Invictus Gaming have secured the LPL’s fourth and final place at Worlds 2026 after defeating JD Gaming 3-1 in the lower-bracket final of the LPL Regional Finals on Saturday, 19 September. The result confirms IG as the last of four LPL sides heading to the World Championship, joining Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports.
The win also brings JD Gaming’s Regional Finals campaign to a close for a third consecutive year, with the team again finishing third in the event and missing out on Worlds qualification through this route.
IG made the stronger start, taking the opening game of the series in 33 minutes. JiaQi led the team’s 11-3 kill advantage on Tristana with six kills and two assists, while Rookie added four kills and five assists on Syndra without dying. IG then moved 2-0 up, with Wei reportedly taking early control on Qiyana before the team secured Dragon Soul and Baron to close out the game. A match report from that victory credited JiaQi with nine kills and five assists on Ezreal, Wei with five kills and 10 assists on Qiyana, and Rookie with five kills and 11 assists on Aurora.
JDG hit back to stay alive in the series, winning a 34-minute third game to cut the deficit to 2-1. Junjia was central to that win, finishing with 11 kills and 11 assists on Trundle while dying just once. IG responded in the fourth game, however, closing out the series 3-1 and sealing their place at Worlds 2026.
The qualification comes at the end of a difficult Regional Finals run for IG, who were sent to the lower bracket after losing the upper-bracket final to Top Esports in four games. JDG, meanwhile, reached the decisive lower-bracket final by beating Team WE in the semifinals.
According to Inven Global’s report on the LPL’s four Worlds representatives, Anyone’s Legend hold the region’s first seed, with Bilibili Gaming second, Top Esports third and Invictus Gaming fourth. JD Gaming will instead compete in the 2026 Demacia Cup Global Invitational alongside Team WE, who finished fourth in the Regional Finals.
All four LPL teams are set to begin their Worlds 2026 campaigns in the Swiss Stage, which runs in Allen, Texas, from 23 to 31 October. For IG, the win over JDG marks a return to the World Championship stage, with Rookie and TheShy both set to feature for the team once again.
