Invictus Gaming are going back to Worlds. The 2018 world champions beat JD Gaming 3-1 in the lower-bracket final of the LPL Regional Finals, taking China’s fourth and final ticket to the League of Legends World Championship. With that result, the Chinese line-up for Worlds 2026 is complete: Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming, Top Esports and IG.
From a lost season to a Worlds ticket
Few would have backed IG to get here a few months ago. The team opened 2026 by winning the Demacia Cup, but the league campaign then went sideways: a 5th-6th finish in LPL Split 1 was followed by a 9th-12th placing in Split 2. The turnaround came in Split 3, when the roster of TheShy, Wei, Rookie, JiaQi and Meiko finally clicked and finished third, earning a place in the Regional Finals.
Even there, IG made life hard for themselves. Their first shot at qualification ended in a 1-3 loss to Top Esports, who took China’s third seed. That dropped IG into a win-or-go-home final against JDG – a team that had just knocked out Team WE and was hungry to return to the international stage after two missed Worlds.
How the series was won
IG started fast and took the first two games. JiaQi was the standout in the bot lane on Tristana and Ezreal, while Wei’s Qiyana gave JDG constant problems in the jungle. JDG answered in game three, with JunJia’s Trundle leaving IG without a clear counter. Game four turned into a chaotic brawl, and Wei again made the difference – this time on Vi – to close out the series. He was named series MVP.
For TheShy and Rookie, the result means another run on the biggest stage with the organisation they carried to its first world title eight years ago. IG also made Worlds as China’s fourth seed in 2025, but that trip ended quickly after a 1-3 Play-In loss to T1. This time there is no Play-In hurdle: under the 2026 format, all four LPL teams go straight into the Swiss Stage.
What comes next
The Swiss Stage runs from October 23 to 31 in Allen, Texas. JDG, meanwhile, miss Worlds for the third year in a row and will play in the Demacia Cup Global Invitational instead.
Betting angle
IG enter Worlds as China’s fourth seed, and outright markets are likely to price them behind Anyone’s Legend, BLG and Top Esports. That may be fair on season-long form, but the Split 3 version of this roster looks very different from the team that sat near the bottom of Split 2. Their loss to TES shows the ceiling is not yet proven, yet the JDG win came under maximum pressure, and Swiss formats tend to reward teams that can recover from a bad series.
Bettors looking at early Swiss Stage matchups should watch the draw closely: IG’s strength runs through Wei’s jungle pathing and JiaQi’s carry performances, so opponents with weak early games could be good spots. Prices on Chinese teams often move once the first-round pairings are announced, so it is worth comparing lines across several esports bookmakers before committing. If you are opening a new account for the tournament, read up on how welcome bonuses and their wagering rules work first, and always bet within your limits.
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