T1 bow out of the competition in fourth place.
One of the fiercest rivalries in League of Legends (LoL) took centre stage once again in Paris. With the championship no longer within reach, 
T1 and 
Gen.G instead battled for the final place on the podium at the LoL Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026.
Having fallen to 
Karmine Corp and 
Dplus KIA, respectively, in the semifinals, the two Korean giants traded victories through the opening two games to face off for one final time. In the end, it was Gen.G that prevailed against T1 2-1 to claim third place.
Here's how the match unfolded.
Gen.G punish T1's mistakes to take Game 1
Gen.G made the stronger start to the series, capitalising on T1's mistakes to steadily build control of the map. 
Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon led the way as Gen.G repeatedly found favourable skirmishes before breaking into T1's base with a commanding advantage.
T1 managed to buy themselves a little more time with a desperate Nexus defence, but Gen.G never loosened their grip on the game. Maintaining control of every major objective, Gen.G eventually overwhelmed the defending world champions to move within one win of third place. After a 27-minute encounter, Gen.G destroyed T1's Nexus with a 10.6k gold lead and a 25-9 kill lead to take a 1-0 series lead.
T1 bounce back to level the series
Facing elimination, T1 responded with a composed performance in the second game. While Gen.G controlled the early neutral objectives by securing three Void Grubs and the opening drakes, T1 gradually wrestled momentum away through cleaner team fighting and sharper map control. Once the defending world champions found their footing, the game quickly swung in their favour. Consecutive Baron buffs allowed T1 to dismantle Gen.G's remaining structures before marching into the LCK champions' base to level the series.
After a 33-minute encounter, T1 destroyed Gen.G's Nexus with an 11.8k gold lead and a 27-12 kill lead, sending the rivalry to a winner-takes-all Game 3.
Gen.G hold the line and took down T1 in the third game
Gen.G came up with an extremely tanky team composition with lots of sustain in the third game. This made it difficult for T1 to break through in most team fights despite the high burst champions in the team, allowing Gen.G to obliterate them in almost every encounter and run away with a comfortable enough gold lead. With T1 unable to do anything much through out the map, Gen.G slowly cornered them toward T1's base. And after a 30-minute encounter with a 26-5 kill lead, Gen.G decimated T1's Nexus to win the third game and the series.
With their victory, Gen.G wrapped up their League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 campaign in third place, earning US$220,000 after prevailing in the all-LCK showdown.
Meanwhile, T1 will head home with a fourth-place finish and US$140,000 in prize money, ending their run in Paris after consecutive defeats in the final two days of competition.
Attention now turns to the tournament's final chapter, where hometown favourites Karmine Corp and DPlus will battle to become League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 champions.
