Worlds 2026 has reached the knockout stage, and this page tracks one thing: how the four LCK teams got here and who they face next. Everything below is as of November 3, 2026, before the first quarterfinal is played.
Korea sent four teams this year: Gen.G as LCK champion, Hanwha Life Esports as runner-up and 2026 MSI winner, T1 in third and Dplus KIA in fourth.
At the Swiss Stage in Allen, Texas, from October 23 to 31, Gen.G and Dplus KIA never lost a series, T1 dropped one game to DK and then won out, and Hanwha Life went home at two wins and three losses. For viewers in North America and Europe, the interesting part is who stands in the LCK's way.
LYON and Karmine Corp both made the quarterfinals, the first time two Western teams have done that since 2021, and both drew Korean opponents.
Below you will find each team's roster and Swiss results, the bracket path to the semifinals, the remaining schedule in US time zones, and a short list of things to watch in each series.
LCK teams and their quarterfinal opponents at a glance
| Team (finish or seed) and roster | Swiss Stage path | Result and quarterfinal opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Gen.G (LCK champion): Kiin, Canyon, Chovy, Ruler, Duro | R1 beat IG 1:0, R2 beat Hanwha Life 1:0, R3 beat LYON 2:1 | 3 wins 0 losses, plays LYON |
| Dplus KIA (4th): Siwoo, Lucid, ShowMaker, Smash, Career | R1 beat G2 1:0, R2 beat T1 1:0, R3 beat MKOI 2:0 | 3 wins 0 losses, plays BLG |
| T1 (3rd, three-time defending champion): Doran, Oner, Faker, Peyz, Keria | R1 beat LØS 1:0, R2 lost to DK 0:1, R3 beat CFO 1:0, R4 beat MKOI 2:0 | 3 wins 1 loss, plays Karmine Corp |
| Hanwha Life Esports (runner-up, 2026 MSI winner): Zeus, Kanavi, Zeka, Gumayusi, Delight | R1 beat TES 1:0, R2 lost to Gen.G 0:1, R3 lost to IG 0:1, R4 beat G2 2:0, R5 lost to BLG 0:2 | 2 wins 3 losses, eliminated |
| LYON (LCS second seed) | 3 wins 2 losses, lost 1:2 to Gen.G in R3 | First-ever Worlds playoff run, rematch with Gen.G |
| Bilibili Gaming (LPL second seed) | 3 wins 2 losses, beat Hanwha Life 2:0 in R5 | Lost the MSI 2026 final 2:3 to Hanwha Life, plays DK |
| Karmine Corp (LEC third seed) | Came through the Play-In, then 3 wins 2 losses | First French organization in a Worlds knockout stage since 2011, plays T1 |
| Top Esports and Invictus Gaming (LPL) | Both 3 wins 1 loss | Meet each other, winner faces the Gen.G/LYON winner |
Semifinal path: DK and T1 meet if both win
Every knockout series is best-of-five, and Fearless Draft applies, so a champion picked earlier in a series cannot be picked again by either team. The bracket splits into two halves.
On one side, the Gen.G and LYON winner plays the winner of the all-LPL quarterfinal between Top Esports and Invictus Gaming, which means a Gen.G win guarantees an LCK versus LPL semifinal. On the other side, the Dplus KIA and BLG winner meets the T1 and Karmine Corp winner.
Because DK and T1 sit in the same half, two quarterfinal wins would produce an all-LCK semifinal and send one Korean team to the final. The two already met in Swiss round two, when DK won a best-of-one. If Gen.G also win their half, the final itself would be LCK against LCK.
If BLG and Karmine Corp win instead, that semifinal becomes LPL against LEC. Once the quarterfinals finish, check the official LoL Esports schedule to confirm which semifinal falls on November 7 and which on November 8.
Remaining schedule from the quarterfinals to the final (US time)
- 1November 3, 4 PM CT: TES vs IGThe opening quarterfinal is an LPL derby and the only same-region matchup of the quarterfinals. The winner faces the Gen.G and LYON winner in the semifinals, so Gen.G fans get an early look at their possible next opponent.
- 2November 4, 4 PM CT: Gen.G vs LYONA rematch of Swiss round three, which Gen.G won 2:1. LYON are playing in their first-ever Worlds playoffs, and they are one of the two Western teams left.
- 3November 5, 4 PM CT: Dplus KIA vs BLGBLG lost the MSI 2026 final to Hanwha Life 2:3, then knocked Hanwha Life out of this Worlds in Swiss round five. DK arrive unbeaten.
- 4November 6, 4 PM CT: T1 vs Karmine CorpKarmine Corp came all the way from the Play-In and are the first French organization to reach a Worlds knockout stage since 2011. T1 are chasing a fourth straight title after winning in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- 5November 7 and 8, 4 PM CT: semifinalsBoth semifinals stay at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen and are best-of-five. The pairings follow the bracket above.
- 6November 14, 2 PM ET: the finalThe final moves to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. That is 1 PM CT and 11 AM PT, so West Coast viewers can watch it before lunch.
What to watch in the LCK quarterfinals
- Gen.G and Dplus KIA did not lose a single series in the Swiss Stage. The first question is whether that form carries over from best-of-one and best-of-three into best-of-five.
- T1 lost to DK in round two, then beat CFO and MKOI to finish 3 and 1. Against Karmine Corp, their run at a fourth straight title is on the line.
- If DK and T1 both win, their Swiss round two meeting (DK won 1:0) becomes a best-of-five rematch in the semifinals.
- Under Fearless Draft, a series that reaches game five rules out every champion used in the first four games. Watch which champions each team saves for later games to see how deep their preparation goes.
- LYON and Karmine Corp are the two Western teams still in the bracket, and both drew LCK opponents, so the LCK quarterfinals double as the West's route to the semifinals.
Turn Worlds into practice: keep your own games as video
Watching Worlds usually makes you want to queue up on the champion you just saw. To compare that game with the pro version later, you need it on video.
DOR is a free Windows app: when you launch League of Legends, it detects the game and records the whole match, and kills, multikills and objectives are cut into automatic highlight clips in your library. If you want to keep a particular moment, how to save a LoL pentakill clip shows the steps.
In League, Replay and Spectate are on by default under Recording by Mode, so playing an older .rofl replay in the client records that screen too. Replay files stop working once the patch changes, so converting them, as in how to save LoL ROFL replays as MP4, keeps them watchable for good.
In the app you can trim just the part you need in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, then send one dor.gg link that plays straight in a phone browser.
