Worlds 2026: LCK sweeps LPL 4-0 on opening day of Swiss Stage

Korea's four representatives at Worlds 2026 won every one of their opening Swiss Stage matches on October 23, leaving all four Chinese teams at 0-1 after the first round of best-of-one games, according to Esports.net News.

The opening draw had pitted each LCK team directly against an LPL side, and Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA and T1 took all four of those matches. GosuGamers, cited by Esports.net News, described it as the first time in Worlds history that the entire LPL contingent had failed to win a single game in the opening Swiss round.

Gen.G's win over Invictus Gaming was the tightest of the headline clashes. Hotspawn's coverage, relayed by Esports.net News, noted that IG had carried a slight advantage in the early stages before Gen.G turned the match around.

Hanwha Life Esports had a more comfortable afternoon against Top Esports, with Zeka's performance on Locke singled out as the difference-maker in a one-sided result.

T1 produced the fastest finish of the round, closing out LØS in roughly 24 minutes on the back of Doran's Jayce and Oner's Lee Sin.

Dplus KIA needed longer to see off G2 Esports. SkewMond's Jarvan IV gave the LEC's top seed a strong opening phase, but DK managed the game through to a win regardless.

The LPL's other two defeats came against European opposition. Movistar KOI led for most of their match against Bilibili Gaming despite some scrappy teamfighting, while Karmine Corp beat Anyone's Legend behind heavy damage output from their jungle and support pairing.

Those results left the LEC at 2-2 on the day, with G2 and LØS dropping their openers while Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp picked up wins.

In the remaining matches, CTBC Flying Oyster edged past Team Liquid Alienware in a close contest built around Shad0w's Qiyana, and LYON beat Team Secret Whales with Berserker starring on Ezreal.

Round 2 is the final best-of-one round before the format shifts, and it pairs teams on matching records from the opener. Among the sides that won on day one, Dplus KIA face T1, Hanwha Life Esports meet Gen.G, CTBC Flying Oyster take on Movistar KOI, and LYON play Karmine Corp.

On the other side of the bracket, the four teams who lost their openers are drawn together: G2 Esports against LØS, Invictus Gaming against Team Secret Whales, Top Esports against Anyone's Legend, and Team Liquid Alienware against Bilibili Gaming.

Because two of those winners'-bracket pairings are all-LCK affairs, Korea is already guaranteed at least two teams moving to 2-0. Every LPL team, meanwhile, needs a win in Round 2 simply to avoid starting the Swiss Stage at 0-2.

From Round 3 onward the format switches to best-of-three with Fearless Draft, where three match wins send a team to the Knockout Stage and three losses end their Worlds run.