League of Legends EWC 2026 group stage recap: G2 crash out as T1, Gen.G and HLE advance
The League of Legends EWC group stage just concluded, and here’s a complete summary of everything that transpired in the two extremely eventful days.
The League of Legends Esports World Cup is already making waves for all of the right reasons. While it isn’t nearly as long as the game’s esports fans are usually used to seeing, it’s still packed with awesome matches in which the best teams play each other.
The group stage of the tournament just concluded, and it went about as well as most would have expected. Most of the top teams comfortably qualified for the playoffs, while some favorites got eliminated earlier than they should have.
How did the League of Legends 2026 EWC bracket stage go?
The League of Legends 2026 Esports World Cup bracket stage saw giants such as T1 and HLE progress, while some favorites weren’t able to move forward.
The first group saw G2 Esports comfortably defeat Furia while AG.AL took down Dplus with ease. The two winners battled each other, while AG.AL found another victory, qualifying for the playoffs. The loser bracket had Furia lose to
Dplus. Dplus then took down G2 Esports in an upset match to knock the LEC powerhouse from this tournament.
Gen.G in a 2026 merch shoot – Image credit: Gen.G
Gen.G was easily the favorite to qualify in the second group, and it didn’t disappoint. The team took down Karmine Corp before winning against Sentinels. Team Secret lost to Sentinels, but gave Karmine Corp a tough fight before going down. In turn, Karmine Corp beat Sentinels in the lower bracket final to qualify for the playoffs.
BLG and T1 faced off
in the third group’s upper bracket final after beating MKOI and GAM Esports, respectively. BLG comfortably won, but T1 beat GAM a second time in the lower bracket final to also qualify for the playoffs.
The final group saw HLE cruise through the matches against MIBR.LOS and JD Gaming, as expected. JD Gaming displayed surprising skill to win against MIBR.LOS without giving a single game in the best-of-three, sending the team to the next stage.
Most already assumed that the four Korean teams would perform
well in this stage. BLG is also a powerhouse team, so the team’s presence in the playoffs isn’t surprising. However, Karmine Corp caused a major upset by progressing this far, especially since G2 Esports was the only team performing decently this year so far.
Feature image credit: HLE
Hannan Mundia
About Hannan Mundia
Hannan Mundia is a lifelong gamer. Don’t believe us? Just ask him. But don’t ask how many hours he’s spent playing. He’s been gaming since the age of three, and much of his live revolves around video games and the video game industry. Whether it’s a classic Legend of Zelda game from Nintendo, the newest Bethesda RPG, or something else entirely, you can bet that Hannan is ready and willing to play it.
View full profile
Read Also
Valorant
Leviatán vs MIBR at VCT Americas Stage 2: Betting Predictions and Picks
Owen Harsono
The top two South American organizations are set to clash in the VCT Americas Stage 2 playoffs, as LEVIATAN take on MIBR for a spot in the Upper Bracket Semifinals in São Paulo. We will look closely at leading Valorant betting sites, and with that in mind, here are our LEVIATAN vs MIBR VCT Americas predictions. Tournament: VCT Americas Stage 2 Playoffs Stage: Playoffs Game: Valorant Format: Best of 3 ...
League of Legends
Caps Hall of Legends skins prices and dates revealed
Hannan Mundia
Caps is the latest League of Legends player to be inducted into the Hall of Legends, and the LEC player’s dedicated skins have been revealed, including their prices and release dates. The Hall of Legends is Riot Games’ way to honor a handful of the most well-known and celebrated professional players associated with LoL. The first inductee was naturally Faker, while the second was Uzi. The third player is Caps, ...
Dota 2
Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions
Michael Hassall
Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...
Dota 2
The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions
Michael Hassall
The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...
Fortnite
When does the current Fortnite season end?
Zachary Roberts
When does the current Fortnite season end? This is a question that’s always important to know the answer to. For one thing, many elements of the season, such as the items and characters, will go away at that time. That is also when players will no longer be able to earn battle pass rewards. The current Fortnite season, Chapter 7 Season 4, began on August 20. It’s expected to run ...
Dota 2
TI15’s opening ceremony weaves a tapestry of emotion for Valve’s storied title
Michael Hassall
The main stage of The International 2026, TI15, kicked off today with the traditional opening ceremony heralding the start of the biggest celebration of Dota 2 on the calendar. On Aug. 20 fans in Shanghai, China, and at home, were treated to a rousing 11-minute series of performances and video packages, introducing TI15’s main stage show. Here’s how the magic unfolded: The ceremony began with a graphic which quite literally ...
League of Legends
Which Teams Should Be Panicking Ahead of LoL Worlds 2026?
Ben Boland
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is fast approaching, with the tournament beginning on 15 October. 19 of the best teams that esports has to offer will do battle in North America for a shot at the Summoner's Cup. For teams like Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports, their fates are already sealed without stepping foot on the Rift again, but for the rest of the teams, they will ...
