On October 12, 2026,
Demacia Cup Global Invitational entered the Knockout Stage. Following full-set battles right from day 1, two LCK teams,
and
,
secured hard-fought 3-2 victories, defeating Team Vitality and JD Gaming, respectively, to set up a clash against each other in the semifinals.
The match between
KT Rolster, the strong tournament favorites, and
, seemed unbalanced… but defied expectations. Vitality struck first with sharp teamfighting in Games 1 and 2 to reach match point. However, Moon "
" Woo-chan repeatedly targeted the toplane to shut down Kaan "
" Okan. Fixing their early mistakes, KT took the next two sets in a row to force a Game 5.
In the final game, Team Vitality secured the Dragon Soul and took Baron using the momentum from Matyáš "
" Orság's Aphelios. However, in two crucial teamfights near Elder Dragon, Lee "
" Seung-min's Jax picked up key kills, allowing KT to push in and destroy the Nexus. As the LEC's last remaining team, Vitality took their first set wins against an LCK team in eight years, but fell short of winning the series. Their season comes to an end without a single Bo5 victory this year.
KT Rolster advanced to the semifinals after a shaky and difficult series. Through moments of crisis, recently re-signed franchise players PerfecT and Kwak "
" Bo-seong stepped up to make decisive plays when it mattered most.
The match between BFX and JDG was a relentless slugfest. Amid sharp clashes in the bottom lane, the outcomes of teamfights remained highly unpredictable, keeping both teams on edge despite early advantages. Aggressive plays orchestrated by Jeon “
” Eo-jin led the Asia Star Challengers Invitational champions's charge, while standout performances from Xu “
” Xingzu effectively countered their momentum in a back-and-forth contest.
In Game 5, following a series of champion swaps, Raptor piloted jungle Olaf instead of a toplane assignment, capitalizing on First Blood to dictate the pace of the game from wire to wire. Faced with top Nidalee in place of Olaf, Xiaoxu was unable to exert further influence. Although Xiang “
” Tao's Akali piled up kills to spark hopes of a comeback, BFX deftly neutralized the opposing moves, ultimately securing the nexus after a grueling contest.
Fielding Fang “
” Zhe-Yu and Angel in place of Yu “
” Chun-chia and Tsai “
” Minghung, JD Gaming met a disappointing end to their season on home ground. JD Gaming have not lifted a trophy since their victory in the 2023 LPL Summer Split.
