Meanwhile, MKOI has one last chance to qualify for the Top 8 in the final round of the Swiss Stage.
It’s another weekend of action at the League of Legends World Championship 2026, with six spots in the Knockout Stage on the line. The first matchup saw reigning world champions 
T1 go up against 
Movistar KOI (MKOI) in a best-of-three series. In the end, T1 swept MKOI 2-0 to secure their spot in the next stage of the tournament.
T1 came into the competition as heavy favourites, having won three consecutive World Championship titles over the last three years. They began the tournament with a dominant game against 
LOS. However, they suffered a loss to 
Dplus KIA in Round 2 before bouncing back against 
CTBC Flying Oyster in Round 3.
Meanwhile, MKOI entered the competition as heavy underdogs but defied expectations in the first two rounds, upsetting LPL second seed 
Bilibili Gaming and CFO, respectively. However, they fell to Dplus KIA in Round 3, bringing them to another qualifying matchup, this time against T1.
T1 overcome MKOI in a back-and-forth opening game
In the first game, MKOI made an early move on T1’s 
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, ganking him in the mid lane to gain a slight lead. The LEC team kept their advantage with another play in the river near the Void Grubs.
However, T1 fought back, with Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon securing a kill against 
Joseph “jojopyun” Pyun in the mid lane. They followed it up with plays in the bottom lane, earning more kills and eventually taking the gold lead after a fight in the jungle near the bot lane. T1 continued to find important picks across the map, giving them the advantage in securing neutral objectives.
MKOI responded aggressively in the mid lane, punishing T1’s mistakes in a team fight and catching multiple members to reclaim the gold lead. However, T1 continued to contest map control and kept the gold difference to a minimum.
A huge fight then broke out at the Baron pit, where T1 caught MKOI's scattered members, taking down most of the LEC squad before securing the Baron. MKOI attempted to re-engage, but T1 held their ground and widened the gap between the teams, pushing further into MKOI's territory with the Baron buff.
Despite T1’s siege, MKOI continued to fight back, successfully preventing the LCK team from securing the Infernal Soul. They later found a crucial pick near the Dragon pit, allowing them to steal the Dragon, even out the gold difference, and eventually reclaim the lead.
As both teams fought for the Dragon Soul, Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon found the decisive picks, with Ryu “Keria” Min-seok providing crucial support to help his teammates clean up MKOI in an ace and claim the soul. T1 then marched down MKOI’s base and destroyed the Nexus after a hard-fought 40-minute encounter, finishing with a 20–10 kill lead.
T1 dominate MKOI in the second game to complete the sweep
T1 found early-game picks in the second game to take the lead, although MKOI tried to respond to prevent the bleeding. Doran confidently stepped up to secure more picks, with his teammates following up to build a significant gold lead. MKOI continued making mistakes across the map, which T1 were more than happy to punish.
T1 continued to snowball their advantage, winning team fights and skirmishes, with Doran emerging as the playmaker throughout. Meanwhile, Faker on Orianna executed deadly flanks against MKOI, helping T1 take full control of the map. MKOI managed to briefly halt T1’s onslaught while defending their base, shutting down multiple members of the LCK squad.
However, T1 quickly regained control in a mid-lane fight, obliterating MKOI in a clean ace. The reigning World Champions then marched down MKOI’s base and destroyed the Nexus in just 25 minutes with a 21–8 kill lead, securing the game and the series.
With their victory, T1 have secured their spot in the Knockout Stage.
Meanwhile, MKOI have one final chance in the last round of the Swiss Stage, where they will need to give their all to avoid elimination and secure a place among the top eight teams.
