T1 are guaranteed at least third seed into Worlds while Dplus KIA will be fourth seed.
It was a make-or-break match for the teams in Lower Bracket Round 3 of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Season Playoffs, with 
T1 facing 
Dplus KIA for a spot in the Lower Bracket Final and at least a guaranteed third seed at Worlds. In the end, it was T1 that overpowered Dplus KIA 3-1 to move to the Lower Bracket Finals of the 2026 LCK Season Playoffs.
DK and T1 took very different routes to their Lower Bracket Round 3 meeting in the LCK Season Playoffs. T1 and DK entered the playoffs as the third and fourth seeds from the Legend Group, respectively, while 
Gen.G and 
Hanwha Life Esports finished in the top two and received byes directly into Upper Bracket Round 2. T1 opened their run with a 3-2 victory over 
BNK FearX, while DK were swept 3-0 by KT Rolster and dropped into the lower bracket.
DK then survived elimination by beating FEARX 3-2 in Lower Bracket Round 1. Meanwhile, Gen.G defeated KT Rolster 3-0 in Upper Bracket Round 2, before Hanwha Life Esports beat T1 3-2 in the other series.
Under the LCK playoff format, the two teams that lose in Upper Bracket Round 2 do not enter the lower bracket at the same stage. As the higher-seeded team, T1 advanced directly to Lower Bracket Round 3, while KT dropped into Lower Bracket Round 2 to face DK.
DK then defeated KT 3-1 to stay alive and set up the Lower Bracket Round 3 clash with T1.
Here’s how the matches went:
T1 take Game 1 over DK after decisive Ocean Soul fight
The first game opened to an explosive start, with DK and T1 trading blows early on. T1 eventually pulled ahead, taking most of the dragons to reach Ocean Soul point. However, DK kept their cool, going for towers and other objectives rather than forcing explosive plays across the map to keep themselves relevant throughout the game. They eventually caught up to T1 after successfully taking the Baron and threatening to break open the reigning World Champions’ base.
However, it was a fight for the Ocean Soul that decided the first game. 
Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon decisively dived in to disrupt DK’s siege, and after a chaotic fight, T1 came out on top, taking the Ocean Soul and obliterating most of their opponents, with Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan clocking in a pentakill. With Ocean Soul behind them, T1 marched down DK’s base to destroy their Nexus in 42 minutes with a 14-7 kill lead.
DK answer back in Game 2 with Baron push
In the second game, T1 picked up an early lead, with Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon and Peyz popping off during the laning phase and team fights. DK, however, responded well into the mid-game, finding ways to punish T1’s mistakes and close the gold gap.
In a fight at the Dragon Pit, Heo “ShowMaker” Su came out big, taking down multiple targets after T1 secured the Dragon. Although most of T1 made it out alive, the next team fight swung in DK’s favour and gave them the advantage. Multiple fights erupted from there, with T1 still managing to secure the Hextech Soul.
DK once again proved that they could not be counted out, taking the Baron despite T1 having the Dragon Soul. With the Baron buff behind them, they marched down T1’s base and destroyed the Nexus to win the second game in 31 minutes with a 19-12 kill lead.
T1 overpower DK in Game 3 to reach match point
T1 started off with an aggressive early game, with both the top and bottom lanes edging ahead of their opponents. However, DK answered back at the Dragon Pit, where Choi “Lucid” Yong-hyeok managed to steal the Dragon before his team picked up several kills. From there, the advantage swung back and forth between both sides, with team fights breaking out across the map.
Peyz’s Sivir continued to pop off as the game went on, while Ryu “Keria” Min-seok’s Karma gave T1 the movement speed and shielding they needed to keep winning fights and slipping away from DK’s engages. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s Locke also started dealing a ton of damage in the late game, making it increasingly difficult for DK to break through.
Once T1 were fully built, everything began swinging their way. After a 39-minute battle and an overwhelming 30-13 kill lead, T1 destroyed DK’s Nexus to win the third game and move to match point.
T1 complete the comeback in Game 4 to eliminate DK
With their backs against the wall, DK started the game with a strong draft to answer T1’s team composition. They succeeded in setting back T1’s top and bottom lanes early, allowing DK to build a small gold lead.
However, T1 punished a DK mistake during the fight for the Rift Herald, allowing them to close the gold gap. The next few team fights swung back DK’s way, with Siwoo’s Jax finding the right targets at the right time and the team making good use of their multiple engage tools.
T1 eventually found an angle for a comeback in the river, committing to an aggressive play that paid off with multiple kills. The gold lead swung in their favour, and T1 followed it up by securing the Baron.
Banking on that momentum, T1 converted their Baron power play into a lead of more than 5,000 gold, picking up multiple kills, turrets, and a Dragon along the way. After another explosive team fight in the mid lane, T1 broke open DK’s base and destroyed the Nexus in 31 minutes with an 18-10 kill lead to win the game and the series.
With their win, T1 will move forward to the Lower Bracket Final to face Hanwha Life Esports. They are now guaranteed at least the LCK’s third seed at Worlds. Doran was named Player of the Game, with multiple successful plays on all games in the series.
Meanwhile, Dplus KIA bow out of the competition in fourth place and will be the LCK’s fourth seed at Worlds.
