In the opening match of the League of Legends World Championship 2026 Knockout Stage, Invictus Gaming (IG) claimed victory over Top Esports (TES) in a tense best-of-five quarterfinal. Closing the series 3-1, IG advanced to the World Championship semifinals for the first time since 2019.
Top Esports played this stage with a forced substitution: due to visa issues, their starting top-laner Cheng "ZUIAN" Zi-Hao was unable to participate. His spot was filled by scene veteran Bai "369" Jia-Hao, who returned to competitive play and became a key player in the team's journey to the tournament's top 8.
Game 1 ended in a swift victory for IG thanks to total dominance from their mid- and bot-lane players. However, in the second map, TES managed to punish their opponents for their mistakes. The decisive moment came when 369, left as the sole surviving member of his team on Renekton, won a 1v3 fight against TheShy (Vayne), Wei (Wukong), and JiaQi's fed Yunara. This episode turned the tide of the game, ultimately allowing TES to close out the map with a win and tie the series.
For game 3, IG drastically changed their approach. TheShy returned to tank duty on Ornn, and the team focused on a poke strategy. The combination of Wei's jungle Jayce and JiaQi on Zeri provided devastating pressure, which TES couldn't handle due to a lack of sufficient sustain and protection in their draft.
The match was interrupted by an hour-long pause caused by an unexpected internal issue with the tournament client—likely due to the tournament realm crashing after a recent patch update. However, the delay didn't throw IG off balance. Returning to the Rift, they confidently executed their game plan: TheShy played K'Sante, JiaQi picked a high-agency jungler, and the carries got comfortable champions, which secured the final victory for the team.
Thanks to this triumph, TheShy and Rookie now have the chance to become two-time World Champions, repeating IG's 2018 success. As Rookie himself noted: "That IG is back." Invictus Gaming now awaits the winner of Gen.G Esports vs. LYON, while Top Esports ends their Worlds 2026 run in 5th-8th place, earning $300,000 in prize money.
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