EMEA’s Finest vs Korea’s Best: WSCI Semifinals Preview

The 2026 World Star Challengers Invitational semifinal matches have been finalized and are scheduled to take place on September 30. Four teams remain in the race to win the first-ever international League of Legends tournament for Tier 2 teams.

In the best-of-five series, Solary will face DN SOOPers Challengers, followed by Galions taking on T1 Esports Academy later the same day. As the stage features a single-elimination bracket, the winners of the WSCI semifinals will advance to the Grand Final, while the losers will be eliminated from the event.

Solary hasn’t lost a single series in the tournament so far and will head into the matchup as the clear favorites. The French side scored a perfect 6-0 record in the Group Stage, which included a revenge win against Galions after the EMEA Masters Spring Grand Final.

The team opened its Playoffs run with a comfortable 3-1 win over in-form Movistar KOI Fénix, with its top laner putting together an incredible 19/4/24 KDA performance. Solary’s success hasn’t been limited to the WSCI, either, as the team has enjoyed an impressive 2026 season so far, lifting the LFL Invitational, EMEA Masters Winter, and LFL Spring titles while finishing second at EMEA Masters Spring.

DN SOOPers’ season hasn’t been as successful as Solary’s; however, the fact that the Korean team eliminated one of the tournament favorites, Dplus Challengers, in the quarterfinals showcases its ability to adapt quickly to its opponents, especially in a best-of-five series.

Solary’s mid laner Kang “Jool” Dong-soo told Sheep Esports in a recent interview that he considers “the LCK CL as the strongest league in this tournament” and thus, defeating an LCK CL team, DNS in this case, would bring him “immense personal satisfaction.”

The second best-of-five series of the day has the potential to be a nail-biter. While T1 Esports Academy topped Group A with a strong 5-1 record, Galions finished second in Group D with a 4-2 record before sweeping KT Rolster Challengers in the quarterfinals.

T1 Academy is also coming off a title victory in the LCK CL 2026 Season, while finishing as the runner-up at LCK CL Kickoff and Asia Masters. Meanwhile, Galions has already proven its potential to defeat some of the strongest teams in the tournament.

Théo "Zoelys" Le Scornec and Moon "Cloud" Hyeon-ho have been two of the most consistent players on both sides, making the battle between the two an interesting one to watch. “3-0 against KT Academy! Happy with the games and my level 😆 Semifinals against T1 Academy in two days! EUROPE IS STOMPING KOREA,” Zoelys said on X (formerly Twitter).