Road to the Worlds 2026 Final: How Gen.G and BLG Made It to Brooklyn

Eight teams started the knockout stage in Allen, Texas. Two are left. Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming meet in the Worlds 2026 final on Saturday, November 14. The series starts at 20:00 Danish time at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Both got there by breaking a curse. Gen.G hadn’t reached a Worlds final in nine years. BLG had never beaten T1 at Worlds. Here’s how the bracket played out, plus Riot’s best plays from the knockout stage.

Watch: the best plays from the Worlds bracket stage

Riot packed the biggest moments from the quarterfinals and semifinals into one video. Missed a series? This is the quickest way to catch up.

Quarterfinals: two sweeps, two 3-1s

Invictus Gaming opened the knockouts with a 3-1 win over Top Esports in an all-LPL series. It put IG in their first Worlds semifinal since 2019, with 2018 champions TheShy and Rookie still on the roster.

Gen.G swept LYON 3-0 a day later and ended North America’s run. BLG then handed Dplus KIA their first losses of the tournament with another 3-0. BLG took 14 of the 15 dragons in that series.

The last quarterfinal drew the biggest crowd. T1 beat Karmine Corp 3-1 in a series that peaked at close to 2.8 million viewers. At the time, that was a new record for the tournament. KC stole Game 3 with smart Baron control, but Peyz went 11/0/5 on Miss Fortune in Game 4. Keria’s four-man Neeko ultimate sealed it.

That win kept one of the wildest records in esports alive. T1 have now reached at least the semifinals at all 11 Worlds they’ve played. You can find the full quarterfinal bracket in our quarterfinals preview.

Semifinal 1: Gen.G finally break the curse

For years, the semifinals were where Gen.G’s Worlds runs went to die. They finished third to fourth in four of their previous five appearances.

This time, they swept IG 3-0. The first two games were one-sided. In Game 3, IG built a lead and pushed for the Mountain Soul. Then Gen.G won a huge dragon fight, denied the soul and took Baron to close it out.

Canyon took home series MVP, according to Sheep Esports. He’s now heading to his third Worlds final after winning the title with DAMWON in 2020. For Chovy, Kiin and Duro, it’s their first.

Chovy’s first final is the big story. He’s one of the most dominant players the LCK has ever seen. Even so, it took him eight tries to get here. After the series, he said he’d finally been able to enjoy Worlds instead of carrying the pressure of expectations.

It’s also the organization’s first Worlds final since it won the title as Samsung Galaxy in 2017. Gen.G haven’t lost a single series at this tournament.

Semifinal 2: BLG end the T1 era

This was the rematch everyone wanted. T1 beat BLG 3-2 in the 2024 final, and they arrived chasing a fourth straight world title.

BLG took Game 1. T1 answered in Game 2 when Oner stole Baron on Lee Sin. Moments later, T1 aced BLG without losing a player. BLG won Game 3 to move one game away.

Game 4 had everything. T1 went for a top-lane Vayne and fell behind early. Faker’s Akali turned a massive teamfight around and dragged T1 back into it. BLG stayed calm, though. They won the next fights, took the Mountain Soul and Baron, and ended the series 3-1.

Bin took home series MVP. The result ends T1’s run of 13 straight series wins over LPL teams at Worlds. That streak dated back to the 2013 final against Royal Club. It also ends T1’s streak of four Worlds finals in a row.

Gen.G vs BLG: what to watch in the final

The Worlds 2026 final is LCK against LPL. BLG know that road well, since they have already beaten Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA and T1 on the way here. Gen.G would be the fourth LCK team they knock out.

Knight and Bin were both on the 2024 roster that lost to T1 in the final. Viper is back in a final for the first time since he won Worlds with EDward Gaming in 2021.

On the other side, Gen.G come in unbeaten in series. Chovy, Kiin and Duro have waited years for this chance, and Canyon has already won one.

There’s a lot riding on it for both regions. A Gen.G win would give the LCK its fifth straight world title. A BLG win would be the LPL’s first since EDward Gaming in 2021, and the first ever for BLG.

The final is a best-of-five with Fearless Draft. The winner takes $1 million from the $5 million prize pool, and the runner-up gets $800,000.