Invictus Gaming Beat Top Esports 3-1 to Reach Worlds 2026 Semifinals

Invictus Gaming defeated Top Esports 3-1 on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, in the first quarterfinal of the League of Legends World Championship knockout stage. The win made Invictus Gaming the first team to reach the Worlds 2026 semifinals. Top Esports were eliminated from the tournament.

The all-Chinese LPL quarterfinal opened the knockout stage at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. The series went to four games and included a long wait before the final game began, Strafe Esports reported. The Worlds 2026 knockout bracket on eGamersWorld records the same score, Top Esports 1, Invictus Gaming 3, with Invictus Gaming listed in the semifinals.

How the series went

In game one, Kang TheShy Seung-lok, playing Gnar, arrived by Teleport into a jungle fight around the 15-minute mark. Invictus Gaming built a gold lead that grew beyond 10,000 and took the first game.

Top Esports tied the series 1-1 in game two, which lasted about 47 minutes. Bai 369 Jia-Hao, playing Renekton, took down two opponents while defending the base and stopped Invictus Gaming from closing out the game.

In game three, Yan Wei Yang-Wei stood out playing Jayce in the jungle, and Invictus Gaming moved back in front 2-1. In game four, Wei, playing Naafiri, put pressure on the top lane, helped control objectives and helped secure Baron. Invictus Gaming then won a fight around the dragon, destroyed the Nexus and closed the series 3-1.

Back in the top four after seven years

Invictus Gaming are back in the top four of the World Championship for the first time in seven years. They last reached a Worlds semifinal in 2019, when they lost to FunPlus Phoenix, who went on to win the title.

The club won the world championship in 2018, with TheShy and Song Rookie Eui-jin on the team. Both players have now returned to the top four with the same organization.

The quarterfinals continue on Wednesday, November 4, when Gen.G face LYON at 4 p.m. Central time in Texas. The winner meets Invictus Gaming in the first semifinal on Saturday, November 7.

What the result settles

The bracket now records the quarterfinal as a played result, not a pairing. Top Esports leave the tournament after four games, and Invictus Gaming wait in the semifinal side of the bracket for the winner of Gen.G against LYON. The series also closed the night the knockout stage opened, with both teams from the same league, the LPL, meeting in the first elimination match at the Texas venue.

For Invictus Gaming, the names at the center of the win are the same two who won the title with the club in 2018. TheShy set up the first game with the Teleport play on Gnar, and Rookie is part of the same returning core that has now carried the organization from that 2018 title, through the 2019 semifinal, back to the top four in 2026.