Worlds 2026 began badly for the LPL, with all four Chinese teams losing their opening Swiss stage matches on Day 1. The most notable surprises came from Europe: Movistar KOI defeated Bilibili Gaming, China’s second seed, while Karmine Corp beat the region’s first seed, Anyone’s Legend.
The LCK delivered China’s other two losses, with Gen.G defeating Invictus Gaming and Hanwha Life Киберспорт beating Top Киберспорт. G2 Киберспорт could not match the success of its European counterparts, losing to Dplus KIA after a late comeback from the Korean team. The LEC still finished the first round 2:1, with Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp both moving into the next round with a win.
Swiss Round 1 Results
CFO still has it. Photo via LoL Киберспорт
Invictus Gaming 0:1 Gen.G
Gen.G, one of the tournament’s biggest favorites, faced a scrappy Invictus Gaming in their first Swiss match, and the Chinese team played to its nature, immediately pulling the Koreans into its own gameplan and securing early advantages. Gen.G is the best in the world at stabilizing gold leads; however, Chovy on Akali and Canyon on Qiyana completely dismantled iG in late-game teamfights and secured the win for Korea’s first seed.
Top Киберспорт 0:1 Hanwha Life Киберспорт
Another Korean favorite, Hanwha Life Киберспорт, faced an ailing Top Киберспорт that started Worlds 2026 without their main toplaner ZUIAN. 369 held his own decently well, though, even though the match ended up being a complete rout. China’s second defeat in two games.
Movistar KOI 1:0 Bilibili Gaming
MKOI and BLG faced off in the third game. BLG, another one of the favorites, picked a somewhat disrespectful draft and promptly paid for it. MKOI’s botlane got early advantages thanks to Supa’s great Ezreal, and despite a midgame throw attempt, they still managed to close out the match and deliver one of the major upsets of Day 1. BLG disappointed LPL fans last year by losing in the Swiss Stage, and unfortunately for them, Worlds 2026 started the same way.
Karmine Corp 1:0 Anyone’s Legend
From Play-In to Day 1 win. Photo via LoL Киберспорт
LPL’s champion AL got LEC’s KC in their first match, and were heavy favorites to win the game. But before the games even began, some rumors of AL’s underperformance in scrims started circulating. Still, no one expected the game to be as volatile as it was, and all in favor of the French team. Canna was absolutely massive and even got a Quadra Kill on his Jax. With this upset, something completely unbelievable happened: China lost all four matches on day 1.
DPlus KIA 1:0 G2 Киберспорт
DK vs G2 was expected to be the closest matchup of day 1, and it delivered on what was promised. The cagiest and most careful game of all started with G2’s huge kill lead, 0:7. Unfortunately for them, DK started to find small picks and advantages that allowed them to get back into the game. What no one expected was for the game to simply end after a bad skirmish by the Europeans. LCK remained undefeated.
Team Liquid Alienware 0:1 CTBC Flying Oyster
One of LCS’ two remaining teams, Team Liquid, drew CFO, much to NA’s happiness. Little did they know, though, that the Taiwanese team would be ready to completely counter them. CFO suffocated TL, not allowing them to get any objectives and largely scaling into the mid and late game. CFO is a known entity, even if their 2026 is not as good, but this was still an upset.
LØS 0:1 T1
Day 1’s penultimate matchup saw our reigning champion, T1, take on Brazil’s revelation, LØS. The team went from the promotion tournament right into facing Faker, and unfortunately, he was not in the mood for whimsy. The Korean giants played what could be called the “Champagne League of Legends,” dominating the match and winning with flashy plays. LCK finished day 1 undefeated.
LYON 1:0 Team Secret Whales
The final day 1 game of the Swiss Stage saw TSW take on LCS’ second seed, LYON. The American team looked confident, led by Inspired and Saint, but the true superstar of the matchup was Berserker, who dropped a worldie on Ezreal, 13/1/5. Dire tried his best, but his Ryze wasn’t enough to do anything with LYON’s comp and tight wallets.
Swiss Round 2 Draw
The draw for Round 2 of the Swiss stage was held immediately after the games concluded, delivering some incredible matchups, particularly within the 1:0 bracket.
1:0 matchups:
- DK vs. T1
- CFO vs. MKOI
- HLE vs. GEN
- LYON vs. KC
0:1 matchups:
- G2 vs. LOS
- IG vs. TSW
- TES vs. AL
- TLAW vs. BLG
The exact schedule for Day 2 has not yet been announced.
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