South Korean powerhouse T1 secured a victory over Karmine Corp, the West’s last hope, in the quarterfinals of the League of Legends 2026 World Championship. This match served as a successful revenge for T1 following their semifinal loss at this year's EWC and earned the team a ticket to the next stage.
The series began with an early advantage for the French organization: former T1 player Kim "Canna" Chang-dong drew first blood by taking down Choi "Doran" Hyeon-jun. However, flawless laning from Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok neutralized this gap. T1 capitalized on a mistake by Alan "Busio" Cwalina, seized the initiative, and used methodical macro play to open the score, even despite losing Peyz in the final team fight.
In the second game, T1 shifted their pace to maximum aggression. Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun and Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok secured an early lead, and a victory in a 5v4 top-lane fight solidified their advantage. Although the Karmine Corp players tried to stall the game, a brilliant performance by Keria on Nautilus in a decisive mid-lane team fight brought T1 the victory and a 2-0 lead.
The French squad refused to back down and put up a fight in the third game. Thanks to a sneakily secured Baron and clever objective trading, the teams reached a state of parity. In a critical Elder Dragon fight, Martin "Yike" Sundelin successfully zoned out Faker, while Kang "Kyeahoo" Ye-hoo locked down Peyz, allowing Karmine Corp to close the gap in the series.
In the decisive fourth game, Karmine Corp allowed Oner and Keria to pick their signature champions — Nocturne and Neeko, respectively. Although Canna once again secured first blood, Peyz took complete control of the situation during a crucial dragon fight. A perfect counter-engage by Keria in response to KC’s desperate chase allowed T1 to close out the match and end the tournament run of the last remaining LEC team.
On Monday, T1 will fight for their fifth consecutive appearance in a World Championship final. Their opponent will be the Chinese LPL's second seed, Bilibili Gaming, who has already defeated the Koreans this year at MSI and the EWC. Historically, the teams are tied in series wins (5-5), but T1 holds a narrow lead in individual game score (17-16). The main point of intrigue remains Faker's track record: the legendary player has never lost a knockout series to an LPL team.
As a reminder, The UESF Ukrainian Championship 2026 Stage 5 in Dota 2 Kicks Off Today: LAN Final in Lviv Ahead