The Korean gaming team T1, the world champion of League of Legends (LoL), has broken its 13-year history of being undefeated in the multi-game series against China.
T1 lost to China's Bilibili Gaming (BLG) with a set score of 1-3 in the semifinals of the 2026 LoL World Championship (Worlds) held in Allen, Texas, USA on the 9th.
T1's bid to advance to the Worlds finals for the fifth time in a row and win the title for the fourth time in a row was thwarted by today's game.
◇ BLG, 1st set blitz with overwhelming performance
T1, who took the first pick from the Red side in the first set ban pick, brought Nocturne and Rumble, who had high pick rates in the tournament, and formed a bottom duo with Xayah and Rakan. BLG responded by sending Corki-Nautilus to the bottom.
In the 4th minute, T1 took the lead with Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee and Hyun-jun “Owner” Moon coming deep into the bottom line and performing a 4:2 tower dive against the duo of Do-hyeon Park (“Viper”) and Wenjun “On” Le Wen-jun, and Min-seok “Keria” Ryu caught the Viper.
However, in the ensuing object battle, BLG repeatedly gained profits, creating an unusual atmosphere.
BLG started the fight around the 15th minute, intercepting the Canyon Herald that T1 was attacking first.
At the 17th minute, he even stole the Red Dragon buff, and right before the subsequent creation of Baron Nashor (Baron), he pushed T1 out of the mid lane and acquired the Baron buff without resistance.
BLG pushed all the way to T1's base at the 24th minute and appeared to end the game with 4 kills, but Faker went out of the base, caught Sheen, and ran away leisurely, wasting time.
However, there were no further opportunities for a comeback, and BLG defeated T1 with an overwhelming gap in champion specs, taking the first set in 30 minutes.
◇ The owner made a great performance in the second set… Viper counterattacked and lost in 3 sets
Even in the early part of the second set, the two teams fought tightly.
In the 3rd minute, the owner attacked the top line and caught 'Empty' Chen Zebin in a joint attack with Doran, but Sheen came up immediately and cut off Doran, who was in a near-dead state.
BLG took the lead in kill score with an additional kill in the top lane, and T1 took the lead in the second half by stacking up to 3 dragon buffs first.
T1's investment paid off in the bottom line. From the 17th minute, Owner teamed up with Faker to kill 'Knight' Zuoding and Vin in succession, and pursued BLG.
BLG increased the game by hunting Baron, but the owner stole the buff with a sharp entry in the 21st minute, reversing the total gold gap in one move.
The owner also performed well in the ensuing battle. T1 intercepted the 4th dragon buff and scored a double kill in the 27th minute, stably taking Baron again.
T1, who even took the Elder Dragon buff without interference, entered the BLG base in 32 minutes and ended the game.
T1 and BLG, who exchanged punches once, exchanged kills through active ganking from the beginning in the third set.
BLG took the lead in kill scores and total gold amount in the early and mid-game skirmishes, but T1 also chased after the owner and phase by exploiting the opponent's weaknesses.
T1 succeeded in obtaining a buff in a teamfight targeting Dragon at the 22nd minute, and Faker seemed to regain the lead by cutting out Bean and then Knight.
However, T1 lost the lead after a series of accidents occurred in the top line over Baron. Vin, Knight, and Viper came in one after another and cut off the isolated phase, capturing Keria and Doran and pushing them back to the main base.
T1 was no longer able to secure a comeback and lost the Nexus after 36 minutes, falling behind with a set score of 1-2.
◇ A decisive 4th set that could not be overturned even by Faker Super Play
In the 4th set, T1 became impatient and when BLG used Renekton as the last pick in the top line, they chose Vayne as their opponent.
T1 did well to block BLG's early attacks, which continued to attack the top line.
The accident occurred around the 8th minute. In a group fight targeting Void Larva, starting with the owner being killed, they unilaterally gave up 3 kills.
T1 was put on alert when even Doran was caught by Vin and Sheen's tower dive, and even the bot duo were caught by Viper's offensive, which had accumulated kills.
Even in unfavorable situations, T1 was ahead in object control and looked for an opportunity to counterattack.
At the 17th minute, On's Seraphine made an exquisite ultimate hit on the T1 formation gathered in the dragon nest. Sheen's Skarner responded without missing a beat and used his ultimate skill.
Three people, excluding Doran and Faker, were hit by a crowd control (CC) combo and fell to the ground with their feet tied. Even Doran, who had fallen toward the mid lane, was killed, widening the total gold gap to 5,000 by the 20th minute.
T1, who seemed to be falling behind, signaled a comeback in a teamfight that took place near the midline in the 28th minute.
Phase first killed Viper, who was out of health, and took out the main gun, and Faker's Akali immediately entered the inside of the BLG and took down them one by one, narrowly recording an all-kill.
Having narrowed the gap, T1 gathered momentum and pushed the line to advance to the BLG base, but ended up giving up their own base suppressor to Viper's counterattack with Guardian Angel.
In the end, due to BLG's repeated attacks, T1 was defeated individually and pushed back to the main base, losing in 37 minutes and ending this year's Worlds journey in the semifinals.
T1 has been famous for its undefeated history of never losing against Chinese LPL teams in multi-game international competitions since its founding, but today's game broke the jinx.
BLG advanced to the finals with a win that day and will face off against Gen.G of the Korean LCK for the championship trophy, 'Summoner's Cup', on the 15th.
Gen.G and BLG, the powerhouses representing the two major leagues in Korea and China, are both challenging for their first championship under their current team brands.
