Two of the biggest open questions before the League of Legends World Championship 2026 were settled within hours of each other on Saturday. In Nice, Movistar KOI dismantled Karmine Corp 3-0 in front of a French home crowd to reach the LEC Summer grand final against G2 Esports. In China, Invictus Gaming beat JD Gaming 3-1 in the LPL Regional Finals to lock in the fourth and final Chinese seed for Worlds.
MKOI silence the Palais Nikaïa
The lower-bracket final at the Palais Nikaïa was supposed to be Karmine Corp’s stage. The French organisation brings one of the loudest fanbases in European League of Legends, it had already booked its Worlds ticket, and it had only dropped into the lower bracket after a 3-1 loss to G2. Instead, the Spanish side turned the series into a procession.
Game one was the only genuinely close map. Elyoya’s Lee Sin set up the decisive teamfight with his ultimate and MKOI pulled clear. From there the gap widened quickly: Supa produced a 16/1/2 Caitlyn performance in game two, and in game three Elyoya went 10/0/5 on Qiyana while the Shyvana pick in the top lane handed MKOI early control that Karmine Corp never wrestled back.
The run carries extra weight because MKOI entered the playoffs outside the top four. They lost maps to Team Vitality and Natus Vincere on the way through the lower bracket, yet they arrive at the final with a clean 3-0 in their legs and a French crowd stunned into silence behind them.
G2 vs. MKOI: the Summer final on Sunday
The grand final closes the Summer Finals in Nice on Sunday, September 20. G2 come through the upper bracket after beating Karmine Corp 3-1, which gives them the rest advantage and the psychological edge of never having been in danger. MKOI bring momentum, a red-hot Elyoya and the knowledge that they have already beaten stronger-seeded teams this postseason.
For anyone thinking about backing either side, the pricing is worth watching closely. Upper-bracket finalists are usually installed as favourites, and G2’s history in LEC finals will only reinforce that. A lower-bracket team that has just swept the tournament’s emotional favourite tends to be underrated by the market for exactly as long as it takes the first map to finish, and a welcome bonus on a first deposit can take some of the sting out of a tight best-of-five going the wrong way.
Invictus Gaming complete China’s Worlds quartet
The LPL Regional Finals produced the more nostalgic headline. Invictus Gaming, world champions in 2018, beat JD Gaming 3-1 to claim China’s fourth Worlds seed, joining Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports. The path was anything but smooth. IG won the Demacia Cup at the start of 2026, then slumped to a 5th–6th finish in Split 1 and 9th–12th in Split 2 before third place in Split 3 rescued their season and earned them the Regional Finals berth.
Even there they took the long route, losing 1-3 to Top Esports first and dropping into a lower-bracket decider against a JDG side fresh off eliminating Team WE. IG raced to a 2-0 lead behind JiaQi’s Tristana and Ezreal and a sharp Qiyana showing from Wei. JDG hit back in game three on JunJia’s Trundle, but Wei’s Vi swung a chaotic fourth game and earned him the series MVP award.
The result sends TheShy and Rookie back to the international stage with the organisation they carried to the title eight years ago. Under this year’s format all four LPL representatives go straight into the Swiss Stage, which runs from October 23 to 31 in Allen, Texas – no Play-In this time, which is where IG’s 2025 campaign ended against T1. JDG miss Worlds for a third consecutive year and will compete in the Demacia Cup Global Invitational instead.
What it means for the Worlds picture
With China’s four seeds settled and Europe’s Summer champion decided tonight, the Worlds 2026 field is coming into sharp focus. Gen.G arrive as back-to-back LCK champions, Anyone’s Legend carry China’s top seed after breaking BLG in the LPL final, and G2 or MKOI will land in Texas with a fresh trophy. Outright markets are already open, and the next few days of results in Nice will be the last major data point before the Swiss Stage draw.
Related:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
