Eight teams head into Guangzhou with their whole 2026 season riding on one weekend, and only two will keep playing. The Brawl Stars Championship Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) runs on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026 at the South China Agricultural University Sports Centre.
You don’t need to be in Guangzhou to watch. No Southeast Asian team made this field, though, so fans here will have to pick someone else to support. Our picks are below.
Two Spots, No Second Chances
The LCQ runs across the weekend. It opens with a group stage of two groups, then moves into a double-elimination playoff, where a team has to lose twice before it’s knocked out. That safety net helps, but with only two qualifying places, one loss in the wrong match can still be fatal.
Kim Jensen, Supercell’s esports manager, calls this the “strongest season play for Brawl Stars Championship ever” and says the LCQ “will make history as our first truly international Brawl Esports event in China!” That’s the organiser’s framing, but it explains why so much attention is on Guangzhou rather than only on Tokyo.
Last Year’s Underdog Won Everything
If you think an LCQ team can’t win the whole thing, look at 2025. That year’s qualifier in São Paulo, Brazil, had 16 teams competing for four World Finals places. Crazy Raccoon came through it, then won the 2025 World Finals at DreamHack Stockholm by sweeping HMBLE 3-0 in the final.
This year’s bracket is smaller, which changes the margin for error. A smaller bracket gives each team fewer matches to recover from a bad start. For a reminder of how quickly a bracket can turn in another esport, see our recap of The International 11.
The Eight Teams Still Fighting
Europe sends two teams. Team Heretics qualified through fifth place on the EMEA leaderboard with Marco, Subeme and iKaoss. Natus Vincere (NAVI) took the region’s sixth spot with Nowy297, GeRo and Engraged.
LOUD represents South America after finishing third on its regional leaderboard, with FireCrow, Edinho and KaioDog. KDS Esports took North America’s third-place berth with bobby, Sans and Patchy. East Asia’s third-place spot went to SKCalalas EA, featuring Naipishu, Kuru and Ghost T.
Two home teams complete most of the field. TOC (DiuQiang, DynaMike and XPR) won the Chinese Mainland Finals, and runners-up Ace Xero (Galaxy, David and Coldrink) get another shot at Tokyo. The eighth place went to FUT Vodafone FreeZone, winners of the Challengers Finals.
The Two Teams We’d Back
Team Heretics has some vocal support. When Brawl Stars Esports posted about the event on X on 24 September, a fan named StarRed replied in Spanish, telling the team “TH this is yours” and pointing to iKaoss. Another fan, Dave23, named Heretics and SKCalalas EA as his picks. A few replies don’t make a consensus, but Heretics’ fifth-place leaderboard finish means the team came close to qualifying directly, and that kind of near-miss tends to make a team hungry.
Our second pick is TOC. The team won its regional final rather than finishing as a runner-up, and it will play in front of a home crowd in Guangzhou. That’s a real advantage in an event this short. If you want a dark horse, keep an eye on SKCalalas EA. It qualified from the East Asia leaderboard, the region closest to viewers here.
Ten Teams Already Waiting
While these eight fight it out, ten teams have already qualified for Japan. Defending champions Crazy Raccoon get to defend their title on home soil, led by three-time World Champion Tensai. Fellow Japanese team ZETA DIVISION returns after a group-stage exit in 2025, with two-time World Champion Sitetampo looking for another title.
HMBLE may be the team to beat. After finishing as runner-up in Stockholm, they won May’s Brawl Cup in Berlin. That event was produced as part of the new 2026 partnership between Supercell and BLAST, a global esports production company. The rest of the qualified field is FUT Esports, Reply Totem, NOVO Esports, Team Elektros, Tribe Gaming, Bounty Hunters and Red Canids.
With two Japanese teams already set to play in front of home crowds, the two LCQ survivors will arrive as the underdogs. That suits them, since last year’s winner arrived the same way!
How to Follow Along
Watching from Singapore can earn you in-game rewards. The listed rewards include Chaos Drops, Starr Drops, a Halloween Tentacles Spray, a Halloween Champie Pin, Hypercharge and a Jackie Trophy Icon. If the spooky cosmetics put you in the mood, our Halloween in Singapore 2026 guide has the offline version covered.
If you’re in Guangzhou, Brawl Stars Esports said on 24 September that tickets would go on sale before the end of September. Check its X account for the latest on availability.
🗓️ Date: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026
📍 Location: South China Agricultural University Sports Centre, Guangzhou, China
📺 Where to Watch: Broadcast channels not yet announced; follow Brawl Stars Esports on X
🎮 Format: Two-group stage, then a double-elimination playoff
🎟️ Stakes: Top two teams qualify for the World Finals in Tokyo
🎁 Viewer Rewards: Chaos Drops, Starr Drops and Halloween cosmetics
Whether you’re backing Heretics, rooting for the home teams or waiting for a surprise run like Crazy Raccoon’s last year, this is the weekend that decides who gets to Tokyo. Follow Brawl Stars Esports on X and keep an eye on the Brawl Stars in-game news for the live broadcast. Once two winners emerge from Guangzhou, the World Finals field will be complete!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Supercell.
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