The race for the Summoner’s Cup is on, and Allen, Texas, witnessed Korea’s iron hand on the first day of the
2026 World Championship Main Stage. The LCK showed the world where the best
League of Legends comes from, and how it intends to retain its title as the best region. However, other regions have raised their hand, eager to derail the unstoppable train.
The LEC had two massive wins that some could consider upsets and narrowly missed sweeping the day. In front of its crowd, the LCS traded games with the LCP, while CBLOL couldn’t overcome a Korean giant. However, for the first time since Swiss was introduced, the LPL failed to win a game. Which region will keep the pace, and which will falter?
Can’t you see how much I’ve grown?
The inaugural match of the 2026 World Championship promised fireworks as
faced
. Yan “
" Yang-Wei executed his early-game plan to the dot, and acquired an early advantage against Kim “
" Geon-bu, but can you count him out? A crucial pick on Song “
" Eui-jin was the catalyst the Korean's needed to unlock Jeong “
" Ji-hoon. The midlaner took control as the team took its first step towards the Summoner’s Cup.
It’s my time now
arrived at Worlds amid mystery and doubt, which could aid them in scoring an upset over
. However, after Bai "369" Jia-Hao's sudden call-up, TES isn't at the level they showed back in Split 3. HLE scored small victory after victory, until Kim “
" Geon-woo was completely out of control. HLE reaffirmed its favorite label, while TES hopes to adjust and keep its Worlds hopes.
To live the impossible dream
haven't won a Day 1 match since the Swiss format was introduced. The task seemed impossible, as many considered
the strongest Chinese team. However, channeling Don Quixote's fearlessness, David “
" Martínez García navigated a beautiful game from start to finish. Though BLG and Zhuo “
" Ding forced the Spaniards into a couple of throws, MKoi exorcised their demons and broke their curse.
Ride the momentum
The Play-Ins buff is real, and
is eager to squeeze as much magic as possible. The Blue Wall scaled in parity against
, trading objectives around the map until Kim “
" Chang-dong broke the Chinese defenses at the Baron pit with a game-changing quadra kill. KC slowly built their advantage and slapped AL with their wallets to secure another EMEA win.
Another iconic chapter
The seventh chapter of
and
’s rivalry was a tale of resilience. The LEC champions came out with a bang, securing objectives, kills, and a large gold lead, but couldn’t deliver a killing blow. DK found several crucial picks to keep the distance until a joint effort between Heo “
" Su, Choi “
” Yong-hyeok, and Oh “
” Hyeong-seok caught Rasmus “
” Winther off-guard, which was enough for the LCK representative to close out the game.
Silence the home crowd
Usually, teams at Worlds play under equal conditions until facing a team from the host region.
tormented North America in 2025, and 2026 was no different, as the LCP representative reprised its role against
. After a masterfully crafted strategy from Zhao “
Shad0w" Zhi-Qiang, the jungler showed that Brandon “
" Villegas’ Lee Sin isn't as scary and led his team to another victory.
World Champion debut
The first roadblock for
and its seventh Summoner's Cup was
The Korean giant has its eyes set on the prize and won't concede an inch against any opponent. Mun “
" Hyeon-jun and Lee “
" Sang-hyeok picked iconic champions, Lee Sin and LeBlanc, respectively, and dominated the game from start to finish. The Brazilians made a valiant effort, but couldn't contain the Korean onslaught.
Do you get déjà vu?
The closing match of Day 1 saw
and
rematch after MSI 2026. Kai'Sa, Lee Sin, Nautilus, Ezreal, and Alistar were all champions the teams repeated from their earlier encounter, just like the match's outcome. LYON's jungler, Kacper "Inspired" Słoma, gradually started to snowball. Trần “
" Duy Đức stalled the Poles’ efforts, but the damage was done: Kim “
" Min-cheol was set up for success as NA scored its first win of the tournament.
This action will have consequences
As China patches its wounds, the consequences of losing reel its head. One of AL or TES will finish Day 2 with a 0-2 record, while IG and BLG will face the LCP and LCS champion, respectively, in search of their first victory. The final 0-1 bracket match will feature G2 and LOS.
The draw smiled on the rest of the regions, with two LCK Grand Final rematches on Day 2: DK vs. T1 and HLE vs. Gen.G. MKOI will look to build upon their win and take CFO out, and the cherry on top: the first EU-NA rivalry match in the Main Stage, LYON facing KC.
