The Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage opened on October 23 in Allen, Texas, with LCK teams sweeping day one while all four LPL teams fell in their opening matches. In eight best-of-one games, the Korean region went 4-0, the Chinese region 0-4 - the first winless opening day for LPL in Worlds history.
Korea dominates
Gen.G opened the tournament by crushing Invictus Gaming 1-0 in 26 minutes, recovering from a 2000-gold deficit after IG won an early Voidgrubs fight. Chovy's Akali and Canyon's Qiyana secured control in the mid-game, forcing out Baron and overwhelming IG's teamfights.
Hanwha Life Esports demolished Top Esports in just 23 minutes. Dplus KIA pulled off a stunning comeback against G2 after falling behind, while T1 smothered LOS in 24 minutes with a perfect 0-death showing from its entire upper trio.
China's worst day at Worlds
For the first time ever at Worlds, the LPL failed to win a single game on the Swiss Stage opening day. Bilibili Gaming, the LPL split champion, lost to Movistar KOI despite a favored seeding. Anyone's Legend, standing as one of China's hopes after beating rivals in the Play-In, fell to Karmine Corp 0-1 in a major upset.
Europe and underdogs shine
Europe had the best non-LCK day at Worlds, going 2-1 with Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp both securing wins. CTBC Flying Oyster defeated Team Liquid Alienware in a major upset, and LYON (LCS #2) comfortably beat Team Secret Whales.
Round 2 takes place on October 24, still in Allen, Texas.