The Worlds 2026 quarterfinals are locked in. After the Swiss Stage wrapped in Allen, Texas, the knockout draw paired T1 with Karmine Corp, Gen.G with LYON, Dplus KIA with Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports with Invictus Gaming. Every series from here is a best-of-five, starting November 3.

The bracket keeps the two unbeaten LCK teams apart and sets up a possible T1 vs DK semifinal, while one LPL team is guaranteed a semifinal spot.

Official Riot Games Worlds 2026 image for the League of Legends World Championship knockouts
Eight teams remain in the race for the Summoner's Cup. Image: Riot Games

Worlds 2026 quarterfinals: all four matchups

  • Gen.G vs LYON — the LCK's 3-0 team against the LCS side that survived at 3-2.
  • Top Esports vs Invictus Gaming — an all-LPL quarterfinal.
  • Dplus KIA vs Bilibili Gaming — DK, also 3-0, face a BLG team that reached the knockouts at 3-2.
  • T1 vs Karmine Corp — the most-watched pairing on paper: T1 went 3-1, while the LEC's Karmine Corp earned their place in the final Swiss round.

Under the rules in Riot's official Worlds 2026 primer, the two 3-0 teams were each drawn against a 3-2 team and the other four were drawn at random. LCK teams could not be paired with each other in this round, but the rules did allow an all-LPL quarterfinal, which is how TES and IG ended up together.

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Worlds 2026 knockout schedule: dates and venues

  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 3 to Friday, November 6.
  • Semifinals: Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.
  • Final: Saturday, November 14, at 2 PM EST in Brooklyn, New York.

Dates above are in U.S. time. In Korea and China the quarterfinals begin on the morning of November 4 and the final lands early on November 15. Riot had not published the order of the four quarterfinal series in the sources we checked, so confirm match times on LoL Esports before the week starts.

Official Riot Games wide artwork for League of Legends Worlds 2026
Riot lists Allen, Texas, and Brooklyn, New York, as the knockout venues for Worlds 2026. Image: Riot Games

How the Swiss Stage ended

Gen.G and DK were the first teams through at 3-0. T1 followed by sweeping Movistar KOI 2-0 to reach 3-1, and Invictus Gaming became the first LPL team to qualify by beating LYON 2-1.

The final round was brutal. Karmine Corp swept Movistar KOI 2-0 to knock them out, BLG eliminated Hanwha Life Esports, and LYON recovered to take the last spot. The LPL's top seed, Anyone's Legend, went out after three straight losses, and Brazil's LOS ended their run in the Swiss Stage.

For how the 16-team field looked before the first game, see our Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage draw coverage.

Semifinal paths and what to watch

One half of the bracket sends the Gen.G vs LYON winner against the TES vs IG winner, so an LPL team is guaranteed a semifinal. The other half pairs the DK vs BLG winner with the T1 vs KC winner.

If the favorites hold, that means T1 vs DK in a Korean semifinal, with Gen.G and DK unable to meet before the final in Brooklyn. Upsets are the wild card: Karmine Corp arrive with one of the biggest fan bases in esports, and BLG already knocked out an LCK team, Hanwha Life, to get here.

Official Riot Games image for the Worlds 2026 League of Legends theme
The Worlds 2026 final is set for November 14 in Brooklyn. Image: Riot Games

Where to watch

Every knockout series streams on Riot's official LoL Esports channels, including lolesports.com, YouTube and Twitch. The official Pick'Em and Crystal Ball prediction games also run on lolesports.com.