Anyone's Legend qualify for Worlds 2026 and advance to the LPL Finals

After a year of absence, are back on the international stage. Former LPL champions, the squad’s season thus far has been marked by inconsistencies, though now, it could finally be time for a return to form. With a close 3-2 semifinal victory over , the pandas booked their ticket to the LPL Grand Finals against , mathematically qualifying for Worlds 2026 through Championship Points regardless of the finals’ result.

While Bilibili Gaming had already secured their Worlds qualification on August 13, after reaching playoffs and becoming mathematically uncatchable, Anyone’s Legend had to wait much longer to secure their own spot. Until the semifinals, Invictus Gaming could still have won the LPL and potentially pushed BLG into the Championship Points qualification spot, leaving AL without a Worlds berth.

By defeating iG, however, Anyone’s Legend eliminated that possibility. With at least 160 Championship Points now secured, no remaining team can catch them, officially sending the pandas back to the international stage.

Always threading on the verge of greatness, but never quite breaking their ceiling, Anyone’s Legend have had a long history of performances that were never quite rewarded with results, aside from the team’s LPL title in Split 2 2025. If anything, this qualification for Worlds and the LPL Finals is, in a way, the minimum that was expected from the team, as the squad had remained together for two years without making any roster changes until this very summer.

That changed with the signing of former iG toplaner , who has now helped Anyone’s Legend break through against his own former team. Meanwhile, their former toplaner instead joined BLG to act as a stand-in for .

Now, after failing to get past fourth place in two splits in a row in 2026, Anyone’s Legend are here hoping to finally claim the cup once more and prove their pedigree as they ready themselves for the international stage. With experience on their side and renewed vigor after their roster change, it looks like it may just be time for the pandas to truly break expectations, bring home the glory and write their story down in history.

As one of the two best-performing regions at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational, the LPL, just like the LCK, will receive direct spots to the main event of Worlds 2026. As a result, Anyone’s Legend will head straight into the Swiss Stage, skipping the Play-In.

If anything, when it comes to the international stage, seeding holds very little weight, as all teams can fight one another and are ultimately on equal footing. Both the LCK and LPL hold one team in each of the four pools, meaning it is entirely possible that the two regions could clash early on.

Anyone’s Legend in particular hold a grudge against , who last year beat them twice in five-game series at the 2025 MSI and Worlds 2025, eliminating AL both times. With T1’s latest loss against , AL losing against BLG could mean that the two teams end up fighting each other in the first round of the Swiss Stage.

Regardless, the Worlds 2026 action begins on October 15 with the Play-In Stage. From there, the Swiss Stage will kick off on October 23, where Anyone’s Legend will play their first match on the international stage in a year, this time taking place in Allen, Texas. There, as always, all teams will fight in up to five rounds and hope to secure three wins to then advance to the climax of the 2026 season: the knockout stage.

Only time will tell if Anyone’s Legend will now continue their current rise and prove once more their ability to truly compete among the best teams in the world.