LoL Split 2: Dates, Rank Reset & What Happens Next

Split 2 started on 29 April 2026. Its end is expected around 22 July 2026, with Split 3 following immediately — but that date is a community projection, not officially confirmed, and split boundaries have moved before. The ranked year runs three splits and is expected to close in early January 2027 (also unconfirmed until the official calendar lands). We update this page the moment dates are official.

Here is the part most season guides get wrong: your rank does not reset between splits. When Split 2 rolls into Split 3, you keep your tier, your division and your LP — no placements, no drop. What changes at a split is the reward track and seasonal content, not the ladder.

The only routine reset is the annual January soft reset at the start of each ranked year: your rank is compressed downward by at least four divisions, the highest possible starting point is Emerald I, and you play 5 placement matches per queue to lock in your new badge. Your MMR persists through all of it, which is why January lobbies feel far sweatier than the ranks on the loading screen.

One historical exception worth knowing: on 29 April 2026, alongside the Split 2 launch, a one-off Apex reset dropped every Master+ player to Master 0 LP. That was a targeted high-elo correction, not a new recurring mechanic — don't expect it every split.

Because splits don't reset ranks, the real threat to a banked rank is LP decay, and the official rules are strict at the top: Diamond players hold up to 28 banked days and lose 50 LP per day once the bank runs dry; Master and above hold only 14 banked days and bleed 75 LP per day. Below Diamond there is no decay. If you're sitting on a Diamond+ rank you can't actively defend, either bank days with occasional games or lock the result in — end-of-split reward snapshots are exactly why the pre-boundary weeks are the most popular window for a rank boost.

Since rank carries across splits, every LP you win in Split 2 is still yours in Split 3 — there's no "wait for the reset" logic inside a ranked year. Gains are MMR-driven with no fixed number, but typically around 20–30 LP per win at healthy MMR. If your LP gains have sagged into the teens, your MMR is below your rank and grinding it out takes proportionally longer; the calculator above turns your from→to into a games estimate, the placement service covers the January re-entry, and the boost option prices the direct route.

The 2026 ranked year runs on the three-split calendar introduced in recent seasons: Split 1 opened the year in January with the annual soft reset, Split 2 began 29 April 2026 (alongside the one-off Apex reset at Master+), and Split 3 is expected to begin around late July 2026 — unconfirmed until the official announcement. We log each split's confirmed dates here as they close, so this page doubles as the ladder's historical record.