Industry · esports
Worlds 2026 After Three Rounds: the LCK Has Two Teams Through, the LPL None. In 2024 and 2025 Each Had One
After three rounds of the 2026 Swiss Stage, Korea's LCK has Gen.G and Dplus Kia in the quarter-finals and all four teams alive. China's LPL has none through yet. At the same point in 2024 and 2025, each league had exactly one team through.
The table this is written from: /worlds-2026
Three rounds into the 2026 World Championship Swiss Stage, Korea’s LCK already has two teams in the quarter-finals: Dplus Kia and Gen.G, both at 3-0. Its other two are still alive: T1 at 2-1 and Hanwha Life at 1-2.
China’s LPL has no team through yet. Invictus Gaming, Top Esports and Bilibili Gaming are all at 2-1. Its fourth team, Anyone’s Legend, who went 3-0 a year ago, lost 2-0 to Team Liquid on the morning of 27 October and are out at 0-3 (the elimination).
Every league after round three
| League | Teams | Through | Out | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCK (Korea) | 4 | 2 | 0 | Gen.G 3-0, Dplus Kia 3-0, T1 2-1, Hanwha Life 1-2 |
| LPL (China) | 4 | 0 | 1 | Invictus Gaming 2-1, Top Esports 2-1, Bilibili Gaming 2-1, Anyone’s Legend 0-3 (out) |
| LEC (Europe) | 3 | 0 | 0 | Movistar KOI 2-1, G2 1-2, Karmine Corp 1-2 |
| LCS (North America) | 2 | 0 | 0 | LYON 2-1, Team Liquid 1-2 |
| LCP (Pacific) | 2 | 0 | 1 | CTBC Flying Oyster 1-2, Team Secret Whales 0-3 |
| CBLOL (Brazil) | 1 | 0 | 0 | LOS 1-2 |
Leagues are each team’s home league in Riot’s team list.
The same point in 2024 and 2025
We took the first 24 Swiss matches of each year from Riot’s schedule, which is rounds one to three, and read off the LCK and LPL records.
| Year | LCK through after round three | LPL through after round three | LCK at the end of the Swiss Stage | LPL at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 (Gen.G) | 1 (LNG) | 3 of 4 qualified | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 (KT) | 1 (Anyone’s Legend) | 4 of 4 | 2 of 3 |
| 2026 | 2 (Dplus Kia, Gen.G) | 0 | still playing | still playing |
In both earlier years the two leagues were level at this point, one team each. This year they are not. In both earlier years the LCK also had all four teams alive after round three, as it does now; in 2024 one of them, Dplus Kia, then lost twice and went out.
What it does not say
Being through early is not the same as going far. LNG, first through in 2024, lost a quarter-final; Anyone’s Legend, through at 3-0 in 2025, lost a quarter-final too. T1 won both of those years after qualifying later. This is a count of where teams stand, not a forecast. Every record, and where teams at 2-1, 1-2 and 0-2 ended up in past years, is on our Worlds 2026 page. For T1’s path from 2-1, see T1 beat CTBC Flying Oyster.
Results from Riot Games’ official LoL Esports schedule and team list. Times are Korea Standard Time.
Where these numbers come from
Sources
- Riot Games (LoL Esports schedule) — Official schedule (esports-api getSchedule, league 98767975604431411): the first 24 Swiss Stage matches (rounds one to three) of 2024, 2025 and 2026, in order, and every later Swiss match of 2024 and 2025. Read 27 October 2026, 07:50 KST. · https://lolesports.com/en-US/schedule
- Riot Games (LoL Esports teams) — Each 2026 team's home league from Riot's team list (esports-api getTeams). · https://lolesports.com/en-US/schedule
What we checked
- LCK after three rounds: 2024 Gen.G 3-0, T1 2-1, Hanwha Life 2-1, Dplus Kia 2-1; 2025 KT 3-0, Gen.G 2-1, Hanwha Life 2-1, T1 1-2; 2026 Gen.G 3-0, Dplus Kia 3-0, T1 2-1, Hanwha Life 1-2.
- LPL after three rounds: 2024 LNG 3-0, Top Esports 2-1, Bilibili 1-2, Weibo 1-2; 2025 Anyone's Legend 3-0, Top Esports 2-1, Bilibili 1-2; 2026 Invictus Gaming 2-1, Top Esports 2-1, Bilibili 2-1, Anyone's Legend 0-3, out (lost 0–2 to Team Liquid Alienware, 27 Oct 2026 07:00 KST, match 115660540726095057).
- How the LCK finished the Swiss Stage: 2024, three of four qualified (Dplus Kia out at 2-3); 2025, all four qualified.
- How the LPL finished the Swiss Stage: 2024, all four qualified; 2025, two of three (Bilibili out at 2-3).
What we left out, and why
- League comparisons for teams outside the LCK and LPL in 2024 and 2025: Riot's team list gives each team's current league, and several of those leagues have since merged or been renamed.
- Predictions. Two past fields are not odds for this one.
The data behind this
Written from the same data
- Hanwha Life Fall to 1-2 at Worlds 2026. Of 12 Teams at 1-2 in 2024 and 2025, Three Got Through
- Worlds 2026 on Wikipedia: Chinese Readers 18,717, English 10,246. Korean Wikipedia Barely Reads the LCK
- 48 K-pop Comebacks in October, Measured on English Wikipedia: Teen Top Moved Readers Most, and 14 Lost Them
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