Dplus KIA beat G2 again in Worlds 2026 opener, three months after Esports World Cup win

Dplus KIA, drawn from the bottom seeding tier, beat top-tier G2 Esports in their first Worlds 2026 match. It is their second win over the LEC champions since July and sets up a meeting with T1 on Saturday.

Play began at 21:10 UTC in the best-of-one tie.

Friday’s game was a rematch.

The Elo power rankings favour G2. They sit 13th on a rating of 1798, with a 92-41 record in 133 rated matches. Dplus KIA are 29th on 1715, with a 91-61 record across 152 rated matches.

G2 led early, but Dplus KIA took the first dragon

G2 took the early initiative. They won a four-versus-four fight against DK’s bottom lane. They then caught ShowMaker on Syndra in mid. Dplus KIA still secured the first dragon and closed out the game.

The defeat ended a three-match winning run for G2. Before Worlds, they beat Team Vitality, Karmine Corp and Movistar KOI in LEC Summer 2026. The 3-0 win over Movistar KOI came in the Summer Grand Final in Nice on 20 September. It gave G2 their 20th LEC title.

Dplus KIA arrived with mixed LCK form. Their last domestic match was a 1-3 loss to T1. Before that, they had beaten KT Rolster and BNK FEARX.

Their summer abroad was more successful. Dplus KIA won the League of Legends event at the Esports World Cup in Paris, held from 15 to 19 July. They swept Karmine Corp 3-0 in the final. The win earned US$600,000 plus 1,000 Club Championship points. The organisers said it was the club’s first Esports World Cup title.

T1 also opened with a win and face Dplus KIA next

The other LEC sides won their Round 1 matches. Karmine Corp beat Anyone’s Legend, and Movistar KOI beat Bilibili Gaming. Elsewhere, Hanwha Life Esports beat Top Esports. CTBC Flying Oyster beat Team Liquid, and LYON beat Team Secret Whales.

The Swiss Stage has 16 teams playing five rounds. Three wins send a team to the quarter-finals. Three losses knock it out. No pairing can happen twice, so G2 and Dplus KIA cannot meet again in this stage.

The schedule shifts later next week. Matches on 28 to 30 October are due to start at 8.00pm UTC, later than the 5.00pm UTC start used for the opening days.

T1 opened their campaign by beating LOS. The final is set for Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday 14 November, starting at 2 PM EST (8 PM CET).