This marks Gen.G's first Worlds grand finals appearance after eight years of competing in LoL esports.
LCK powerhouse 
Gen.G are the first team to advance to the League of Legends World Championship 2026 grand finals after they soundly swept the LPL's Shanghai Invictus Gaming (IG), 3-0, in the tournament's best-of-five semifinals on Sunday (8 November).
With their victory, Gen.G have guaranteed themselves at least a second place finish and US$800,000 in winnings. Of course, they have their sights set on claiming their first Summoner's Cup and the US$1 million grand prize. Regardless of the result, this would be Gen.G's best showing in Worlds, having finished 3rd-4th in four of their last five appearances but always falling short of the championship round.
Gen.G's opponent in the grand finals will be the winner of the other semifinals match between 
T1 and 
Bilibili Gaming.
Meanwhile, IG bow out of Worlds 2026 in 3rd-4th place and will take home US$400,000 in consolation. While IG massively improve on their performance from last year's Worlds, where they bombed out in 17th place, they were unable to secure their first grand finals appearance since the team's championship run in 2018.
Gen.G's journey to the Worlds 2026 grand finals
Gen.G entered Worlds 2026 as the LCK's first seed, leading the charge for the LCK as the region embarks on a campaign to claim the Summoner's Cup for the fifth straight year.
Gen.G kicked off their Worlds 2026 campaign by defeating IG in their first encounter of the tournament in the Swiss Stage's opening round. The LCK top seed then defeated regional rivals 
Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) in Round 2 to get in position for a spot in the Knockout Stage in Round 3. While the LCS' 
LYON managed to take the first game of their Round 3 matchup, Gen.G pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep to easily secure their spot in the main event.
Meanwhile, IG entered Worlds 2026 as the LPL's fourth seed, being one of the teams carrying the region's hopes of reclaiming the Summoner's Cup five years since a Chinese team last won Worlds.
However, the LPL's campaign in Worlds 2026 couldn't have had a worse start. All four LPL teams lost their opening matches of the Swiss Stage, with IG losing to Gen.G.
Despite stumbling to start the Swiss Stage, IG bounced back by defeating the LCP's 
Team Secret Whales in Round 2 and HLE in Round 3. That put the Chinese squad in an advancement match against LYON in Round 4, with IG taking the series in three games and securing their spot in the Knockout Stage.
IG kicked off the action in the Knockout Stage by defeating regional rivals 
Top Esports and securing their spot in the semifinals. Gen.G then soundly swept LYON to face off against IG, with the LCK top seed scoring a second straight sweep to advance to their first-ever Worlds grand finals.
