Who is the new League of Legends champion? Rumors, leaks, and latest news

Who is the new League of Legends champion? As the MOBA's roster continues to expand (it currently sits at a colossal 172), Riot has admitted that it's planning to release less champions per year.

Ahead of the highly anticipated League Next update, which in many ways sounds like a sequel without the generic '2,' the developer is adjusting its champion release cadence dramatically, which is bad news for those of you who are looking for something new in League of Legends, but, in my mind, essential to the health of the overall game. So, without further ado, here's everything we know right now.

The last champion to join the League of Legends roster was Zaahen at the end of 2025, which saw three champions released over the course of the year. We're finally getting the much-anticipated Shyvana rework in March 2026 which, given that it reworks both her visuals and her kit, effectively feels like the addition of a new champion, but as for fresh faces, Riot has confirmed that we'll need to wait a little bit longer.

Who is the new League of Legends champion?

While Riot hasn't confirmed the name, role, or class of the new League of Legends champion, fans theorize that it's going to be Locke (note that this may be a codename, and not the champion's final one). He's rumored to be an AP fighter, akin to the likes of Ekko, Diana, or Sylas, and he hails, perhaps unsurprisingly, from Demacia.

Per a series of leaks from Spanish X account Big Bad Bear, we supposedly catch our first glimpse of Locke as part of the "For the Fallen" motion comic. Appearing in mid-February, the first few shots (beginning 0:20 in the video below) show a hooded figure with round, red glasses and a quiver on his back speaking to the bartender of a tavern. She warns that "no one that goes into those woods comes back, at least not the same as they were," and our mystery man heads out into the night, presumably bound for said forest. This catches the attention of Garen, the comic's primary focus, before he moves on into a recollection sequence. This mystery character is believed to be Locke.

That's all of the information we have at the moment - there's no sign of any release dates or anything more concrete, so I'd take the Locke conspiracy with a pinch of salt. In a Reddit comment, however, head of League studio Andrei 'Meddler' van Roon confirmed that there will only be one champion releasing in 2026 - presumably Locke - and that they're set to drop "around the middle of the year." I'd assume that'll probably be around the same time as the annual summer event, but ahead of MSI's finale in July, where we're set to learn more about League Next.

How many League of Legends champions are there?

There are currently 172 champions in League of Legends, making the next character number 173. That number will remain the same for the rest of 2026, unless they remove Yuumi which, let's be honest, would be a good thing.

So that's everything we know about the new League of Legends champion. If you're looking to get back into the fight, we have a full rundown of all the League of Legends ranks, if the game's competitive scene is your bag.