G2 Esports Faces Dplus KIA in LoL Worlds Swiss Stage Opener

G2 Esports will play Dplus KIA in a best-of-one match to open the Swiss Stage of the League of Legends World Championship 2026.

The LEC champions hold a 3-1 series record against LCK opponents this year, with a 9-4 game score.

G2 beat the previously undefeated Gen.G and took down T1 during that run.

"It’s like this is their way of telling the world that as long as you don’t give LCK teams respect, they lose half of their power," the notes said.

Dplus KIA defeated G2 2-0 in a best-of-three at the Esports World Cup earlier this year.

That result was surprising at the time but made more sense retroactively as Dplus KIA went on to beat the Chinese and Korean favorites to win the EWC.

The team plays with a slightly more cautious approach than other Korean squads like Hanwha Life Esports or T1.

That style worked against G2 at the EWC, where the LEC champions' attempts at picks turned against them and they lost to mechanical outplays in return.

The Worlds meta is different, with mages largely gone from the bot lane aside from Ziggs and roaming supports mostly absent.

This shift doubly favors G2, as DK's creativity allows them to shine with more picks and strategies available, and G2's bot laner Steven "Hans Sama" Liv never looked too comfortable on mages.

Teams have not played an official match in a month, during which the meta has evolved and team form can change drastically.

"All competitors can show a completely different face from one day to the next," the notes said.

The unpredictable nature of a single-map, best-of-one format, with a different drafting strategy than the Fearless mode used in later stages, makes the outcome difficult to call.

"With all on the line for a single map, with a different drafting strategy without Fearless, few things are less predictable than that," the notes said.

Redington Cybersport reported in October that the draw dates for the Play-In and Swiss Stage had been confirmed.