T1 Beat Karmine Corp 3-1 to Reach Worlds 2026 Semifinals

T1 defeated Karmine Corp 3-1 on November 6, 2026, in the best of five quarterfinal of the League of Legends World Championship 2026 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. The win made T1 the fourth and final team to advance to the Worlds 2026 semifinals. Karmine Corp, the LEC side in the match, are out of the tournament.

T1 came into Worlds 2026 as the defending champions, and the result moves them one step closer to a fourth straight Summoner's Cup. A title this year would also be the organisation's seventh world championship overall. That run is still alive because T1 closed this series in four games, after Karmine Corp had taken one game to keep the quarterfinal open into Game 4.

Game 4 decided the series

Karmine Corp started Game 4 with the first move. They took first blood in the top lane, where Canna's Renekton pressured Doran's Camille with help from Yike. Later, during a T1 Baron power play, Karmine Corp picked off Faker's Annie in the mid lane and briefly took the global gold lead. At that point the series was still in play, and a Karmine Corp win in Game 4 would have forced a fifth game.

T1 answered through their bot lane. Peyz, playing Miss Fortune, finished Game 4 deathless and scored a triple kill as T1 reclaimed momentum. T1 secured the Dragon Soul around the 32 minute mark. They then closed the game after a teamfight built on Keria's Neeko ultimate and Miss Fortune damage. The Peyz and Keria pair decided the final game, and with it the series, 3-1 to T1.

Two different roads to Allen

The two teams reached this quarterfinal by different routes. T1 entered Worlds 2026 as the LCK's third seed, with a direct berth to the Swiss Stage. Karmine Corp finished third at LEC 2026 Summer and started the tournament in the Play-Ins. From there they survived the Swiss Stage and reached the Knockout Stage, before running into the defending champions in the last of the four quarterfinals in Allen.

That run now ends in the quarterfinals. Karmine Corp bow out of Worlds 2026 in 5th to 8th place and take home US$300,000. For a team that began in the Play-Ins, reaching the last eight and taking a game off T1 is the final record of their tournament.

What the win gives T1

With the victory, T1 guaranteed at least a 3rd to 4th place finish and US$400,000 in winnings. The semifinal place also keeps the title defence on course. T1 will next face Bilibili Gaming, known as BLG, in the semifinals, for a spot in the Worlds 2026 grand finals. BLG swept Dplus KIA 3-0 in their quarterfinal, so T1 face a team that came through its own last eight match without dropping a game.

The semifinal is the next test of the run T1 are trying to extend. One more series win puts them in another final, with a fourth straight Summoner's Cup and a seventh world title for the organisation on the line.