BLG defeated T1 3-1 in the Semi-Finals of League of Legends Worlds 2026 to overcome their demons and make the Grand Final.
BLG and the LPL had historically been so often denied by Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, but that streak broke in Allen, Texas, as BLG proved their superiority on the Rift.
BLG will now face Gen.G in the Grand Final of Worlds 2026 on Saturday, November 14, in the Barclays Center, New York.
BLG produce perfection to overcome T1 and Faker LPL curse
Regardless of the outcome of the Grand Final, this BLG roster cemented its place in history by overcoming a T1 roster that had so often denied the hopes of Chinese League of Legends.
The series broke Faker’s 13-year and 13 Best of 5 Series hold on the LPL. The legendary Mid-Laner had tormented the region and prevented the LPL from tasting success for so long, vanquishing Anyone’s Legend in the Worlds 2025 quarterfinals after recovering from a 1-2 deficit in the Worlds 2024 Finals to claim his fifth Worlds trophy.
However, the streak was broken by BLG this time around, despite the best efforts of the ‘Unkillable Demon King,’ who proved to be T1’s strongest piece in the series.
The 3-1 series victory saw consistent dominance from BLG’s top side, and expertly timed engages to turn Game 3 and Game 4 in BLG’s favor, with Luo ‘ON’ Wen-Jun’s Game 4 Seraphone ult sure to go down in Worlds history as a historic moment for the region.
In the Grand Final, BLG has even more opportunity to make history for the region, potentially securing the LPL’s first win since EDG’s 2021 triumph, after half a decade of Faker and co. denying the region.
A Grand Finals victory would see Zhuo ‘Knight’ Ding become the first Chinese Mid-Laner to win Worlds, with IG, FPX, and EDG’s victories all featuring imported Korean Mid-Laners.
T1 record trophyless year for the first time since 2021
Despite struggles in the year, it was not possible to fully evaluate T1’s 2026 before Worlds had ended, as the roster’s Worlds magic had, for so long, outlasted their performances elsewhere.
We can now say that the ‘magic’ ran out against BLG, that their frailties and faults were outstripped by any latent confidence and composure at the competition they had won so frequently.
T1’s exit at Worlds 2026 reflected the overall form of the roster across the year. The team was good enough to make the semi-finals, only dropping below 4th at MSI 2026. However, the roster also ended their year without a trophy for the first time since 2021.
T1’s 2026 results were:
- LCK Cup: 4th
- MSI 2026: 5th-6th
- Esports World Cup 2026: 4th
- LCK 2026: 3rd
- Worlds 2026: 3rd-4th
Where do T1 go from here?
The failure to lift a trophy has already started long-awaited discourse regarding T1’s potential roster changes for next year, with Choi ‘Doran’ Hyeon-jun and Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun under the microscope.
Doran was undoubtedly T1’s most consistent weakness in the series, with Chen ‘Bin’ Ze-Bin consistently outlaning the Korean, resulting in T1 making necessary sacrifices to compensate for the Top Lane.
Prior to the conclusion of Worlds 2026, news broke from Korea that Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je will explore his value in the free-agent market after rejecting a renewal deal with Hanwha Life Esports.
Undoubtedly, fans would love to see Zeus back, who won Worlds 2023 and 2024 with T1, but with new salary cap rules being implemented in the LCK in 2027, it is hard to know whether a deal can be done.
Fans were also highly critical of Oner in the series and throughout the year, a year that saw Oner temporarily benched in August. Oner consistently over-engaged in the latter half of the series, making it more difficult for his team to play out teamfights effectively.
Will BLG take Gen.G down in the Final? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, Twitch streamer Thebausffs has had all his LoL accounts suspended. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
More from Darragh Harbinson
Comments