Key facts
- Top Esports competed without starting top laner Cheng "ZUIAN" Zi-Hao because he could not secure a US visa, and Bai "369" Jia-Hao started in his place after the club announced the move on 6 October.
- Invictus Gaming and Top Esports both finished the Swiss Stage with 3-1 records.
- Invictus Gaming defeated Top Esports 3-1 in the opening Worlds 2026 quarter-final, advancing to the tournament semifinals.
- The quarter-final was played at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, on 3 November US time.
Invictus Gaming defeated Top Esports 3-1 in the opening Worlds 2026 quarter-final on 3 November 2026 at Credit Union of Texas Event Center, in Allen, Texas, advancing to the semifinals.
The win sends Invictus Gaming to its first Worlds semifinal since 2019 and secures a Chinese semifinal place after the LPL began the Swiss Stage 0-4. The opening knockout match paired two teams from China’s LPL. Both teams reached the quarterfinals after 3-1 Swiss Stage finishes.
Invictus Gaming opened Game 1 with a gold lead of more than 10,000. Top Esports evened the series in Game 2 when 369, playing Renekton, killed JiaQi and TheShy on his own late in the match. Invictus Gaming then won Games 3 and 4 to close out the best-of-five series 3-1.
Every Worlds 2026 Knockout Stage match is a single-elimination best-of-five played with Fearless Draft, which stops either side from reusing champions across games in the same series.
Worlds 2026 has a total prize pool of US$5,000,000, with US$1,000,000 for the winner. Each losing semifinalist receives US$400,000, so Invictus Gaming is guaranteed at least US$400,000.
Invictus Gaming asked TheShy and Rookie to return from breaks during LPL Split 3 to help the team qualify for Worlds, and both won the 2018 world title with the organization. TheShy said he had promised Invictus Gaming’s CEO he would help if asked. “I came back to keep my word,” he said after the series.
Top Esports competed without starting top laner Cheng “ZUIAN” Zi-Hao because he could not secure a US visa, and Bai “369” Jia-Hao started in his place after the club announced the move on 6 October. 369 had not played competitively since March before replacing ZUIAN.
Invictus Gaming reached 3-1 by defeating LYON 2-1 on 28 October, while Top Esports reached 3-1 by defeating Bilibili Gaming 2-1 on 29 October. The teams entered the knockout stage as the LPL’s third and fourth seeds, with Invictus Gaming attending as Chinese Seed 4.
Invictus Gaming lost its Swiss Stage opener to Gen.G, then won three consecutive games against Team Secret Whales, Hanwha Life Esports, and LYON. Gen.G defeated Invictus Gaming 1-0 in the Swiss Stage and finished that stage with a perfect 3-0 record.
Top Esports opened its Worlds run with a loss to Hanwha Life Esports before winning three straight victories over Anyone’s Legend, G2 Esports, and Bilibili Gaming. During the season, Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei remained the only Invictus Gaming player whose position did not undergo a roster change. Top Esports began in early 2018.
All-time, Invictus Gaming leads Top Esports 52 games to 50 in head-to-head wins and 14 series to 11 in best-of-three matchups, while the teams hold five series each in best-of-five meetings.
In 2026, Invictus Gaming has won four series against Top Esports, including one best-of-five, while Top Esports has won three, also including one best-of-five. Of those seven 2026 meetings, six took place in the LPL and one at the Esports World Cup.
The clubs split two September best-of-five series, with Invictus Gaming winning 3-2 in the LPL Split 3 playoffs on 5 September and Top Esports winning 3-1 in the LPL Regional Finals on 17 September.
Three quarter-finals remain: Gen.G versus LYON on 4 November, Dplus KIA versus Bilibili Gaming on 5 November, and Karmine Corp versus T1 on 6 November, all starting at 16:00 CT. Invictus Gaming will face either Gen.G or LYON in the semifinals, which will be played in Allen on 7 and 8 November. The final will be held in Brooklyn on Saturday 14 November at 2pm EST.
When the Swiss Stage ended on 31 October, eight teams remained: three from the LCK, three from the LPL, one from the LEC, and one from the LCS. Dplus KIA finished at 3-0, while Karmine Corp, LYON, and Bilibili Gaming each ended at 3-2.
On October 31, Karmine Corp beat Movistar KOI 2-0 and Bilibili Gaming beat Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 in their deciding Round 5 series.
On October 30, LOS beat Team Liquid Alienware 2-1 and Hanwha Life Esports beat G2 Esports 2-0, leaving both losing teams at 1-3. Movistar KOI, LOS, and Hanwha Life Esports finished at 2-3. Team Liquid Alienware, G2 Esports, and CTBC Flying Oyster finished at 1-3. Team Secret Whales and Anyone’s Legend finished at 0-3.
No team from the LCP or CBLOL reached the Worlds 2026 quarterfinals.
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