Dplus KIA have booked the last Korean ticket to the League of Legends World Championship. A 3-1 win over KT Rolster in the LCK lower bracket on Thursday secured the spot and ended a two-year drought for the 2020 world champions, who missed Worlds entirely in 2025. The reward comes quickly: on Sept. 6 DK meet T1 in Lower Bracket Round 3, with both teams already qualified and only seeding left to fight for.
A series that started as a disaster
Game 1 against KT was one-sided in the wrong direction. Top laner Siwoo and rookie support Career combined for a dozen deaths, and the map was over before DK could establish anything. Whatever head coach cvMax said between games worked. From Game 2 onwards the team looked composed, and bot laner Smash took over the series across Lucian, Jhin and Miss Fortune, earning the match MVP nod as DK reeled off three straight wins.
The result stings for KT. They had already beaten DK twice in decisive moments this year – 3-2 in the Road to MSI qualifier and 3-0 in the first round of these playoffs – and looked like the more stable side entering the rematch.
The road back
DK’s 2026 was never linear. After losing the last LCK Worlds spot to T1 in the 2025 playoffs, the organization let Aiming and BeryL go and rebuilt around Siwoo, Lucid and ShowMaker with Smash and Career. Third place at the LCK Cup and an 11-7 regular season start were solid but unspectacular, and the MSI miss raised early questions.
Then came Paris. At the 2026 Esports World Cup DK went through Bilibili Gaming, defending champion Gen.G and finally Karmine Corp 3-0 to lift the trophy, with Smash named finals MVP and ShowMaker collecting his first international title since Worlds 2020. That momentum carried back into the LCK, where a 17-9 finish tied T1 on series record but slipped to fourth in the Legend Group on game differential – enough to force a Round 1 start in playoffs.
The lower bracket then became a survival test. KT swept DK 3-0, BNK FEARX led 2-0 in the elimination match before DK reverse-swept, and the KT rematch was the final hurdle. Three series with no margin for error, all cleared.
Why Sept. 6 matters more than it looks
On paper, DK vs. T1 is a match between two teams that have already achieved their main goal. In practice, the loser finishes fourth in the LCK playoffs and travels to Worlds as Korea’s fourth seed, which means a harder path through the Swiss stage. The winner stays alive for the lower final on Sept. 12 and a shot at a better seed.
For bettors, that context is essential. Both rosters are motivated, but T1 have owned this matchup in recent big moments, including the 2025 playoff series that ended DK’s season. Anyone weighing the odds at the top esports bookmakers should note that DK’s form has been building for two months, while T1 entered playoffs after a stronger regular season. Map-count and total-kills markets have been more interesting than the outright winner in the lower bracket so far, given how often these Korean series have gone the distance.
With Worlds now weeks away, several sportsbooks have refreshed their promotions for the tournament. Newcomers can compare current welcome bonus offers before the Swiss stage begins.
Outlook
DK arrive at Worlds as the reigning EWC champions and the team no one wanted to see in the lower bracket. Whether they can turn that into a deep international run depends on whether Game 1 against KT was a blip or a warning. Today’s T1 series will offer the first real answer.
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