Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming (BLG) will face off in the 2026 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship finals. The finals will take place at Barclays Center in New York, U.S., on November 15 at 4 a.m. KST, with both teams seeking their first-ever title.
Riot Games announced the results of the Knockout Stage quarterfinals and semifinals, held from November 4 to 9 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, U.S.. The two teams advancing to the finals are LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) No. 1 seed Gen.G and LPL No. 2 seed Bilibili Gaming. Gen.G reached the finals for the first time in nine years under its current name.
The head-to-head record between the two teams in international competitions is tied at 2-2. Bilibili Gaming defeated Gen.G at both the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the World Championship in 2023. Gen.G won 3-1 in both the winners' bracket finals and the grand finals at the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational. If Gen.G wins this final, the LCK will record its fifth consecutive and 11th overall World Championship title. If Bilibili Gaming wins, the LPL will produce a champion for the first time in five years since Edward Gaming (EDG) in 2021.
On November 5, Gen.G swept North American LCS representative LYON 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Although they gave up three early kills to the opposing Ezreal in Game 1, top liner 'Kiin' Kim Gi-in's Olaf and jungler 'Canyon' Kim Geon-bu's Qiyana built momentum by repeatedly taking down the enemy Jax. In a teamfight around the dragon pit at the 21-minute mark, Kim Gi-in focused down the opposing Ezreal, laying the groundwork for victory.
Gen.G dominated Game 2 based on early advantages across all three lanes. They built their lead by initiating fights with Sion and Ashe's ultimates. In Game 3, Kim Gi-in's Aurora gained the upper hand in the laning phase against the enemy Gangplank, while mid liner 'Chovy' Jeong Ji-hoon's Taliyah and AD carry 'Ruler' Park Jae-hyuk's Xayah led the team to teamfight victories.
In the semifinals against China's Invictus Gaming (IG), Gen.G also swept all three games. Game 1, featured by Kim Geon-bu's Qiyana, ended with a kill score of 29-9, while Game 2, which focused attacks around Park Jae-hyuk's Ashe, finished 26-9. In Game 3, despite conceding early-to-mid-game kills to opposing mid liner 'Rookie' Song Eui-jin's Locke, Kim Geon-bu stole major objectives to buy time. Afterwards, they turned the game around by eliminating the enemy Ezreal and Locke during a mid-lane standoff.
Gen.G entered LoL esports in 2018 after acquiring Samsung Galaxy, the 2017 World Championship winner. They were eliminated in the group stage in 2018, and finished in the quarterfinals in 2020 after being stopped by G2 Esports (G2). In 2021 and 2022, they were knocked out in the semifinals by Edward Gaming and DRX, respectively. In 2023, they fell to Bilibili Gaming in the quarterfinals, and lost in the semifinals to T1 in 2024 and KT Rolster (KT) in 2025. Last year's set score against KT Rolster was 1-3.
On the other side of the bracket, Bilibili Gaming defeated T1 3-1 on November 9 to join the finals. T1's bid for a fourth consecutive title—after winning three straight championships from 2023 to 2025—came to an end in this match. Prior to this loss, T1 held an undefeated 13-0 record in best-of-five series against LPL teams at the World Championship.
T1 reached the semifinals after defeating Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) LEC representative Karmine Corp 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Bilibili Gaming defeated Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 in Round 5 of the Swiss Stage, then swept Dplus KIA 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
In Game 1 of their semifinals, Bilibili Gaming mid liner 'knight' Zhuo Ding's Orianna subdued T1 by creating kills with 'Shockwave'. T1 evened the series in Game 2 by securing both the dragon and Baron Nashor. In Game 3, T1 reversed an early deficit, but Bilibili Gaming turned the tables once more to win.
In Game 4, T1 selected Vayne. However, several players were caught in the 'Encore' used by 'ON' Luo Wen-Jun's Seraphine during a dragon fight, surrendering control and ultimately failing to reach the finals.
Further details about the tournament, including the finals schedule, can be found on the official LoL Esports website.
