T1 eliminate Karmine Corp to reach Worlds 2026 semifinals
The Korean side will face Bilibili Gaming for a spot in the final, extending their streak of semifinal appearances to six years.
T1 defeated Karmine Corp 3-1 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the League of Legends World Championship.
The Korean side took the first two games in 36 and 30 minutes before Karmine Corp pulled one back over 37 minutes. T1 closed out the series in 35 minutes at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas.
The result puts T1 in the Worlds semifinals for a sixth consecutive year, a streak that began in 2021. They are now two series wins away from a fourth straight Summoner's Cup and a seventh world title.
Bilibili Gaming await them on Sunday, November 8, with a place in the final at stake. The most recent meeting between the semifinalists went to Bilibili Gaming in a best-of-one during the Esports World Cup 2026 group stage.
Karmine Corp, the LEC's last remaining team, saw their tournament end. The French organization posted on social media, "Notre aventure à nos premiers Worlds de League of Legends s'arrête ici… On s'incline sur le score de 1-3 face à T1, et on termine donc Top 5-8 de la compétition."
Karmine Corp’s tournament began in the Play-In Stage on October 15, where they beat Cloud9 3-2. They then fought through the Swiss Stage, securing their knockout spot with wins over CTBC Flying Oyster and Movistar KOI. The French side needed that win to stay alive.
The teams had split their two meetings earlier in 2026, with T1 winning 3-0 at the Mid-Season Invitational on June 29 and Karmine Corp winning 2-1 at the Esports World Cup on July 18.
Bilibili Gaming swept Dplus KIA 3-0 in their quarterfinal on November 5. BLG took all four Barons and outscored DK 62 kills to 28.
The other semifinal features Gen.G against Invictus Gaming on Saturday, November 7. Gen.G beat LYON 3-0 in their quarterfinal, while Invictus Gaming defeated Top Esports 3-1. Both semifinals start at 16:00 Central Time.
The winner of T1 versus Bilibili Gaming will play in the best-of-five Grand Final in Brooklyn on Saturday, November 14 at 2pm EST. The tournament features 19 teams and a total prize pool of $5,000,000.
