Key facts
- The victory moved Dplus KIA to 1-0 in the Swiss Stage while leaving G2 at 0-1.
- T1 opened their Worlds 2026 campaign with a win over LOS and will face Dplus KIA on Saturday.
- Dplus KIA, entering from the lowest seeding tier, defeated top-seeded G2 Esports in the opening Worlds 2026 best-of-one that started at 21:10 UTC.
- The victory gave Dplus KIA a second win against the LEC champions since July.
Dplus KIA defeated top-seeded G2 Esports in the opening Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage best-of-one, which began at 21:10 UTC on Friday at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, USA.
Esports Insider reported the meeting as Friday’s rematch between Dplus KIA and G2 Esports. Inven Global noted that Round 1 is best-of-one, where unconventional drafts or a small early mistake can snowball, making an opening win essential to navigate the Swiss Stage toward three wins.
The victory left Dplus KIA at 1-0 and G2 at 0-1 in the Swiss Stage, where sixteen teams play five rounds. Three wins reach the quarter-finals and three losses cause elimination, and pairings cannot repeat, so G2 and Dplus KIA will not meet again.
GosuGamers said G2 took three early kills in the laning phase and built a strong bot-lane advantage. Esports Insider reported that Dplus KIA’s ShowMaker was caught on Syndra in mid lane.
GosuGamers described the match as a 32-minute comeback with an even 8-8 kill scoreline, with Dplus KIA on the back foot for virtually the whole game. Killing G2 bot laner Steven “Hans Sama” Liv gave Dplus KIA breathing room. After G2 secured Baron Nashor in a messy fight, its move toward the dragon pit with the Baron buff backfired when ShowMaker centered a decisive counterattack around the pit. Dplus KIA then marched on G2’s base and destroyed the Nexus.
Dplus KIA entered as the LCK’s fourth seed and returned to Worlds after a one-year absence, according to GosuGamers, while Inven Global described the gap as two years. Veteran midlaner Heo “ShowMaker” Su led the resurgence after a difficult 2025 season in which the team missed Worlds. The club hovered in the middle of the LCK standings in Rounds 1 and 2 before posting 6-2 in Rounds 3 and 4 of the Legend Group, beating every opponent at least once.
Inven Global reported that in the LCK playoffs Dplus KIA lost a Round 1 match to KT Rolster, then took revenge in Round 2 of the lower bracket to secure fourth place and return to Worlds for the first time in two years. GosuGamers reported that Dplus KIA beat KT Rolster 3-1 in the LCK Season Playoffs. Its most recent domestic match was a 1-3 loss to T1 after earlier wins over KT Rolster and BNK FEARX.
Abroad, Dplus KIA won the League of Legends Esports World Cup in Paris from 15 to 19 July, sweeping Karmine Corp 3-0 in the final for its first Esports World Cup title, US$600,000 and 1,000 Club Championship points, according to organizers. At that event the team beat G2, BLG, Gen.G and Karmine Corp to claim the championship, including a 2-0 sweep of G2 in the final group-stage match.
GosuGamers said G2 entered as the LEC’s first seed after a dominant domestic season in which they swept all three LEC titles. Inven Global noted G2 won LEC Versus, Spring and Summer in 2026, finished runner-up at FST, and eliminated T1 at MSI. The club also swept Gen.G 3-0 in the First Stand semifinals and began Worlds on a three-match domestic winning run over Team Vitality, Karmine Corp and Movistar KOI.
The sources disagree on G2’s total LEC titles: Esports Insider calls the 20 September Summer Grand Final win in Nice their 20th, while Inven Global lists 14. Esports Insider’s Elo rankings favored G2, which sat 13th with 1798 points and a 92-41 record in 133 matches, while Dplus KIA were 29th with 1715 points and a 91-61 record in 152 matches.
T1 opened its Worlds 2026 campaign with a win over LOS and will face Dplus KIA on Saturday. Inven Global described LOS as a CBLoL powerhouse built around Korean top-mid duo Kim “Zest” Dong-min and Jeong “Feisty” Seong-hoon.
Inven Global framed Saturday’s match as a chance to evaluate T1 after an eventful season: playoff elimination in fourth, an 8-1 Round 2 regular-season record, a 3-5 mark in Rounds 3 and 4 of the Legend Group and question marks over its performance. The outlet said T1 pins its hopes on its International T1 reputation and must rediscover its trademark strength, with key factors being how well they reorganized during the break and how quickly they can read the meta.
Elsewhere in Round 1, Karmine Corp beat Anyone’s Legend and Movistar KOI beat Bilibili Gaming, while Hanwha Life Esports beat Top Esports, CTBC Flying Oyster beat Team Liquid and LYON beat Team Secret Whales. Matches from 28 to 30 October start at 8.00pm UTC, later than the 5.00pm UTC opening-day start, and the final takes place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday 14 November at 2 PM EST, or 8 PM CET.
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