Sentinels completed an unexpected run to become the first team to qualify for League of Legends at the Esports World Cup 2026 by defeating FlyQuest 3-1.
The North American qualifiers were the first to conclude, with vastly varying schedules for the qualifiers throughout League’s regions.
Sentinels complete undefeated EWC qualifier
Sentinels completed a flawless Upper Bracket run to claim the first spot in League of Legends’ EWC tournament by defeating FlyQuest 3-1 in the Grand Final.
Sentinels dropped only two games in the entire run, defeating Disguised and Cloud9 2-0 before 2-1 and 3-1 wins over FlyQuest.
The qualifier was full of surprises, with LCS 2026 Lock-in champions Lyon falling to Flyquest 2-0 in the Upper Semis, before Team Liquid eliminated them in the Lower Bracket.
Liquid, currently 4-0 in LCS Spring, eventually fell to FlyQuest after Cloud9, also 4-0 in the LCS, had a horrific tournament, winning only against Disguised before falling to 2-0 to Sentinels and Liquid.
Sentinels’ run came despite relatively poor results in the LCS Spring season. Sentinels currently sit at only a 1-3 record in LCS Spring 2026, making their spot in the playoffs in doubt as they prepare for matchups against Dignitas and Lyon, which will decide their fate.
That record currently puts them 5th in the LCS standings, with the top four proceeding to the Upper Bracket of the playoffs, and the 5th and 6th-placed teams proceeding to the Lower Bracket.
Disguised is also sitting at 1-3 with Shopify and Liquid left to play, with Shopify also sitting at a 1-3 record and Disguised languishing at 0-4.
When will the EWC Qualifiers in other regions happen?
The NA Qualifiers were the first to complete, running between April 14-29. Teams from the remaining regions will qualify over the next few weeks and months, with the following schedule, arranged by earliest end-date:
- EMEA EWC Qualifier: April 28-May 17
- APAC EWC Qualifier: May 5-20
- China EWC Qualifier: March 27-May 22
- Korea EWC Qualifier: May 4-26
- South America & LATAM EWC Qualifier: June 17-24
As you can see, qualifiers in EMEA and China are well underway, with Fnatic, GIANTX, SK, and Vitality already sent down to the lower bracket in Europe.
As for China, First Stand Champions BLG are in the Lower Bracket after a defeat to JDG. One of JDG or Anyone’s Legend will make the event, with Invictus Gaming eliminated after defeats to Weibo and BLG.
Insider Gaming will keep you up to date with all the qualifiers as they unfold. In the meantime, check out our Discord to chat about League of Legends.
For more League news, see which countries may be invited to LoL at the Esports Nations Cup.
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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