Worlds 2026 Semifinal: T1 vs BLG Preview, a 2024 Final Rematch for the Last Spot in Brooklyn
By AS Gaming EditorialNovember 08, 20265 min readPC
Source: LLA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
T1 vs BLG Worlds 2026 is the last semifinal, and it decides who meets Gen.G in the grand final on November 14. The two teams play Sunday, November 8, at 4 PM CST in Allen, Texas, in a rematch of the 2024 final that T1 won 3-2. One team goes to Brooklyn. The other goes home.
T1 vs BLG Worlds 2026: what is at stake
Gen.G are already waiting. The LCK champions swept Invictus Gaming 3-0 on Saturday, November 7, to reach their first Worlds final in nine years, back to the days when the organization played as Samsung Galaxy and won it all in 2017. The sweep also ended years of semifinal exits for mid laner Chovy, who finally gets his first shot at a world title, along with Kiin and Duro.
The grand final is set for Saturday, November 14, at 2 PM EST at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Gen.G have guaranteed themselves at least second place and $800,000 in winnings, while IG bowed out in third to fourth place with $400,000. Whoever wins on Sunday walks into Brooklyn as the last obstacle between Gen.G and a title nine years in the making.
How T1 got here
T1 are the defending champions, and the resume is absurd. They won the 2025 final in Chengdu, beating KT Rolster 3-2 to claim a third straight world title, the sixth world championship for Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker. A win in 2026 would give Faker a seventh title and T1 a fourth straight crown, numbers that sound made up until you check them.
Their road through the knockout stage has been workmanlike rather than flawless. T1 beat Karmine Corp 3-1 in the quarterfinals, ending the last European team's run, after surviving a Swiss stage that included a loss and a fight for seeding. Nobody at this tournament doubts T1 in a best-of-five, though. They have been here more times than anyone, and Faker has already talked up his team's chances this week, telling reporters it was unfortunate that BLG have to face T1.
How BLG got here
Bilibili Gaming arrive as the team nobody wants to draw. They swept Dplus KIA 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and DK had been previously unbeaten at the tournament. That is not a fluke result. That is a statement, and it is why this semifinal feels far closer than the seedings suggest.
BLG are also the LPL's last team standing. IG are out after the Gen.G sweep, which leaves BLG carrying the region's hopes alone. The LPL has not lifted the Summoner's Cup since 2021, and the LCK is chasing a fifth straight title, so the regional storyline writes itself. Beat T1 and BLG end two streaks at once: T1's title defense and the LCK's grip on the trophy.
The 2024 final rematch angle
These two teams have done this before, on the biggest stage. T1 beat BLG 3-2 in the 2024 World Championship final at the O2 Arena in London, a five-game classic that went the distance. BLG know exactly what it feels like to be one game from the title and watch T1 lift it.
Revenge is the easy storyline, but the real question is whether BLG have closed the gap since London. The DK sweep says yes, loudly. T1's quarterfinal says they are beatable in individual games, even if nobody has beaten them in a series that mattered yet. Expect a long series. A 3-0 either way would be a surprise, and a five-game war would surprise no one.
When and where to watch
The series is a best-of-five at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. Start times: 4 PM CST, 5 PM EST, 10 PM GMT, 11 PM CET on Sunday, November 8, which is 6 AM SGT on Monday, November 9 for viewers in Asia. The winner advances to face Gen.G in Brooklyn on November 14.
