Worlds 2026 Swiss Round 4: T1 face Movistar KOI with a quarter-final spot at stake, Malaysia times inside

Round 4 of the League of Legends World Championship 2026 Swiss stage starts early on Thursday morning in Malaysia, and T1 can reach the quarter-finals. The defending champions play Movistar KOI in the opening best-of-three, with both teams on 2-1. The round runs over three days at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. Three series send their winners to the knockouts and three send their losers home.

Where the Swiss stage stands

Dplus KIA and Gen.G are already through to the quarter-finals after going 3-0. Team Secret Whales and Anyone's Legend were knocked out at 0-3 on Monday. Team Liquid beat Anyone's Legend 2-0, and LØS swept Team Secret Whales 2-0 for their first win of the event.

The rest of the field is split into two pools:

• 2-1: Movistar KOI, T1, Invictus Gaming, LYON, Top Esports, Bilibili Gaming
• 1-2: Karmine Corp, CTBC Flying Oyster, Team Liquid, LØS, Hanwha Life Esports, G2 Esports

All Round 4 series are best-of-three. The 2-1 winners go to 3-1 and qualify, and the 1-2 losers drop to 1-3 and are eliminated.

Round 4 schedule in Malaysia time

The matches start at 4pm and 7pm US Eastern time, which is 4am and 7am MYT the next morning:

• Thursday 29 Oct, 4am MYT: Movistar KOI vs T1 (winner qualifies)
• Thursday 29 Oct, 7am MYT: LYON vs Invictus Gaming (winner qualifies)
• Friday 30 Oct, 4am MYT: CTBC Flying Oyster vs Karmine Corp (loser eliminated)
• Friday 30 Oct, 7am MYT: Bilibili Gaming vs Top Esports (winner qualifies)
• Saturday 31 Oct, 4am MYT: Team Liquid vs LØS (loser eliminated)
• Saturday 31 Oct, 7am MYT: G2 Esports vs Hanwha Life Esports (loser eliminated)

Form guide for the key series

T1 lost to Dplus KIA in Round 2 and then beat CTBC Flying Oyster on Monday. Hotspawn reports T1 recovered from a 2,000-gold deficit after punishing a mid-game mistake. Rg.org says the game lasted about 27 minutes and ended 14-6 on kills. Movistar KOI come into the series after losing their Round 3 match to Dplus KIA.

The all-LPL match between Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports may be the biggest series of the round. BLG beat Karmine Corp on Monday in a game Hotspawn described as close to flawless, and Park "Viper" Do-hyeon stood out on Kai'Sa.

In the 1-2 pool, Team Liquid come in after their 2-0 sweep of Anyone's Legend. Hanwha Life Esports and G2 Esports meet in the final series of the round, and the loser goes out.

What comes after

The six teams left on 2-2 after Round 4 play three more best-of-three series in Round 5 on Saturday 31 October US time, from 1am MYT on Sunday 1 November. The winners complete the quarter-final line-up of eight. The two 3-0 teams, Dplus KIA and Gen.G, are kept on opposite sides of the bracket and drawn against teams that finish 3-2.

The knockout stage begins in early November in Allen. The final is scheduled for 14 November at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Key takeaways

• Round 4 runs from Thursday to Saturday morning in Malaysia, with two best-of-three series each day at 4am and 7am MYT.
• T1 vs Movistar KOI, LYON vs Invictus Gaming and Bilibili Gaming vs Top Esports decide three quarter-final places.
• CTBC vs Karmine Corp, Team Liquid vs LØS and G2 vs Hanwha Life are elimination series.
• Dplus KIA and Gen.G are already in the quarter-finals. Team Secret Whales and Anyone's Legend are out.

FAQ

What time is T1 vs Movistar KOI in Malaysia? The series starts at 4am MYT on Thursday 29 October, which is 4pm US Eastern on Wednesday 28 October.

How many teams reach the Worlds 2026 quarter-finals? Eight. Teams qualify by reaching three wins in the Swiss stage before suffering three losses.

When is Round 5 of the Swiss stage? Round 5 is on Saturday 31 October in the US, from 1am MYT on Sunday 1 November. The six teams on 2-2 play for the last three quarter-final places.

Sources: Hotspawn, ESTNN, rg.org, Wikipedia