New Champion Locke Is a Burst Assassin, and MSI Is Heading to Daejeon

Riot’s latest Dev Update covered a lot of ground, but two things jumped out. There is a new champion named Locke on the way, and MSI 2026 has a home. Pabro, Meddler, Phlox and Cadmus ran through the rest, from skins to a new Ranked queue, but let me start with the headline acts.

New champion Locke arrives in Patch 26.13

Locke is the next champion joining League. Riot describes him as a high-burst assassin, with one important catch. He only delivers that burst if you get your setup right first.

That is a deliberate design choice and a familiar one. Riot has leaned into “conditional payoff” assassins before, the kind who feel weak when you fumble the combo and terrifying when you nail it. If Locke follows that pattern, expect a champion with a real skill floor and a punishing learning curve.

He is slated for Patch 26.13, which puts him a couple of patches out from now. Details on his kit are thin so far, and I would treat any leaks before the official reveal with caution. What Riot confirmed is the archetype and the release window, nothing more.

One nice tie-in: Locke is already on the skin schedule. He is getting a High Noon skin not long after launch, which I covered in our 2026 LoL skin roadmap.

MSI 2026 lands in Daejeon, South Korea

The other big confirmation is the Mid-Season Invitational. MSI 2026 takes place in Daejeon, South Korea, at the Daejeon Convention Center II, running from June 28 through July 12.

Riot laid out the full schedule too. Play-ins run June 28 to July 1. The brackets play across July 3 to 6 and then July 8 to 12. The Finals land on July 12. So if you are planning watch parties, block out that second weekend of July.

There is a teaser attached as well. Riot said to tune into the MSI Finals for a sneak peek at what is coming for Season 3. That is the kind of line that gets the theorycrafters going, and I am curious whether it means a gameplay system, a map change, or something bigger.

What else the Dev Update covered

Beyond the new champion Locke and MSI, the update touched a handful of systems worth a quick mention.

ARAM Mayhem is getting a sizable overhaul in Patch 26.12 that removes the Trait system and folds the popular ones into new Augments, plus a brand new Ability Augment type. I gave that its own deep dive in our ARAM Mayhem Season 2 Act 2 breakdown.

Riot is also bringing back Ranked 5s as an experiment, a full five-stack queue running in windowed weekend slots. The details and the regional time windows are in our Ranked 5s return explainer.

On the player-safety side, you can now report abusive communication in your DMs starting this Act. Riot is adding a system that makes it easier to track what you do and do not have access to in game, like Honor rewards and any chat or queue restrictions. Small quality-of-life stuff, but the DM reporting is overdue.

There is also a cosmetics test. The ARAM Wardrobe is live in Brazil and Oceania, where 1350 RP unlocks most Epic-tier and lower skins released before 2026 for use in ARAM and ARAM Mayhem. Riot’s short written rundown of the whole update is in the official TL;DW Dev Update.

The part worth watching

The Locke reveal is the one I keep thinking about. A burst assassin gated behind setup is a high-risk design, and those champions tend to either flop in solo queue or dominate pro play. Riot will be watching the win-rate-versus-pick-rate gap closely.

MSI in Daejeon is a safe, sensible pick. Korea draws a strong live crowd, and a mid-summer slot keeps the competitive calendar tidy before the late-season run. More League coverage sits on our League of Legends news hub.