Dplus KIA claim the LCK's last Worlds ticket the hard way

The LCK's Worlds 2026 delegation is complete. Dplus KIA beat KT Rolster 3-1 in the lower bracket on Friday to lock in a top-four finish, joining Hanwha Life Esports, Gen.G and T1 on the plane to North America. Without much surprise, the four best teams of the regular season have held their rank in the playoffs — but not without a scare or two along the way.

From swept to survivors

No qualified team suffered more than Dplus. Their playoffs opened with a brutal 3-0 at the hands of KT Rolster — a series in which not one of the 14 polled experts had picked KT Rolster, and which sent the winners of the Head Coach and Rookie of the Year awards straight into the lower bracket.

Their response defined their week. Down 0-2 against BNK FEARX, Dplus KIA completed a reverse sweep to stay alive, then got their rematch with KT Rolster — and settled the score 3-1. The defeat ends KT Rolster's season in fifth place and closes the three-way race for the last Worlds spot that BNK FearX, eliminated a day earlier, were also part of. The year is not over for KT and BFX, as they will both join HANJIN BRION at the first Demacia Cup Global Invitational.

T1's road was not entirely smooth either. They needed five games to get past BNK FearX in Round 1 before falling to Hanwha Life Esports, but their higher seeding had already guaranteed a top-four finish — and with it, their spot at Worlds.

Now for the KSPO Dome — and the seeding

With all four tickets punched, the fight shifts to placement. Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports, both already assured of playing at the KSPO Dome, meet in the winners' final on Saturday with a direct berth in the September 13 Grand Final on the line. On Sunday, T1 face Dplus KIA for the last spot in the lower bracket final, played on September 12 in Seoul's Olympic Park.

There is more than a trophy at stake. The final standings determine the LCK's four Worlds seeds — and with them, each team's draw pool for the Swiss Stage in Texas, where a higher seed means softer opposition in the opening round.

From swept to survivors

Now for the KSPO Dome — and the seeding

Comments (0)