League of Legends is making a rare mid-year ranked reset for Apex tier players, with Riot confirming that all current Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger players in NA, EUW, EUNE, BR, LAN, and TR will be reset to Master 0 LP when Patch 26.9 launches at the start of Season 2. The move is aimed at repairing ladder integrity after months of volatile LP gains and inconsistent climbs at the top end of solo queue.
The change matters most to high-elo players in the affected regions, but it also signals how serious Riot views the problems that followed the January reset. According to the developer, patch-to-patch swings in LP behavior made the ladder feel less representative of actual skill, which is why the company chose a hard reset instead of smaller follow-up tuning.
What changes in Patch 26.9
In an official developer post, Riot said every affected Apex player will start again from Master 0 LP, with both visible rank and MMR reset. The publisher, Riot Games, described the decision as disruptive but necessary after months of instability at the top of the ladder.
The reset only applies to Master+ players in the six named regions. Riot also said it does not believe other servers have seen enough instability to justify a similar ladder wipe. That keeps the scope narrow, even if the consequences inside those regions will be significant for the first weeks of Season 2.
| Key detail | What Riot confirmed |
|---|---|
| Who is affected | Current Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger players in NA, EUW, EUNE, BR, LAN, and TR |
| When it happens | When Patch 26.9 goes live at the start of Season 2 |
| Reset point | All affected players return to Master 0 LP |
| MMR treatment | Visible rank and MMR are both reset |
| Baseline LP gains | Win and loss values move to a baseline of plus or minus 30 LP |
| New cutoffs | Challenger moves to 800 LP, Grandmaster to 400 LP in reset regions |
| Season rewards | Season 1 rewards stay unchanged, Season 3 will help reconcile Season 2 Apex rewards |
Why Riot is doing a hard reset
Riot’s explanation centers on one issue, ladder integrity. The developer said several ranked and matchmaking changes at the start of 2026 were configured poorly, which led to a season where LP outcomes could vary wildly depending on which patch a player happened to grind. In practice, that meant some players climbed through stretches of plus-10 and minus-30 games, while others played in later environments with very different gains and losses.
By Riot’s own telling, the underlying causes have been addressed since Patch 26.6 through improved matchmaking, better duo balance in Apex, uncapped LP at the top of the ladder, and other smaller fixes. The problem is that a healthier system does not automatically repair a ladder that was already distorted. Riot’s answer is to wipe that top-end ladder state and rebuild it from a single starting point.
That approach comes with an obvious downside. Because previous ranks will not be remembered in matchmaking, early Season 2 games could produce strange pairings, including former Challengers facing stacks of ex-Masters. Riot says that trade-off is expected and temporary, but it may take months before the ladder fully settles.
LP gains, cutoffs, and what the climb should feel like
Alongside the reset, Riot is trying to make the climb less grindy. The new baseline will be plus or minus 30 LP, with expected ranges between +35 and -25 or +25 and -35 depending on match context. The idea is to preserve a meaningful climb while making progress feel less punishing for players who cannot spam games every day.
Riot is also raising the floor for the highest visible tiers in the affected regions. Challenger will require 800 LP, while Grandmaster will require 400 LP. The developer said one long-running criticism of seasonal resets is that an early lucky streak can push players too high too fast, especially when current Challenger thresholds are easier to reach in the opening rush.
There is also a longer-term signal in the announcement. Riot said it has heard requests for more breakpoints inside Apex and plans to add them in 2027, which suggests the company sees the current structure as part of the wider problem, not just a bad opening to the 2026 season.
How rewards will work after the reset
Season 1 rewards will still be delivered as normal, so the hard reset does not erase what players already earned before Patch 26.9. For Season 2, Riot says Season 3 will act as a final reconciliation pass for Apex rewards in the affected regions.
That means a higher finish in Season 3 can retroactively improve Season 2 rewards. Riot’s example was straightforward: hit Master in Season 2, then Grandmaster in Season 3, and Grandmaster rewards would apply to both seasons at the end of the year. For players worried that a shorter season plus a hard reset could make the climb too compressed, that is one of the most important practical details in the announcement.
For broader coverage around this reset and other competitive system changes, RiftDaily’s news section should stay busy once Season 2 gets closer.
What this means for high-elo play in Season 2
The immediate result is simple: high-elo ranked in the affected regions is about to become chaotic again. A full reset creates a fairer starting line on paper, but the early ladder will almost certainly feel uneven while the system sorts out who actually belongs near the top. That could make opening weeks rougher in terms of match quality even if the long-term ladder ends up healthier.
It also raises the stakes for Riot’s next communication cycle. Players will want to see how these changes appear in the live patch notes, whether follow-up tuning arrives quickly, and how the top cutoffs settle once the climb begins again. Separate from the usual pre-patch speculation that often fills leaks coverage, this is one of those cases where the official rule set matters far more than rumor.
Until then, the reset stands as one of the clearest admissions yet that Riot believes the early 2026 Apex experience missed the mark. The company is not just tuning numbers, it is effectively restarting the competition at the top.
Frequently asked questions about League of Legends Apex ranked reset
Which regions are included in the Apex ranked reset?
The reset applies to NA, EUW, EUNE, BR, LAN, and TR. Riot said other regions have not shown the same level of instability.
Who gets reset in Patch 26.9?
Current Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger players in the affected regions will be reset. Riot said both visible rank and MMR will return to Master 0 LP.
Why is Riot resetting Master+ players mid-year?
Riot said LP swings and matchmaking issues since the January reset damaged ladder integrity. The company believes smaller fixes solved the system problems, but not the distorted ladder state they left behind.
Will early Season 2 matchmaking feel worse?
Probably, at least for a while. Riot warned that the reset removes previous ladder memory, so unusual matchups can happen until the ranked population sorts itself out over time.
What are the new LP gains and cutoff requirements?
The baseline shifts to plus or minus 30 LP. Riot also plans to raise the minimum cutoff to 800 LP for Challenger and 400 LP for Grandmaster in the reset regions.
What happens to Apex rewards after the reset?
Season 1 rewards will still be granted normally. For Season 2, Riot says Season 3 will serve as a reconciliation pass, meaning a higher finish later in the year can improve the reward tier applied to Season 2.
Where should players watch for follow-up details?
The next big checkpoints will be Riot’s live rollout messaging and any follow-up explanation in official channels. On RiftDaily, the fastest place to track those developments will be the updates hub.
What to watch before the reset goes live
The headline is not just that Riot is tweaking high-elo ranked, it is restarting a major part of it. Master+ players in six regions are getting a clean slate in Patch 26.9, with steeper top-end cutoffs, larger baseline LP swings, and a promise that Season 3 will help smooth out the reward fallout.
The next questions are how rough the first weeks of Season 2 feel and whether the rebuilt ladder ends up looking more legitimate than the one it replaces. For continuing coverage, keep an eye on RiftDaily’s patch notes archive and our updates hub as Patch 26.9 approaches.
