With the Worlds 2026 final scheduled for November 14, the ranked grind questions are back: when does the season end, and how many more wins do I need for the Victorious skin? Since 2025, League runs three ranked seasons per year, and in 2026 they looked like this.
Season 1 opened with patch 26.01 on January 8 and closed at 23:59 on April 28. Season 2 ran from noon on April 29 to 23:59 on July 28. Season 3, the one you are playing now, started at noon local server time on July 29.
What Riot has not published yet, as of November 12, 2026, is the Season 3 end date or the start date of the 2027 ranked year. Plenty of sites already list a precise day, but none of those dates come from Riot.
This guide separates what is confirmed from what is projected, explains why early January is the most likely window, and lists everything you should lock in before the ladder closes, from your win count to your Honor level to the games you want to keep.
No official end date yet, but early January is the likely window
Three things point to early January. First, Riot's support patch schedule lists only two patches left this year: 26.23 on November 18 and 26.24 on December 9.
Second, last year's final patch notes (25.24) announced that Season 3 2025 ranked would end on January 7, 2026 at 23:59:59 local server time, the last day of that patch cycle. Ranked queues were then disabled for roughly 12 hours, and the new year started with patch 26.01 on January 8.
Third, Riot Support lists January 6, 2027 (local time) as the end of Season 3 Act II, the content act that runs alongside ranked.
Put together, a similar early January cutoff is the reasonable expectation, but it is not a guarantee, and the exact time normally appears in the last patch notes or an end of season article. Riot Support says those articles usually arrive about a month before a season ends.
The Victorious skin follows the same pattern: Season 1 2026 was Victorious Braum, Season 2 was Victorious Rengar, released with patch 26.14 on July 15, and the Season 3 champion had not been revealed as of November 12.
What to do before Season 3 ends
- 1Check your 15 win missionThe Victorious skin requires 15 ranked wins this season, counting Solo/Duo and Flex together. The mission restarted when Season 3 began on July 29, so wins from Season 2 do not count. Open the missions tab in the client to see how many you have left.
- 2Protect your Honor levelRiot Support says you need Honor Level 3 or higher to receive season rewards. A late chat penalty can drop you below that even with 15 wins, so keep the last few weeks clean.
- 3Set your final rank targetRewards are based on your rank when the season ends, including a Victorious chroma in your final tier color. If you are one division away, finish the climb before the end date is announced rather than gambling on the final weekend.
- 4Record your final promo gamesOnce the season closes, those games are gone. See what DOR does for League on the League of Legends game page, and how to review your own footage in how to VOD review League games.
- 5Watch the December patch notesIf the final patch notes publish an end time like last year, we will update this page. Until then, treat the dates above as projections.
League of Legends 2026 ranked seasons (as of November 12, 2026)
| Season | Dates (local server time) | Victorious skin and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Jan 8 (26.01) to Apr 28, 23:59 | Victorious Braum. First season of the year, so ranks reset |
| Season 2 | Apr 29, 12:00 to Jul 28, 23:59 | Victorious Rengar (patch 26.14, Jul 15). Ranks carried over |
| Season 3 | Jul 29, 12:00 to not announced | Skin not revealed yet. Ranks carried over, 15 win mission restarted |
| Remaining patches | 26.23 on Nov 18, 26.24 on Dec 9 | Riot Support schedule, subject to change |
| Season 3 end (expected) | Early January 2027 | Season 3 2025 ended Jan 7, 2026 at 23:59, queues off for about 12 hours |
| 2027 Season 1 (expected) | Early January with a new patch | New ranked year, rank reset and placements |
End of season checklist
- End date: not announced as of November 12, 2026. Early January is a projection based on last year.
- Victorious skin: 15 ranked wins this season (Solo/Duo and Flex combined) and Honor Level 3 or higher.
- Rewards: the Victorious skin, the champion if you do not own it, a chroma matching your final rank, and that champion's Eternals Series 2 capsule.
- Rank reset: only at 2027 Season 1. Most players start about one tier below their final rank, and the highest starting point is Emerald I.
- Plan your climb after the reset with how to get better at League of Legends.
Record your last ranked games automatically with DOR
DOR is a free Windows game recording app. Launch League and it detects the game and records the whole match, with every recording collected in My Clips.
In League, kills, multikills and objectives are also saved as automatic highlight clips, so after a promo series you can jump straight to the teamfight that decided it.
Trim any moment in the app at 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, then use DOR Studio (dor.gg/studio) to stitch several games into an end of season montage. Learn how the automatic clips work in League highlight software explained, or see every League feature on the League of Legends game page.
