Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage opens with the LPL going winless

For the first time in Worlds history, all LPL teams failed to secure a single win in the opening round of the Swiss Stage.

The 2026 League of Legends World Championship Swiss Stage is shaping up to be one of the most competitive editions of the tournament in recent memory.

With Round 1 of the Swiss Stage on Saturday (24 October) featuring best-of-one matches, wildcard and underdog teams alike managed to score some massive upsets. But by far the most surprising result of the day was all four LPL representatives going winless–the first time in the history of Worlds that powerhouse Chinese teams failed to score a single win in the opening round of the Swiss Stage.

Read on as we break down all of the action in Day 1 of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage:

The LPL crumble in Round 1 of Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage

The LPL entered Worlds 2026 with high hopes of reclaiming the Summoner's Cup five years after the region last won the world championship in 2021. However, the LPL's title campaign got off to an abysmal start as Anyone's Legend (AL), Bilibili Gaming (BLG), Top Esports, and Shanghai Invictus Gaming (IG) all lost their opening matches of the Swiss Stage.

IG and TES fell to South Korean powerhouses Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports (HLE), respectively, in the first two matches of the day. While the LPL's third and fourth seeds losing to the first and second seeds from South Korea in a best-of-one may not be too surprising, many expected China's Top 2 seeds to pick up the slack against lesser opponents from the LEC.

Instead, both AL and BLG fell victim in the first two massive upsets of the tournament. BLG lost in a tightly-contested affair against LEC second seed Movistar KOI while AL were routed by LEC third seed Karmine Corp.

The LCK start off perfect in Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage

While China crumbled in the opening round of the Swiss Stage, South Korea reigned supreme. With Gen.G and HLE having already kicked the day off with comfortable victories over their opponents from the LPL, defending champions T1 and fourth seed Dplus KIA (DK) also won their opening matches to give the LCK a clean start to Worlds 2026.

DK found themselves up against the ropes early into their match against LEC top seed G2 Esports, but stellar play from the South Korean squad allowed DK to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a 32-minute thriller.

T1 then closed out the LCK's Round 1 campaign by routing Brazil's LOS in 24 minutes. While questions around T1's ability to defend their title this year still linger, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and his squad have at least secured a solid start to their Worlds 2026 campaign.

The LCP and LCS close out Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage Round 1 with a draw

While most eyes were on the LPL crumbling and the LCK's hot start, the clash between the LCP and the LCS in the remaining two matches of the first round of the Swiss Stage ended in a draw. LCP second seed CTBC Flying Oyster stunned LCK top seed Team Liquid Alienware, while LCS second seed LYON took down LCP first seed Team Secret Whales in convincing fashion.

Here are all the results for Round 1 of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage:

Gen.G 1-0 Shanghai Invictus Gaming
Hanwha Life Esports 1-0 Top Esports
Bilibili Gaming 0-1 Movistar KOI
Anyone's Legend 0-1 Karmine Corp
G2 Esports 0-1 Dplus KIA
Team Liquid Alienware 0-1 CBTC Flying Oyster
LOS 0-1 T1
Team Secret Whales 0-1 LYON

What's next in the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage?

Round 2 of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage will split the field, with the teams that won their opening matches facing off in the Round 2 High Matches while the losers of the first round will be pit against each other in the Round 2 Low Matches. The second round of the Swiss Stage will be the final time that the teams will play in a treacherous best-of-one series before competition shifts to best-of-three matches with Fearless Draft in the succeeding rounds.

Here are the matchups for Round 2 of the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage:

Round 2 High Matches: