Korean rosters Gen.G and Dplus KIA became the first teams to qualify for the Playoffs at the League of Legends World Championship 2026.
The LCK teams made it through with 3-0 records through the Swiss Stage, but the progression came at the cost of Western rosters MKOI and LYON, who will now go into the 2-1 gauntlet for Monday evening’s draw.
How Dplus KIA made the Worlds Quarters
Dplus KIA became the first roster to qualify for Worlds playoffs with a 2-0 dismantling of MKOI, which continued to display the LCK roster’s excellent teamfighting.
The EWC 2026 champions came to maturity as a roster in the latter part of the year, becoming the best-performing team in the LCK Round 3-4 Split. Now veteran mid-laner Heo ‘ShowMaker’ Su will be aiming to replicate his Worlds 2020 victory with a new generation of players.
DK’s path so far is:
- DK 1-0 G2
- DK 1-0 T1
- DK 2-0 MKOI
The results mean that DK is the only team to have not dropped a single game on their way to the playoffs, despite facing six-time Worlds champion Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok and his roster, who are looking for a record-breaking four back-to-back World Championships.
T1 will now face CFO in the 1-1 bracket before moving on to either the 2-1 promotion matches or the 1-2 elimination matches, where KC and HLE are already waiting.
Gen.G Follows DK into Worlds 2026 Playoffs
Gen.G followed DK into the playoffs after a scare against LYON, which saw them drop a superb Game 1 before dismantling the LCS second seed in the following two games.
Gen.G qualified for the Worlds 2026 playoffs through the following pathway:
- Gen.G 1-0 IG
- Gen.G 1-0 HLE
- Gen.G 2-1 LYON
The LYON result continues a long trend of Kacper ‘Inspired’ SÅ‚oma. The Polish Jungler has consistently been one of the best Western players, leading FlyQuest and LYON to domestic dominance and helping them qualify for MSI and Worlds.
However, the Polish player has historically struggled against Eastern teams, failing to win any Best-of-Series against Chinese or Korean rosters.
That trend continued, despite the Jungler garnering praise for his Game 1 play, which saw his Xin Zhao engage lead to victory, before Gen.G’s superiority shone through in Games 2 and 3.
Can MKOI and LYON recover to qualify for Playoffs? Share your thoughts with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, see LYON’s departure from Valorant esports. 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.
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