Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage Day 1: Two Massive Upsets Shake Up Opening Round

Oct 23

Bilibili Gaming and Anyone’s Legend Fall as the LPL Suffers a Brutal 0–4 Start

The Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage has officially begun, and while most of the opening-day results went according to expectations, two major upsets immediately stole the spotlight.

Movistar KOI took down Bilibili Gaming, while Karmine Corp stunned Anyone’s Legend.

Those two victories gave the LEC two huge wins over LPL opponents and helped create a nightmare opening day for China.

But the biggest headline may be the performance of the LPL.

China went 0–4 on the opening day.

Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage Day 1 Results

Gen.G 1–0 Invictus Gaming
Hanwha Life Esports 1–0 Top Esports
Movistar KOI 1–0 Bilibili Gaming
Karmine Corp 1–0 Anyone’s Legend
Dplus KIA 1–0 G2 Esports
CTBC Flying Oyster 1–0 Team Liquid Alienware
T1 1–0 LOS
LYON 1–0 Team Secret Whales

Movistar KOI Stuns Bilibili Gaming

The biggest surprise of the day may have been Movistar KOI defeating Bilibili Gaming.

BLG entered Worlds as one of the tournament's biggest contenders, while MKOI came into the matchup as the clear underdog. Instead of playing cautiously, however, the LEC representatives took control and continued applying pressure throughout a marathon game.

MKOI eventually secured the decisive late-game team fight and completed one of the biggest upsets of the opening round.

The victory puts Movistar KOI at 1–0, while Bilibili Gaming immediately finds itself fighting from the 0–1 pool.

Karmine Corp Stuns Anyone’s Legend

If BLG's loss wasn't enough, Karmine Corp delivered another major shock.

KC defeated Anyone’s Legend 1–0, taking down the LPL's first seed in the opening round.

Karmine Corp came into the matchup as Europe's third seed, while Anyone's Legend represented one of China's strongest teams. KC refused to be intimidated, taking control of the game and eventually closing out the victory.

Canna was a major factor in the win, helping KC secure one of the biggest victories of Day 1.

Karmine Corp now moves into the 1–0 group, while Anyone’s Legend drops to 0–1.

Dplus KIA Stuns G2

Europe's G2 Esports also suffered a tough opening loss.

G2 held its own against Dplus KIA for much of the game, but the Korean squad eventually turned the match around and secured the 1–0 victory. Dplus KIA's win gives the LCK another strong opening result, while G2 now enters the 0–1 pool.

CTBC Flying Oyster Takes Down Team Liquid

North America's Team Liquid Alienware was unable to capitalize on its opening matchup.

CTBC Flying Oyster defeated Team Liquid 1–0 in a lengthy battle. CFO survived a competitive game before taking control around the late-game objectives and closing out the victory.

T1 Begins Its Title Defense With a Statement

Defending World Champions T1 had little trouble against Brazil's LOS.

T1 dominated the opening stages, building an early lead before completely taking over the map. The defending champions finished the game with a 16–2 kill advantage and an approximately 11,000-gold lead, closing the match in just over 21 minutes.

With the victory, T1 starts its Worlds title defense at 1–0.

LYON Gives the Americas Another Win

LYON also came through with a victory, defeating Team Secret Whales in the final matchup of the opening day.

The win gives LYON an important 1–0 start and adds another positive result for the Americas region.

The Day 1 Picture

After the opening round, the 1–0 group consists of:

Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, Movistar KOI, Karmine Corp, Dplus KIA, CTBC Flying Oyster, T1 and LYON.

The 0–1 group consists of:

Invictus Gaming, Top Esports, Bilibili Gaming, Anyone’s Legend, G2 Esports, Team Liquid Alienware, LOS and Team Secret Whales.

The most striking part of the standings is the LPL.

All four Chinese teams are sitting at 0–1.

That means Invictus Gaming, Top Esports, Bilibili Gaming and Anyone’s Legend will all enter the next round needing a victory.

Meanwhile, the LCK has made a very strong opening statement, with Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA and T1 all starting 1–0.

The LEC also has plenty to celebrate after Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp both pulled off major victories against LPL opposition.

How the Swiss Stage Works

The Swiss format now becomes even more important.

Teams are matched against opponents with the same record, meaning the 1–0 teams will face each other in Round 2, while the 0–1 teams will battle for their first win.

Teams need three victories to advance to the Knockout Stage, while three losses eliminate them.

That makes Round 2 especially important for the LPL. Another loss would put several of China's representatives just one defeat away from the danger zone.

What Happens Next?

Round 2 begins Saturday, October 24, with the 1–0 teams facing one another and the 0–1 teams fighting to avoid falling further behind.

For the LPL, the pressure is already enormous.

All four Chinese representatives enter Round 2 at 0–1, with two of those losses coming against European teams in what were arguably the two biggest upsets of Day 1.

Meanwhile, the LCK couldn't have asked for a better opening, with Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA and T1 all starting 1–0.

Day 1 may only be the beginning, but Worlds 2026 has already made one thing clear:

Nobody is safe in the Swiss Stage.