LPL goes winless as European upsets headline Worlds 2026 Swiss opening round

LPL goes winless as European upsets headline Worlds 2026 Swiss opening round

All four Chinese representatives lost their opening matches in the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage, while the LCK completed a perfect first round.

Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp supplied the biggest European results by defeating Bilibili Gaming and Anyone’s Legend. Elsewhere, CTBC Flying Oyster overcame Team Liquid, and LYON opened with a convincing victory over Team Secret Whales.

Gen.G and Hanwha Life overpower Chinese opposition

Gen.G defeated Invictus Gaming 1–0, finishing the game in 26:01 with a 22–10 kill advantage. Canyon’s Qiyana recorded 8/1/10, while Chovy’s Akali added 8/1/9 as Gen.G ended more than 13,000 gold ahead.

Hanwha Life Esports followed with a 1–0 victory against Top Esports in 23:51. Zeka delivered the standout individual performance, finishing 17/1/5 on Locke and participating in 22 of HLE’s 24 kills. HLE ended ahead 24–7 in kills, with Top Esports unable to destroy a turret.

Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp deliver European wins

Movistar KOI defeated Bilibili Gaming 1–0 in 38:41, finishing ahead 18–14 in kills. Jojopyun’s Sylas produced 9/3/4, while Alvaro participated in every KOI kill with a 1/1/17 Karma performance.

KOI finished with an approximately 7,500-gold advantage and destroyed 11 turrets against BLG’s three.

Karmine Corp then beat Anyone’s Legend 1–0 in 33:16, closing with a 12–4 kill advantage. Canna’s Jax finished 5/2/1, while Yike’s Jarvan IV contributed to all 12 kills with 3/1/9.

Caliste and Busio both finished without a death, recording 3/0/6 on Kalista and 0/0/11 on Renata Glasc, respectively.

Dplus KIA completes the LCK sweep alongside T1

Dplus KIA defeated G2 Esports 1–0, recovering from G2’s advantage through a decisive fight around Dragon. The result left G2 as the only European representative to lose its opener.

T1 defeated LØS 1–0 in 24:26, finishing ahead 19–3 in kills. Oner’s Lee Sin recorded 8/0/6, Faker’s LeBlanc finished 6/0/7, and Doran’s Jayce added 4/0/9.

CTBC Flying Oyster and LYON complete the opening round

CTBC Flying Oyster beat Team Liquid 1–0, giving the LCP a winning start through its second seed.

LYON defeated Team Secret Whales 1–0 in 26:49, closing with a 22–6 kill advantage. Berserker led the scoring with 13/1/5 on Ezreal, while Isles contributed 3/2/18 on Alistar.

The eight winners advanced to the 1–0 pool, while the losing teams entered the 0–1 pool. No team was eliminated in the opening round.