Bilibili Gaming Ends T1's Worlds Reign With 3-1 Semifinal Win

Bilibili Gaming removes the defending champion

Bilibili Gaming has reached the 2026 World Championship final after defeating T1 3-1 in Allen, Texas. The LPL representative won Games 1, 3 and 4, ending T1's attempt to claim a fourth consecutive world title and securing a championship match against Gen.G.

The semifinal was played over four increasingly long maps and lasted 2 hours, 17 minutes and 25 seconds of game time. BLG finished with a combined 68-47 kill advantage. T1 produced a convincing response in Game 2, but BLG regained control through Viper and knight before closing the series in the longest game of the night.

The result carries unusual historical weight for League of Legends. T1 had never lost a best-of-five against an LPL team in the World Championship knockout stage. That record included multiple title runs, but Bilibili Gaming broke it while eliminating the three-time defending champion.

BLG will now meet Gen.G at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 14. Gen.G became the first finalist with a 3-0 semifinal victory over Invictus Gaming.

Knight and Viper give BLG the opening map

Bilibili Gaming set the tone with an 18-6 victory in Game 1. The map ended in 30:25, and BLG held a 7,800-gold advantage at the finish. It also led 10-3 in towers and secured the only Baron.

Knight's Orianna was the center of the winning composition. He finished 8/0/9, participated in 17 of BLG's 18 kills and dealt 21,548 champion damage without giving T1 a shutdown opportunity. Viper added a 6/2/7 performance on Corki and led his team with 23,895 damage.

The structure around those carries was equally important. Xun's Naafiri supplied 11 assists, while ON's Nautilus recorded 13. Bin's K'Sante absorbed pressure and contributed to 13 kills. Together, the group created reliable initiation and allowed Orianna and Corki to attack from protected positions.

T1 struggled to establish its own front line. Doran ended 0/5/3 on Rumble and Oner finished 0/4/4 on Nocturne. Faker found four of T1's six kills, but the defending champion could not convert those individual moments into map control.

T1 answers through Olaf and Syndra

T1 refused to let the semifinal become a sweep. In Game 2, the Korean team changed the pressure points and produced a 22-10 win in 32:15. T1 took every Dragon, both Barons and ten towers while building a 9,800-gold lead.

Doran recovered from the difficult opener with Olaf. He delivered 25,557 damage and finished 7/5/9, using the pick to attack BLG's back line rather than waiting for a conventional front-to-back fight. Oner's Lee Sin added six kills and eight assists.

Faker played the stabilizing role on Syndra and completed the map without a death at 4/0/13. His control helped T1 protect Peyz, who recorded 5/1/8 on Jhin. Keria's Poppy connected the formation with 16 assists.

The win tied the series at 1-1 and showed that T1 could punish BLG when it controlled the neutral objectives first. It also placed the draft under pressure: the next map would determine which team reached match point.

Viper takes over Game 3

Bilibili Gaming restored its lead with a 19-10 victory in Game 3. The 36:58 map ended with a 9,400-gold difference, an 11-4 tower advantage and two Barons for BLG.

Viper's Ezreal delivered the standout individual performance. He finished 7/1/8, collected 373 minions and dealt 42,774 champion damage. That was more than any other player on the map and gave BLG a consistent source of pressure before every objective.

Knight supported the damage pattern with Taliyah, ending 4/2/9. Xun's Pantheon recorded 11 assists, while ON's Nami finished 2/3/11. Their ability to begin fights at range made it difficult for T1 to approach Ezreal without losing health or position.

Peyz dealt 32,204 damage on Sivir and participated in every T1 kill, but the team could not turn wave clear into objective access. Doran's Ambessa was repeatedly targeted and finished 1/7/4. BLG reached a 2-1 series lead and moved one map from the final.

Bin and the BLG back line close the series

Game 4 lasted 37:47, the longest map of the semifinal. Bilibili Gaming won 21-9 and ended with an 8,900-gold advantage. The final map was not decided by a single carry. BLG received meaningful contributions from every role.

Bin's Renekton finished 7/1/7 and created constant pressure against Doran's Vayne. Xun's Skarner recorded 2/1/16, participating in 18 of 21 kills. ON added 3/2/16 on Seraphine, giving the composition sustain, control and another source of long-range initiation.

Knight's Viktor led BLG with 35,564 damage and finished 4/2/8. Viper contributed 30,290 damage and a 5/3/11 score on Ashe. The two carries attacked from different ranges, while Skarner, Renekton and Seraphine limited T1's ability to isolate either target.

T1 kept the game competitive long enough to reach 37 minutes, but its composition could not reverse the map. Oner died six times on Wukong, Peyz finished 2/5/4 on Lucian and Doran recorded 2/5/3. Faker's Akali remained relatively stable at 3/1/4, yet T1 lacked the coordinated entry required to break BLG's formation.

When the Nexus fell, Bilibili Gaming had completed a 3-1 victory and ended one of the most durable records in World Championship history.

Viper leads a balanced semifinal performance

Viper finished the four games with 23 kills and 27 assists. His total champion damage reached 120,538, the highest figure in the series. He used Corki, Kai'Sa, Ezreal and Ashe, giving BLG four different ways to build its bottom-lane damage.

Knight added 18 kills and 30 assists. His deathless Orianna performance established the early lead, while Taliyah and Viktor became central to BLG's final two victories. The mid and bottom carries consistently forced T1 to divide its attention.

The supporting roles supplied the flexibility around them. Bin played K'Sante, Camille, Gnar and Renekton. Xun moved through Naafiri, Qiyana, Pantheon and Skarner. ON used Nautilus, Alistar, Nami and Seraphine. BLG repeated no complete draft structure, yet maintained the same ability to start fights and protect its damage dealers.

T1 found its best collective game on the second map, but could not reproduce that objective control. The defending champion won 22-10 in kills there and lost the other three games by a combined 58-25.

T1's four-year finals run ends

T1 entered the semifinal after reaching four consecutive World Championship finals. The organization finished second in 2022 and won three straight titles from 2023 through 2025. A victory in 2026 would have created an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship in the modern era.

Bilibili Gaming stopped that attempt before the final. The loss also ended T1's perfect Worlds best-of-five record against Chinese teams. Across different rosters and tournament eras, that record had become one of the defining elements of T1's international reputation.

The 2026 run still placed T1 among the top four. The team advanced through the Swiss Stage and defeated Karmine Corp 3-1 in the quarterfinal, but the semifinal exposed difficulties when BLG controlled both side-lane pressure and long-range damage.

For Faker, the defeat ends another deep Worlds campaign. For the current roster, it begins an off-season after a series in which the team demonstrated a strong response in Game 2 but could not sustain that level across the remaining drafts.

BLG and Gen.G will decide the championship in Brooklyn

The November 14 final brings together two teams that eliminated the previous world champions from China and Korea. Gen.G swept Invictus Gaming 3-0, while BLG removed T1 in four games.

Bilibili Gaming is returning to the Worlds final after losing the 2024 championship match to T1. The organization is still seeking its first world title. Gen.G is appearing in its first final under the current name, although its competitive lineage reaches back to Samsung Galaxy.

The matchup offers a direct test between Gen.G's structured control and BLG's flexible attacking options. Viper and knight enter the final after producing the highest damage and kill totals for their team, while Gen.G arrives after two dominant semifinal maps and a difficult comeback in Game 3.

BLG's route to Brooklyn is already historic. It did not simply reach the final. It ended T1's three-year title run, broke an unbeaten knockout record and proved that one lost map would not change its approach. One best-of-five now separates Bilibili Gaming from the first world championship in the organization's history.

Source: official tournament broadcast, PandaScore, GLHF and Onivia match data.