season 2 rewards began distributing shortly after Season 3 started.
The January annual reset is a different boundary from the April and midsummer season transitions. Both are covered below, along with the full schedule.
Last updated: August 4, 2026. Next review: mid-August 2026. The Season 3 start date is confirmed; the open items are Season 3's end date and its Victorious skin, both of which Riot typically confirms a few weeks ahead.
LoL Season 3 2026 (Classic): What Changed
Season 3 launched with patch 26.15 on July 29, 2026. Riot is framing it as a celebration of League's past and present, and the headline feature is a nostalgia mode Riot has given no end date, rather than a systems overhaul. The notable items:
- League of Legends Classic launched. The season's centerpiece is a mode that recreates early-era League: 60 pre-rework champions, the old rune and mastery system, legacy items, and the original Summoner's Rift. See our full guide to League of Legends Classic and the complete list of all 60 Classic champions.
- Victorious mission reset. The 15-win Victorious Ranked mission refreshed with the season start, so every player begins Season 3's skin grind at zero wins regardless of what they did in Season 2.
- Season 3 Victorious skin not yet announced. Riot has not named it. Based on the usual cadence, expect a reveal a few weeks before the season closes.
- Master tier duo queue. Master players can now duo queue, matched only with similarly ranked opponents. Grandmaster, Challenger, and anyone carrying GM or Challenger MMR still cannot duo.
- Rank carries over. As with every within-year season transition, there was no ranked reset on July 29. Your tier, division, and LP continued straight from Season 2.
Two Season 2 items still running into Season 3: the opt-in WASD movement scheme remains allowed in ranked queues, and Ranked 5s continues as a weekend-only experimental queue for full five-player premades using tournament draft. It runs Friday through Sunday, 9 PM to 1 AM local server time, through September 6, 2026. Participation grants an icon; peaking at Gold or higher adds a banner.
Season 2 (Pandemonium) Recap
For reference, the season that just closed brought new starting items, new Keystone runes, an Arena mode overhaul, and a one-time apex tier hard reset that dropped Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger accounts to Master 0 LP. That reset was a correction for matchmaking configuration errors during Season 1, not a recurring pattern. Because of that reset, Riot is reconciling the tier-dependent part of Season 2's rewards against Season 3 results: if your Season 3 peak is higher than your Season 2 peak, the higher tier is what counts for both seasons. The base skin and icons shipped on the normal schedule after Season 3 started; only the tier-gated pieces wait on that reconciliation.
For the full list of 2026 ranked system changes that landed earlier in the year (Aegis of Valor, Climb Indicator, Flex MMR alignment, dodge penalty changes), see how the current LoL ranked tier and LP system works in 2026.
Full LoL Season Schedule (2025-2026)
Riot now runs three numbered "seasons" per annual cycle, each lasting roughly three to five and a half months. The midsummer season is the longest, since it has to stretch to the January annual reset. Every season has its own theme, gameplay changes, and exclusive Victorious skin.
2026 Season Schedule
| Season | Theme | Start | End | Victorious Skin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | For Demacia | Jan 8, 2026 | Apr 28, 2026 | Victorious Braum |
| Season 2 | Pandemonium | Apr 29, 2026 | Jul 28, 2026 | Victorious Rengar |
| Season 3 | Classic | Jul 29, 2026 | Early Jan 2027 (projected) | Not yet announced |
2025 Season Schedule
| Season | Start | End | Victorious Skin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Jan 9, 2025 | Apr 15, 2025 | Victorious Twisted Fate |
| Season 2 | Apr 29, 2025 | Aug 13, 2025 | Victorious Fiora |
| Season 3 | Aug 28, 2025 | Jan 7, 2026 | Victorious Draven |
The pattern is steady: Season 1 in January, Season 2 in late April, Season 3 in midsummer (late August in 2025, late July in 2026), and the annual reset in early January of the following year. There are short gaps (sometimes a few days, sometimes a couple of weeks) between Season 3 ending and the new annual cycle's Season 1 starting, used for the soft reset, rewards distribution, and the new year's patch.
When Does Season 3 End? Dates and Reward Deadline
Riot has not published the Season 3 end date yet. Based on the 2026 pattern (three seasons per annual cycle, with the cycle closing in early January), Season 3 should run into early January 2027, making it the longest of the three. Treat that as a projection until Riot confirms it in patch notes.
| Event | Date | Confirmed? |
|---|---|---|
| Season 3 started | July 29, 2026 at 12:00 noon local server time (patch 26.15) | Confirmed in patch 26.15 notes. |
| Season 2 ended | July 28, 2026 at 23:59:59 local server time | Confirmed. |
| Season 2 rewards distributed | Beginning shortly after Season 3's start | Confirmed in patch 26.15 notes. Delivery is staggered, not instant. |
| Season 3 Victorious skin revealed | Expected a few weeks before season end | Projected. Riot's recent pattern has been to reveal each skin shortly before its season closes. |
| Season 3 and 2026 annual cycle end | Early January 2027 | Projected. Exact date typically announced in the final Season 3 patch notes. |
The "23:59:59 local server time" detail matters because the cutoff is regional, so a player in NA reaches the deadline several hours after a player in KR. Apex tier players have a separate cutoff at 23:45 local time, 15 minutes early, set so leaderboard standings can lock in before the deadline.
Riot's pattern across both 2025 and 2026 has been to confirm the exact season end date in the patch notes a few weeks before it happens. The Season 1 end (April 28, 2026) was confirmed in patch 26.08 notes on April 15, about two weeks prior. Expect the same for Season 3: a confirmation in a December patch.
Season 3 Ranked Rewards: What You Get and When
The reward most players are chasing is the Victorious skin, which becomes one of the rarest skins in League once its season closes and the window shuts permanently. Two requirements, and rank is not one of them:
- Win 15 Ranked games during the season. Wins in Solo/Duo and Flex count together, so you can mix queues.
- Reach Honor Level 3 or higher by the end of the season. Players sitting below Honor 3, or with negative Honor status, are ineligible regardless of rank or win count.
Any rank from Iron up earns the base skin. Rank only decides the chromas layered on top, keyed to the tier you peaked at during the season in Solo/Duo or Flex, not the one you happened to end on. For the tier-by-tier chroma breakdown, the eligibility rules in full, and every skin in the line from Jarvan IV in 2011 onward, see our complete Victorious skins guide.
Players who earn all three Victorious skins in a single annual cycle (for 2026 that's Braum from Season 1, Rengar from Season 2, and the still-unannounced Season 3 skin) also receive a Victorious Skin Border reflecting their highest finishing tier across the full year. Note the difference: the border keys off finishing tier, while the chromas key off peak tier. If you already have Braum and Rengar, Season 3 is the last one you need.
Other rewards land at season end on top of the skin: a ranked profile icon and emote based on your tier, a Ranked Regalia crest visible in lobby and loading screens, and a loading screen border showing your current rank in queue. Players who reach Honor Level 5 by the end of the annual cycle (so the end of Season 3) also earn the exclusive Three Honors skinline.
When Rewards Arrive, and Where Your Season 2 Skin Is
Rewards don't drop the instant a season ends. They roll out starting with the patch that follows the season close, which is also the patch that launches the next season, and distribution is staggered across accounts from there rather than landing for everyone at once. Season 1, 2026 rewards were granted within patch 26.09, the patch that started Season 2 on April 29.
For Season 2 specifically: Riot stated in the patch 26.15 notes that end-of-Season-2 rewards would be distributed shortly after Season 3 started on July 29. So if you earned Victorious Rengar and it is not in your collection yet, nothing has gone wrong. One knock-on effect worth knowing is that Riot has temporarily disabled the shard transfer service until distribution finishes, so if you are trying to move regions right now, that is why.
If you met both requirements and still have nothing well after distribution completes, work through the eligibility reasons below before opening a ticket.
Why You Didn't Get Your Rewards
If the patch has dropped and you don't have your skin, the usual reasons are:
- You didn't reach Honor 3. Check your Honor level in the client. Honor 3 isn't automatic, it takes a couple weeks of clean behavior with regular play. See our guide to the Honor system for how to climb it back.
- You didn't hit 15 ranked wins. Co-Op, Normals, ARAM, and Quickplay do not count. Solo/Duo and Flex do, combined.
- Your account was actioned during the season. Chat restrictions, low-priority queue, or 14-day bans drop you below the eligibility threshold.
- You played on a different account. Wins don't transfer across accounts or regions, even if you have a transfer in progress.
If you meet the criteria and still don't have your skin two patches after season end, submit a ticket to Riot Support with the specific season and your account ID.
Season vs Split: Why the Names Are Confusing
If you played before 2024 and just came back, the vocabulary changed under you. Here's the short version:
- Pre-2024: One numbered "Season" per calendar year (Season 1 in 2010 through Season 14 in 2024). Each season was divided into "Splits," each with its own ranked soft reset.
- 2024 onward: The annual cycle stayed about a year long, but Riot now calls each of the three intra-year segments a numbered "Season" with its own theme. The old splits are gone as a concept. The annual ranked reset only happens once, in January.
So "Season 15" in old guides means all of 2025. "Season 1, 2025" in new Riot comms means the first thematic season of 2025 (January through mid-April). The community still uses both. "S16" usually means the 2026 annual cycle as a whole, while Riot's official patch notes call it "Season 1, 2026," "Season 2, 2026," and so on. They're describing the same time period at different resolutions.
The bigger practical change: splits used to reset rank, thematic seasons don't. The 2025 Ranked Update killed the intra-year resets. Rank now resets only at the annual boundary in January, and the 15-wins-for-skin mission resets at each thematic season start.
For one-line definitions of related terms (LP, MMR, decay, Victorious), see our LoL terminology guide.
What Resets When a New LoL Season Starts
It depends which boundary you mean. The two boundaries behave very differently.
| Boundary | What Resets | What Persists |
|---|---|---|
| New annual cycle (early January each year) | Rank soft-reset by at least 4 divisions. Max starting rank Emerald I. 5 placement matches required per queue. New Victorious skin pool opens. | MMR (hidden). Champion mastery. Honor level. |
| New thematic season (late April, and late July or August, within the same year) | 15-win mission resets. New Victorious skin available. Often new patch content (items, runes, mode tweaks). | Rank. LP. MMR. No placement matches. Your climb continues from where you left off. |
The annual reset is the heavier one. Even Master+ players cap at Emerald I after placements, and you'll grind back up through the same ranks you cleared the year before. See the full LoL provisional placement flow for how the 5-game window works (no LP loss during placements, elevated LP gains, rank hidden until game 5).
The within-year transition is much lighter. Your rank persists. Players queued into Season 3 on July 29 at exactly the tier and LP they finished Season 2 with. Only the 15-win mission resets, so you can earn the new Victorious skin from a clean slate.
Historical LoL Season Dates (Season 1 to 2024)
The single-numbered season era ran from 2010 through 2024. These dates are fixed history; they're useful for "when did season X end" lookups and for context on how the format evolved.
| Season | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 13, 2010 | Aug 23, 2011 |
| 2 | Nov 29, 2011 | Nov 12, 2012 |
| 3 | Feb 1, 2013 | Nov 11, 2013 |
| 4 | Jan 10, 2014 | Nov 11, 2014 |
| 5 | Jan 21, 2015 | Nov 11, 2015 |
| 6 | Jan 20, 2016 | Nov 8, 2016 |
| 7 | Dec 8, 2016 | Nov 7, 2017 |
| 8 | Jan 16, 2018 | Nov 12, 2018 |
| 9 | Jan 23, 2019 | Nov 19, 2019 |
| 10 | Jan 10, 2020 | Nov 10, 2020 |
| 11 | Jan 8, 2021 | Nov 15, 2021 |
| 12 | Jan 7, 2022 | Nov 14, 2022 |
| 13 | Jan 11, 2023 | Jan 9, 2024 |
| 14 | Jan 10, 2024 | Jan 8, 2025 |
Two transitions worth noting: Season 7 started in December 2016 because Riot pulled the schedule earlier that year, and Season 13 (2023) was the first to extend into the following January, the format that became the new normal through Season 14. 2025 onward switched to the three-thematic-seasons-per-year structure described above.
FAQ
How long does a LoL season last?
Roughly three to five and a half months. In 2026, Season 1 ran about sixteen weeks (Jan 8 to Apr 28) and Season 2 about thirteen (Apr 29 to Jul 28), while Season 3 will be the longest because it runs until the annual reset. The full annual cycle (three thematic seasons combined) is about 12 months, with the new cycle starting in early January.
What is the Victorious skin for Season 2, 2026?
Victorious Rengar, which shipped with patch 26.14. Season 2 closed on July 28, 2026, so the earning window is shut and Rengar can no longer be obtained. Season 1's skin was Victorious Braum, granted on patch 26.09.
What is the Victorious skin for Season 3, 2026?
Not announced as of August 4, 2026. Riot typically reveals a Victorious skin a few weeks before its season ends, and Season 3 is projected to run into early January 2027, so expect the reveal in late 2026. Any site naming a Season 3 champion right now is guessing. The 15-win mission is already live, so you can bank the wins before knowing which skin you're earning.
Is "LoL Season 16" the same as Season 1, 2026?
"Season 16" or "S16" is community shorthand for the 2026 annual cycle as a whole, which contains Seasons 1, 2, and 3. Riot's official wording is "Season 1, 2026," "Season 2, 2026," and "Season 3, 2026." Both refer to the same 12-month period at different resolutions.
Do Quickplay or Co-Op wins count toward the 15-win Victorious requirement?
No. Only Solo/Duo and Flex Ranked wins count, combined. Quickplay, Co-Op vs AI, Normals, and ARAM do not contribute.
I'm at Honor 2 with the season ending soon. Can I still get the skin?
Possibly. Honor reaches Level 3 in roughly two weeks of clean play with regular games, faster if you accumulate honors from teammates. Avoid chat-restrictable behavior and don't take any 14-day actions. If you're still at Honor 2 in the final week of the season, the math is tight but not impossible. See our Honor system guide for the recovery path.
