All Four Korean Teams Fall in 'Shock' ... Korea's Worlds Dominance Ends as Top Spot Shifts to China

BLG defeats all four LCK teams to win its first title
T1, Samsung, Damwon, Gen.G... South Korea's dominance comes to an end
South Korea's four-year title streak ends

League of Legends (LoL)'s world-leading status has shifted from Korea to China. Gen.G, representing Korea's LCK, lost to China's LPL team Bilibili Gaming (BLG), surrendering the 2026 LoL World Championship (Worlds) title. BLG pulled off a stunning run to the title, defeating all four Korean teams in the tournament.

Gen.G lost 1-3 to BLG in the final on Nov. 15 (Korea time) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. In the best-of-five final, Gen.G took the first game to gain the upper hand, but then lost the next three in a row to suffer a reverse sweep.

Gen.G advanced to the final after sweeping China's Invictus Gaming (IG) 3-0 in the semifinals. However, it could not get past BLG, ending its bid for the title. With this victory, BLG claimed its first Worlds title since the team was founded.

BLG players celebrate after winning the final of the 2026 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on the 15th (Korea time). Riot Games

The result is significant because it marks a shift in Korea's long-standing dominance in LoL esports. Korea's run of success began when SK Telecom T1 claimed its first title in 2013, followed by Samsung White in 2014, SK Telecom T1 in 2015 and 2016, and Samsung Galaxy in 2017. Korean teams won the title for five consecutive years, from 2013 to 2017.

China's LPL struck back with consecutive titles for Invictus Gaming in 2018 and FunPlus Phoenix in 2019, but Korea returned to the top. DAMWON Gaming won in 2020, followed by DRX in 2022, and then T1 won three consecutive titles from 2023 to 2025. Of the 15 tournaments held through 2025, Korean teams won 10.

China, meanwhile, is also said to have strengthened its competitiveness, backed by its massive market and deep pool of players. The LPL narrowed the gap with Korean teams through aggressive play and individual skill, and won international tournaments on multiple occasions.

BLG was particularly strong against Korean teams in this tournament. It defeated Dplus KIA (DK) in the quarterfinals and reigning champion T1 in the semifinals, before beating Gen.G in the final. BLG's victory also ended the LCK's four-year streak of Worlds titles, which had continued from 2022 through 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.