League of Legends Worlds 2026 Quarterfinals Start Today in Texas

The knockout stage of the League of Legends World Championship, Worlds 2026, opens on Tuesday, November 3, in Allen, Texas. Top Esports play Invictus Gaming in the first quarterfinal at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center, starting at 4 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Eastern. The series is a best of five, and the loser goes home.

Worlds 2026 began on October 15 and ends with the final on Saturday, November 14, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Nineteen teams from six leagues started the tournament. Eight are left, and they are playing for a prize pool of US$5,000,000, with US$1,000,000 for the champion.

The quarterfinal schedule

One series is played each day. Top Esports face Invictus Gaming on Tuesday, November 3. Gen.G play LYON on Wednesday, November 4. Dplus KIA meet Bilibili Gaming on Thursday, November 5. T1 close the round against Karmine Corp on Friday, November 6. Every series starts at 4 p.m. Central and is a best of five. The semifinals follow in Allen on November 7 and 8.

Tuesday's opener pairs two Chinese teams from the LPL. That guarantees the LPL a semifinalist, and it also guarantees that one of the league's two strongest rosters is eliminated in the first knockout round. Top Esports and Invictus Gaming both finished the Swiss stage with 3-1 records.

The road after this week

The two semifinal winners meet in Brooklyn on November 14. Karmine Corp carry the hopes of Europe's LEC as that league's only quarterfinalist, and LYON do the same for North America's LCS. Three Korean teams from the LCK and three Chinese teams from the LPL make up the rest of the field, so the bracket can still produce a Korea against China final if the results break that way on Friday and across the weekend semifinals.

How the eight got here

The Swiss stage ended on Saturday, October 31. Gen.G and Dplus KIA came through unbeaten at 3-0. T1, Invictus Gaming and Top Esports advanced at 3-1. Karmine Corp, LYON and Bilibili Gaming took the last three places at 3-2, with Bilibili Gaming sweeping Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 in the final round to claim the last spot.

T1 are the defending champions and have won the last three titles. Dplus KIA against Bilibili Gaming on Thursday is the other series drawing heavy attention, because it pairs an unbeaten Korean side with the Chinese team that finished the Swiss stage strongest.

How to watch

Every knockout match streams free on the LoL Esports channels on Twitch and YouTube, with English commentary. Tuesday's series starts at 10 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 11 p.m. in central Europe, and 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday in India.