LPL's Worst Start Ever: All Four Chinese Teams Lose at Worlds 2026

All four LPL representatives fell to 0-4 on the opening day of the League of Legends World Championship Swiss stage, marking the region's worst-ever start at the main event.

Well, that's one way to kick off Worlds. The 2026 League of Legends World Championship Swiss stage began on October 23, and all four LPL teams walked away empty-handed. A clean 0-4 sweep on day one. It's the first time the LPL has gone winless in the opening round since the Swiss format was introduced, and it's the region's worst-ever start on the Worlds main stage.

Let's run through the damage. iG fell to GEN, TES lost to HLE, BLG got upset by LEC second seed MKOI, and AL also dropped a shocker to KC, the LEC third seed that fought its way through the play-in stage. Yeah, you read that right. Two of those losses came against European squads.

The BLG and AL results sting the most. As the LPL's first and second seeds, both were billed as genuine title contenders capable of going toe-to-toe with the LCK. Instead, they both lost to LEC opposition on the same day, delivering the biggest upsets of the opening round. Nobody saw this coming.

With all four teams now sitting in the 0-1 bracket, things get complicated fast. Starting from round two, the Swiss stage no longer enforces same-region avoidance, which means LPL civil wars become a whole lot more likely. The upside? At least one LPL team is guaranteed to grab a first win in round two. The downside? Someone is definitely sliding to 0-2 and staring down the edge of elimination.

For a region with championship ambitions, this 0-4 start casts a long shadow over the entire Swiss stage before it's even really gotten going. The path forward just got a lot rockier, and the margin for error is basically gone.

Can the LPL bounce back, or is this the sign of a rough Worlds run ahead? Drop your takes in the comments.