BLG Beat T1 3-1 to Reach Worlds 2026 Final, Ending 13-Series Streak

BLG end T1's title defence in Texas

Bilibili Gaming defeated T1 3-1 in the League of Legends World Championship semifinal in Allen, Texas, ending the Korean team's pursuit of a fourth consecutive title and breaking its run of 13 victories against Chinese LPL teams in Worlds knockout series.

BLG, the LPL's second seed, will face South Korea's Gen.G for the Summoner's Cup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The final is scheduled for November 14 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, which is November 15 at 3 a.m. in Taiwan.

The semifinal took place at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center on November 8 local time, November 9 in Taiwan and South Korea. T1, the LCK's third seed, recovered from losing the opening game to level the series, but BLG won the next two games to advance.

The result carries a financial reward as well as a place in the final. BLG secured at least US$800,000 for finishing second, with US$1 million available to the champion. T1 finished joint third and fourth, earning US$400,000.

BLG's victory also reversed the outcome of the 2024 Worlds final, when T1 defeated them 3-2. This time, a team built around Bin, Xun, Knight, Viper and ON found enough answers to survive T1's comebacks and finish the series.

A record falls, and a familiar finalist exits

T1 entered the semifinal with 13 wins from 13 Worlds knockout series against LPL opponents. Those matches used a best of five format, meaning the first team to win three games advanced. BLG handed T1 its first defeat in that particular contest.

BLG had also lost all three of its previous meetings with T1 at Worlds. Its success against T1 elsewhere, including at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational and Esports World Cup, gave this meeting a different backdrop, but the Worlds breakthrough had still been missing.

Faker and T1 had won the championship in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Their four consecutive final appearances began with defeat to DRX in 2022, followed by victories over Weibo Gaming, BLG and KT Rolster. The loss in Allen ended both the bid for four straight titles and the attempt to reach a fifth consecutive final.

T1 nevertheless maintained another extraordinary record: reaching at least the semifinals in all 11 Worlds tournaments it has entered. Its 2026 campaign ended among the final four rather than in the championship match.

Knight helps BLG seize the opening game

T1 struck first in game one when Faker and Oner moved toward the bottom lane to support an attack on BLG's Viper and ON. Keria, playing Rakan, secured the opening kill. BLG took control later through fights around the map's shared objectives.

The crucial change came around 15 minutes, when the teams contested Rift Herald, a neutral monster that helps teams attack defensive towers. Xun secured the objective with Naafiri, while Knight's Orianna landed a powerful ultimate ability and collected two kills. BLG killed three T1 players in the exchange.

BLG then turned that advantage into repeated victories. Around 27 minutes, Bin's K'Sante helped control a fight in the middle lane, and Knight added another two kills as BLG lost one player while eliminating four opponents.

Knight finished the game with eight kills, no deaths and nine assists. BLG's team kill score was 18-6, and it destroyed T1's Nexus at roughly the half hour mark. The Nexus is the central structure inside each team's base; destroying it wins the game, regardless of the kill score.

Oner and Faker bring T1 back

T1 answered in game two through Oner's Lee Sin, Doran's Olaf and Faker's Syndra. BLG again found an early advantage, but Oner changed the direction of the game by stealing Baron Nashor at about 21 minutes.

Baron is a major neutral monster whose reward helps a team strengthen nearby minions and push toward the enemy base. A steal happens when a player lands the finishing hit while the opposing team is trying to secure it. Oner's intervention shifted both the immediate reward and the pressure on the map toward T1.

T1 also built an advantage around dragons. Oner secured Dragon Soul, a lasting team bonus earned by collecting enough elemental dragons, and Doran took two kills in the accompanying fight. Another exchange around 27 minutes ended with T1 killing four BLG players while losing two, then securing Baron again.

Faker finished with four kills, no deaths and 13 assists on Syndra. T1 won the game with 22 kills to BLG's 10 in about 32 minutes, drawing level at 1-1. The response showed how quickly a lead could disappear when the opposing team secured an objective and won the fight around it.

Viper helps BLG regain the lead

Game three remained competitive through repeated attacks and counterattacks. Oner, playing Jarvan IV, helped T1 take the first kill in the bottom lane, although ON's Nami helped BLG trade a kill back.

T1 later found an opening around a dragon fight, with Faker helping remove Bin and Knight. BLG recovered through a fight in the upper part of the map, where T1 players became isolated and were picked off.

Xun's Pantheon supplied a route into those fights from behind T1, while ON's Nami helped restrict the movement of opposing players. Those abilities gave Viper's Ezreal room to keep dealing damage.

Viper finished with seven kills, one death and eight assists as BLG won the game 19-10 in kills. BLG also secured Dragon Soul and Baron during the closing stages before breaking into T1's base. The win put BLG ahead 2-1, leaving T1 needing two consecutive victories to stay in the tournament.

A six-kill start, then one last T1 comeback

BLG opened game four with Renekton for Bin, Skarner for Xun, Viktor for Knight, Ashe for Viper and Seraphine for ON. T1 answered with Doran's Vayne, Oner's Wukong, Faker's Akali, Peyz's Lucian and Keria's Milio.

The first major fight came around eight minutes at the Void Grubs, neutral monsters that help teams apply pressure to structures. BLG killed three T1 players without losing anyone. Further attacks in the top and bottom lanes stretched the kill score to 6-0.

ON and Xun then combined their strongest abilities around 17 minutes. Seraphine caught several T1 players, and Skarner followed with further control, allowing BLG to kill four opponents while losing one. BLG's gold lead reached about 5,000 around 18 to 20 minutes. Gold buys equipment, so that gap gave BLG stronger tools for the next fights.

T1 mounted a serious recovery around 27 to 28 minutes. Oner initiated a fight, Viper was taken down, and T1 eliminated all five BLG players before securing Baron. T1 drew level in total gold, briefly reopening a game that had looked heavily tilted toward BLG.

BLG recovered again. Viper's Guardian Angel item, which revives its holder after a delay, gave his teammates time to protect his return during a later fight. BLG broke a middle lane inhibitor, then secured Mountain Dragon Soul and another Baron. Near the finish, Xun caught Oner, and BLG pushed through to destroy the Nexus at about 37 minutes, winning 21-9 in kills.

How the finalists reached this point

BLG's route to the final began with an uneven Swiss stage, the opening phase in which teams face opponents with similar records. It lost to Movistar KOI, recovered against Team Liquid Alienware and Karmine Corp, then lost to Top Esports before beating Hanwha Life Esports to qualify for the knockout stage.

BLG swept Dplus KIA 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Combined with the semifinal result, it won six of its seven knockout games against Korean opposition across those two rounds.

T1 beat LOS, CTBC Flying Oyster and Movistar KOI during its Swiss campaign, with a defeat to Dplus KIA along the way. It then defeated Karmine Corp 3-1 in the quarterfinals before meeting BLG.

The closing stages now move from Texas to New York:

• 2024: T1 defeated BLG 3-2 in the Worlds final.
• 2026 quarterfinals: BLG swept Dplus KIA, while T1 beat Karmine Corp 3-1.
• November 8 in Texas, November 9 in East Asia: BLG defeated T1 3-1 in the semifinal.
• November 14 in New York, November 15 in Taiwan: BLG face Gen.G for the championship.

Gen.G stand between BLG and the trophy

Gen.G reached the final by sweeping Invictus Gaming 3-0 in the other semifinal. BLG therefore face another LCK opponent after eliminating Dplus KIA and T1 in successive knockout rounds.

BLG arrive with substantial international results already behind them in 2026: victory at the First Stand Tournament and second place at the Mid-Season Invitational. The Worlds final offers a chance to add the title that escaped them against T1 in 2024.

The prize difference between winning and finishing second is US$200,000, based on the champion's US$1 million award and the runner-up's US$800,000. BLG have already secured twice T1's US$400,000 semifinal payout.

For BLG, the immediate task is to turn its second Worlds final appearance into its first Summoner's Cup. Gen.G, also seeking a first Worlds title under its current team brand, are the remaining obstacle. The semifinal's defining lesson was concrete: BLG could rebuild its advantage even after T1 won a major fight and took Baron, a quality it may need again in Brooklyn.

Key Points

• BLG defeated T1 3-1 at the Worlds 2026 semifinal in Allen, Texas.
• The result ended T1's 13-series winning streak against LPL teams in Worlds knockout matches.
• T1's pursuit of a fourth consecutive championship and fifth consecutive final ended.
• Knight, Viper, Bin, Xun and ON helped BLG withstand repeated T1 recoveries.
• BLG face Gen.G at Barclays Center on November 14, or November 15 at 3 a.m. in Taiwan.
• BLG secured at least US$800,000; the champion receives US$1 million.