The WSCI group stage ran at a relentless pace, with back-to-back Bo1s played in the very early hours for Western audiences. For those who could not keep up, here is a recap of the team and regional dynamics that emerged, and what they mean for the playoffs.
Europe was expected to be strong. Few saw them being this dominant. Every ERL side made it through to the playoffs, and for most of the group stage no European team dropped a game to a side from another region. MKOI Fénix
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Team Vitality close Vitality.Bee as LFL uncertainty deepens“Know My Name”: every reference in the Worlds 2026 anthem videoSolary were the standout and they come out undefeated from the group stage. Their bot lane of Aetinoth and Piero has been a cut above everyone else's, and Aetinoth has raised his level coming into the event to become one of the players of the tournament. Galions have Carlsen — arguably one of the best top laners in the event, and the main reason they kept pace with their LFL rivals. Europe and the LCK Challengers now look like the two regions to beat.
The LCK CL sides did what was expected of them, with some differences in how convincing they looked. T1 Academy were the most complete team in their group. Cloud has a real case for best player of the tournament, and Guti has been the best mid laner on show. Their only slip came early, against EDG Youth, and they never looked vulnerable after that.
No Chinese team made the playoffs. The context matters here — there is no LDL this year following the match-fixing cases, and every Chinese side came through an open qualifier. EDG Youth started brightly before fading, and they went out on the head-to-head against DNS. BLGJ found form late, too late to change anything. ZSK never got going.
On the APAC side, Saigon Warriors
The quarterfinal draw is as follows:
The draw has not been kind to the regional storylines. Two of the quarterfinals are internal affairs, which means one European side and one Korean side are guaranteed to go home in the first round. Solary start as favourites against MKOI Fénix, whose shaky final week gives them little margin against the best team in Europe. DK Challengers against DNS looks like a similar story on paper, although DK's last-day loss to Cupid leaves a small opening for a DNS side that has lived on the edge all tournament.
The other half of the bracket is where the cross-regional tests come. T1 Academy
If the favourites hold, the semifinals would see Solary take on DK Challengers, and T1 Academy face the winner of KT and Galions. Either way, Europe and Korea are set for at least one direct clash before the final.
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