T1 at Worlds 2026: 7th Was Not The Charm for T1

There's no doubt that T1 is one of the most decorated League of Legends teams of all time. Their record at the League of Legends World Championship speaks for itself. This is a team that has won a record six Worlds. The best part is that they were on a run of three consecutive wins, managing to land first place at this tournament in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Unfortunately, this was not their year. Previously, the team won it in 2013, 2015, and 2016. T1 is a team that has had two primes, and no other LoL Esports team comes close to them.

As far as 2026 Worlds goes, T1 had a rocky road to reach the semifinals. The team was far from impressive in 2026. Their season ended without reaching a single Grand Final. If you can recall, T1 missed the First Stand. They were also far away from the final stages of both LCK competitions. Also, their performance in MSIs was far from desirable, as they wrapped up their participation outside the top four for the first time ever after G2 bested them. T1 was not impressive at the EWC too, as they lost to Karmine Corp in the semis.

Despite everything we said, they were one of the favorites to land the Worlds, as this is the tournament where T1 always came in strong, as their record shows. They reached the semi-finals, where BLG beat them 3-1, which also ended the team's unbeaten run of 13series against the LPL in Worlds best-of-five duels. Despite the defeat, T1 was impressive at the Worlds; reaching the semi-final after a down season the team has had must be deemed a success. As far as 2026 goes, the team has failed to reach even one final.

Unlike T1, Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming still have one major duel to play, and we're talking about the Worlds Grand Final. If you still plan to bet on League of Legends World Championship, you should know that Gen.G is a big favourite to land this one with their odds being set at 1.50, while Bilibili Gaming are the underdogs, with their odds being set at 2.60. While the GF will be an interesting duel to watch, we're going to focus a little bit more on T1's performance at this year's League of Legends World Championship.

T1 Worlds 2026 Run

As we said, T1 hadn't had an impressive year in 2026. Their current roster of Doran, Oner, Faker, Peyz, and Keria was not playing to their full potential in 2026, yet expectations were still high for the 2026 Worlds. After all, they won the three previous iterations of the tourney and six in total. Seventh was not the charm, but T1 has little to regret. Their performance at 2026 Worlds was good from the get-go. The tourney started with a win against LOS, but was followed up with a loss at the hands of Dplus Kia.

From there, things clicked for T1, and what followed were impressive performances against CTBC Flying Oyster and Movistar KOI. With those two wins, T1 secured its place in the elimination stages of the LoL Worlds 2026. The semi-final duel vs. Karmine Corp was a routine win for Faker & Co. It was their sixth consecutive QF appearance at Worlds. While 3-1 is a result to be proud of, it was by no means an easy encounter. The French side did their best to test the skills of T1 to a great extent. Peyz was the team's MVP in the quarterfinals, and this bout meant the world to him, as he is the only player in T1's lineup without a Worlds title. The pressure was on him, and he delivered with a 9.5 rating in the QF.

Four-Peat Dream at Worlds 2026 Ends

On November 9th, history was written, and as usual it was written by the winner. Bilibili Gaming made history by defeating the six-time champions T1 in the semifinal of 2026 Worlds. This defeat ended T1's chances of having a four-peat at Worlds as they've won three previous editions of this tournament. Since 2013, T1 hasn't lost a best-of-five duel to an LPL team at Worlds. Bilibili Gaming was the better team on the night, and they took home a 3-1 win, bragging rights, and a ticket to the Grand Final and a chance to fight for the Summoner's Cup. The GF will be played on November 15th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The semifinal series was played at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. While the bout ended without a need to go to the fifth match of the series, the in-game scoreline was much tighter than the final result might suggest. The first duel was won by BLG despite T1 drawing the first blood. BLG took Baron and wrapped up the fight in 20 minutes. The second encounter was a T1 win after they took Dragon Soul and Elder in a successful attempt to even the series.

Despite T1's best efforts, Bilibili Gaming were unable to lay down their pressure and won the following two duels to wrap up the series at 3-1. The third bout was over 30 minutes long, and that was the fight that broke T1's spine. After Game 2 it appeared as if T1 was on another run to overturn the series, as they did so many times in the past. Faker had one of his vintage performances in Game 3, but his skill alone was not enough to turn the tide of this duel round. Even in Game 4, it looked at moments as if T1 was on the brink of resurrection, but BLG stood their ground and booked their GF appearance.

With this loss, for T1, more than one streak ended on the evening of November 9th. As we said, they have won three previous editions of Worlds, and this loss put an end to their hopes of making a four-peat. No team previously managed to win four in a row. The second streak that ended was the team's first loss to an LPL team in the Bo5 series since 2013. We're talking about thirteen years of history. As far as Bilibili Gaming goes, this was a revenge tour for them. They were on the losing end in the 2024 Grand Final, and this win must feel like a win in the final itself. Yet, they should not forget that the job is not yet done.

Keria & Faker reflect on Worlds Semifinal Exit

It's been years since anyone other than T1 has won the Worlds. The best teams from China and Korea faced each other in the semi-final of the 2026 Worlds, and T1 found itself on the losing end for the first time in years. It was Bilibili Gaming who took down the curse of T1 that plagued the world of League of Legends for years. If you count their first run, you could say it was decades. BLG became the first LPL team to take down T1 in a best-of-five series and Worlds in ages, and they are rejoicing in their win. Despite the loss, T1's best players, Keria and Faker, are not taking anything from Bilibili Gaming's win.

Ryu "Keria" Min-seok is not used to losing at the biggest stage, and the first loss in elimination stages at Worlds in years is coming off as a bit of a shock. When talking about it, Keria said: "It's been a while since we've been eliminated from Worlds. I'm not in a good mood right now. If I had performed better today, we could have won the match. I'm a bit sad about that. Looking back at the year as a whole, we didn't make it to any finals, and our performances weren't good at all. I'm a bit sad about that, but I think we can do better next year."

Faker, who is deemed the best LoL player of all time, was also taken aback by this defeat. Yet, he remained professional and gave props to the opponents who simply were the better team on the day. When explaining what led to the defeat, Faker stated: "First of, I think the opponents prepared better than us, and the games didn’t really go as we expected. There are a lot of things that are left to be desired, so that could be the takeaway and lesson for me, and I can learn from this experience. It was not the best year, and I’m a little bit disappointed, but at the same time I’ll try to learn from this experience."

Faker, Keria, and T1 are out of the tournament, but the biggest duel of the year as far as League of Legends goes is yet to be played. This also means that you still have one go to use the Stake's Worlds knockout odds boost, during the Gen.G vs. Bilibili Gaming duel in the Grand Final of the 2026 Worlds scheduled for November 15th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

BLG vs. Gen.G: The Worlds 2026 Final

The final stage has been set. The biggest show in the world of League of Legends now moves to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Grand Final is not just a duel between the two best LoL teams at the moment. It will be a clash between two of the world's best mid lane players, BLG's Knight and Gen.Gs Chovy. For each of them, the 2026 Worlds GF is an opportunity to lift ten trophies for the first time ever. Gen.G will be looking to avenge their LCK rivals, T1, while Bilibili Gaming will be on a route to take this trophy home after losing the final to T1 back in 2024.

Despite winning against the tournament's bogeyman in T1, Bilibili Gaming is entering the grand finale of the 2026 Worlds as the underdog. Their odds of winning the tourney are now set at 2.60 in a direct duel with Gen.G. Even before the GF, the outright odds were not favouring this team. From the get-go, everything was in the hands of Gen.G, who were outright favourites with 3.10 odds. Hanwha Life Esports and T1 were there too with 4.40 odds, while BLG was only the fourth favourite with 4.80 odds. Now that they're in the final, everything is possible, and of course, the odds don't always tell the entire story.

With everything we said in mind, we shouldn't neglect the fact that Gen.G is one of the best League of Legends teams in the world at the moment. They are often perceived as a team that fails to close out the games at the biggest stage, and this year's Worlds is their chance to finally silence the critics. This is their first GF appearance at Worlds under the new name, and for their leader Duro, it presents an ideal opportunity to rewrite history. Gen.G showed their dominance in the semis against Invictus Gaming with a 3:0 sweep. This year's final appearance is not just a chance to win the trophy, but also a sign that the team has matured after managing to break the barrier that stopped them in the past two years' semifinal appearances.

What makes their final appearance even sweeter is the fact that, compared to last year's appearance, the team has made no changes to their roster. When asked about the upcoming final, Duro had this to say: "Although we reached the Finals having only played HLE, LYON, and IG, all three were such formidable teams that facing them was definitely very helpful for us. Other teams are also very good, but no matter who our opponent is, as long as we focus on our own game and do our job well, I believe we can secure a comfortable victory like today."

2026 Worlds have only one more match to be played to determine the best League of Legends team in the world for 2026. Don't miss the final showdown between Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming.