Worlds 2026 quarter-final draw: T1 meet Karmine Corp, DK face BLG after BLG knock out Hanwha Life
BLG, Karmine Corp and LYON won the last Swiss round at Worlds 2026. The quarter-final draw gives T1 vs KC, DK vs BLG, Gen.G vs LYON and TES vs IG.
The eight teams for the League of Legends World Championship 2026 quarter-finals are now known. Bilibili Gaming (BLG), Karmine Corp (KC) and LYON won the last three places in the fifth and final Swiss round in Allen, Texas, which finished on Saturday, 31 October (US time). BLG beat Hanwha Life Esports 2-0, knocking out one of the four LCK teams. The draw that followed puts T1 against Karmine Corp, Dplus KIA against BLG, Gen.G against LYON and Top Esports against Invictus Gaming.
Round 5: three elimination matches
All six teams in Round 5 went in at 2-2, so each best-of-three decided which team went through and which went home.
- Karmine Corp 2-0 Movistar KOI. In an all-LEC match, KC swept their rivals and reached a Worlds quarter-final for the first time.
- LYON 2-1 LØS. The LCS second seed came from a game down against the Brazilian champions. That loss means no CBLOL team is in the knockout stage.
- BLG 2-0 Hanwha Life Esports. BLG won Game 1 by 19 kills to 18 after 41 minutes, after HLE had taken Baron and an inhibitor. Game 2 was one-sided. BLG built a lead of more than 10,000 gold and finished it in around 32 minutes.
BLG had extra reason to want the win. HLE beat them 3-2 in the Mid-Season Invitational final earlier this year. HLE finish 2-3 after a run that included a 2-0 win over G2 Esports a day earlier to stay alive.
The quarter-final draw
- Gen.G vs LYON
- T1 vs Karmine Corp
- Dplus KIA vs Bilibili Gaming
- Top Esports vs Invictus Gaming
Gen.G and Dplus KIA both went 3-0 in the Swiss stage, so they were kept apart and cannot meet before the final. T1 (3-1) are in the same half as DK, so an all-Korean semi-final is possible if both beat their European and Chinese opponents. TES and IG will play the only all-LPL quarter-final, and the winner meets the Gen.G vs LYON winner in the semi-finals.
Dates and Malaysia times
All quarter-finals are single best-of-five matches. They run from Wednesday, 4 November to Saturday, 7 November, with the first match at 7am Korea time, which is 6am Malaysia time on 4 November. The grand final is in New York on 15 November, Korea and Malaysia time. Because the event is in the United States, most matches will be played early in the morning in Malaysia.
Who is left
The LCK have three of the eight quarter-finalists (Gen.G, T1 and DK) and the LPL also have three (BLG, TES and IG). Europe and North America have one each in KC and LYON. Hanwha Life's elimination ended the LCK's hopes of putting all four of its teams into the knockout stage.
Key takeaways
- BLG beat Hanwha Life 2-0 in Round 5, making up for their loss in the MSI 2026 final.
- Karmine Corp swept Movistar KOI and reached their first Worlds quarter-final.
- LYON beat LØS 2-1, so no Brazilian team made the knockout stage.
- Quarter-finals: Gen.G vs LYON, T1 vs KC, DK vs BLG, TES vs IG.
- The knockout stage starts on 4 November at 6am Malaysia time.
FAQ
Who did T1 draw in the Worlds 2026 quarter-finals? T1 play Karmine Corp, the LEC's third seed, in a best-of-five match.
When do the Worlds 2026 quarter-finals start in Malaysia time? The first match is at 6am Malaysia time on Wednesday, 4 November. The quarter-finals run until 7 November.
Which LCK team was eliminated in the Swiss stage? Hanwha Life Esports. They lost 2-0 to BLG in Round 5 and finished with a 2-3 record.
Sources: Sports Kyunghyang, GosuGamers, Inven Global, Strafe