On November 4 (KST), in Match 1 of the Quarterfinals at the 2026 LoL World Championship held at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, LPL 4th seed IG defeated 3rd seed TES 3-1. Powered by the returns of 'TheShy' and 'Rookie' alongside 'Meiko''s re-signing, IG's miracle run—which began in LPL Split 3—will now continue into the semifinals.
Game 1 went to IG. The skirmish around the 15-minute mark in IG's jungle proved decisive. With 'TheShy' Kang Seung-lok's Gnar away, 'Meiko''s Nautilus misjudged distance and was caught first, resulting in 'Rookie' Song Eui-jin's Syndra falling as well. However, Gnar joined the fight via Teleport, and together with 'JiaQi''s Kai'Sa, executed brilliant kiting to turn the fight into an ace for IG.
Awakened, IG pressed forward relentlessly. While Gnar evaded enemy collapses in the top lane, the main squad rotated between bottom and mid to sweep up kills. In the process, the fast-growing Kai'Sa delivered explosive damage in every teamfight. Opening up a gold lead of over 10,000, IG secured Game 1.
In Game 2, TES fought back successfully behind stellar performance from '369'. It was a victory won after a bloody, drawn-out battle. TES faced a crisis that almost ended the game after losing a late-game teamfight heavily, but '369''s Renekton single-handedly saved the team with a super play by taking down both 'JiaQi''s Yunara and 'TheShy''s Vayne. Weathering the storm, TES won the final clash to close out the game.
IG reclaimed momentum in Game 3. Selecting Jayce, 'Wei' accelerated his growth by landing successful ganks in mid and bottom. While TES focused on suppressing Zeri, the massively scaled Jayce exerted dominant presence in both siege standoffs and teamfights. A single hammer stroke chunked more than half of the enemy Yone's health. Led by the well-fed Jayce, IG claimed victory in Game 3.
In Game 4, 'Wei''s Naafiri dominated across all fronts from the early game. Handing two deaths to '369''s Aatrox with timely top ganks, Naafiri stole the first dragon and secured all Void Grubs to take early control of objectives. TES managed to counterattack at the second dragon teamfight, but at a crucial moment, their well-farmed 'JackeyLove' (Lucian) was caught out, completely handing over momentum.
IG maintained side-lane pressure on TES with K'Sante and 'Rookie''s Taliyah. Whenever the smallest gap opened, Naafiri pounced to tear through the enemy lines. Farmed beyond a standard laner, Naafiri solo-shaved half of Baron's health, allowing IG to pull off a sneaky Baron kill. Ultimately, IG scored a decisive victory at the Dragon Soul teamfight and marched into the enemy base to finish the series.
