How BLG Ended T1's Unbeaten Run Against the LPL at Worlds

Bilibili Gaming beat T1 3-1 in the Worlds 2026 semifinals on November 8. Until Sunday, the three-time defending champions had won all 13 of their best-of-five series against teams from China's LPL at Worlds. The streak began against Royal Club in 2013 and included a final in London that BLG came within one game of winning.

Bin, Xun, knight and ON had all played in London. In Allen, Texas, Viper took Elk's place in the bot lane, and T1 went straight for him. Less than four minutes into game one, Faker and Oner joined Peyz and Keria under Viper's turret to kill his Corki. BLG answered by moving Viper top, where he collected a kill on Doran's Rumble.

Peyz ran out of ways to dodge Shockwave

T1 appeared to have the advantage when they caught ON's Nautilus at 15 minutes and started Rift Herald. But Xun was still close enough to contest the objective with Naafiri, while knight's Orianna threatened the fight with Shockwave.

Peyz had two ways to escape the ultimate. His Xayah could dodge it with Featherstorm or Flash away if knight waited for the first ability. That gave T1 some room to fight, provided Peyz kept at least one escape available.

Xun stole Herald as Bin's K'Sante kept T1's back line occupied. By the time knight unleashed Shockwave, Peyz had already used both Featherstorm and Flash. Knight caught him and Faker's Locke in the same ultimate, allowing BLG to kill both carries and take the mid turret.

Bin helped secure the next major objective too. As T1 retreated through the jungle, he teleported behind them and joined the attack on Oner's Nocturne. With T1's jungler dead, BLG took Baron and pushed down two lanes, destroying the bot inhibitor before moving on to mid. T1 couldn't get past Bin to threaten knight, who finished with involvement in 17 of BLG's 18 kills.

Oner punished BLG's early Baron call

BLG had the better start to game two, largely thanks to Xun. When Oner's Lee Sin pressured Bin's Camille under the top turret, Xun arrived on Qiyana to kill Doran's Olaf. He returned for a second kill, helping BLG build a lead of more than 2,000 gold by 17 minutes.

T1 had been making progress elsewhere, however. They secured the early dragons and needed just one more for Ocean Soul when Baron spawned. BLG faced a difficult fight around the next dragon. Keria's Poppy could shut down the engages from Bin's Camille and Viper's Kai'Sa, while Faker's Syndra threatened anyone who got past her with Scatter the Weak.

When Keria teleported bottom to protect Doran from Bin, BLG seized the opportunity to start Baron. Oner was still nearby. He jumped the wall with Lee Sin and stole the objective, turning BLG's attempt to punish Keria's absence against them.

BLG managed to kill Oner in the pit, but Peyz was free to deal damage from range with Jhin. He picked up a triple kill, while Faker took down Viper to complete a four-kill swing for T1.

Doran then got his revenge at the Ocean Soul fight, running down both Xun and ON after his difficult start in top lane. Oner and Keria later caught Viper on the bot side, clearing the way for T1 to secure another Baron and Elder Dragon.

BLG's early lead had given them control of the lanes, but their Baron call handed T1 the opening they needed. With the late-game objectives secured, T1 closed out game two to level the series.

Xun and knight caught T1 on both sides of the map

Xun targeted Doran's Ambessa early in game three, ganking top with Pantheon before returning alongside Viper to secure a kill. Oner answered by killing ON's Nami in bot lane, although Peyz's Sivir died to minion damage in the same fight.

T1 recovered around 20 minutes. Keria caught Viper's Ezreal in the river, Oner stole an Infernal Drake with Jarvan IV, and Faker's Ahri landed a Charm on knight's Taliyah for another kill. T1 moved ahead in gold, with Peyz and Keria pushing out the lanes.

BLG turned the game around shortly before 27 minutes. Xun stunned Faker as he checked a brush, giving BLG their third dragon. When Peyz and Keria tried to trade for a turret across the map, knight blocked their retreat with Weaver's Wall and Xun landed behind them with Pantheon's ultimate. Both died, leaving BLG free to take Baron.

BLG then killed Oner before the next dragon, allowing Xun to secure Infernal Soul. Viper added two kills as the fight moved into mid lane. He had survived every fight since his earlier death in the river and finished with nearly 43,000 damage on Ezreal. With a second Baron, BLG broke through top and mid, killed Doran as he tried to defend and took a 2-1 series lead.

ON turned a four-against-five at match point

With BLG at match point, T1 faced the same situation as in the 2024 final. Back then, Faker had stolen ON's Rakan ultimate with Sylas to win a crucial fight and force game five. Repeating a comeback like that would require a different approach. Fearless Draft had ruled out all 30 champions used in the first three games, leaving Faker without Syndra and BLG without the Pantheon and Taliyah combination that won them game three.

BLG started by targeting Doran again. His Vayne could harass Bin's Renekton from range, but Xun joined Bin for a tower dive on Skarner. Meanwhile, Viper's Ashe and ON's Seraphine beat Lucian and Milio in the bot lane, putting BLG ahead on both sides of the map.

T1 found an opening at 17 minutes, catching knight's Viktor without Flash before moving to dragon with a five-against-four advantage. ON turned the fight with a three-man Encore, setting up Xun's Skarner ultimate. BLG took four kills and the dragon. Xun later praised ON's engage and said their teamfight communication had improved since London.

Faker answered at 28 minutes, diving into BLG's back line on Akali while Doran's Vayne dealt damage from safety. Both picked up two kills as T1 completed the ace and secured Baron.

Within two minutes, BLG's gold lead had dropped from more than 6,000 to less than 500. But BLG had secured their third dragon during T1's push, leaving Faker and his teammates only a few minutes to pressure mid before Mountain Soul came up.

Guardian Angel kept Viper alive when T1 needed him dead

T1 made one last attempt to break BLG's hold on mid. Oner engaged with Wukong and Faker followed on Akali, both diving onto Viper's Ashe. They brought him down, but Guardian Angel gave him a second life. Faker turned on knight's Viktor while Viper revived, only for knight to survive and kill both attackers. Bin caught Doran, and BLG marched down mid with all five players alive to destroy T1's inhibitor.

Faker finally killed Viper at the next dragon fight, but BLG still secured Mountain Soul and followed it with Baron. Xun then caught Oner as T1 tried to defend its base, and ON locked down Peyz's Lucian during the final push. BLG closed out the series and booked their place in the Worlds final.

Viper will face Gen.G in Brooklyn on November 14 with a second world title within reach. His four teammates are still chasing their first.