On the morning of the 16th KST at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, USA, Europe's KC defeated North America's C9 3-2 in the opening match of the 2026 LoL World Championship Play-In Stage to advance to Round 2.
In Game 1, C9 got off to a quick start when Blaber's Xin Zhao executed a sharp top gank to take down Canna's Rumble. C9 then picked up additional kills in the next engagement by shutting down KC's bottom duo. Even so, the gold difference remained minimal. However, C9 continuously won the dragon battle and subsequent skirmishes to gradually widen the lead, taking dragon stacks and Baron to secure a clean victory in Game 1.
In Game 2, C9 opted for an aggressive dive composition and snowballed early through Tactical's Kalista, while Loki's Akali continuously collected kills without a single death. C9 widened the power gap significantly, claiming three dragon stacks and building a substantial gold lead. However, in the 28th-minute dragon fight, Canna's Jayce initiated aggressively, taking down the enemy mid laner and jungler to drive C9 back. This turned the momentum in KC's favor. Gaining confidence, KC executed the next dragon teamfight cleanly to win the battle, march into C9's base, destroy the Nexus, and complete the comeback.
Tied 1-1 entering Game 3, both teams played a controlled early game without unnecessary skirmishes, yielding no kills through the 12th minute. Past 12 minutes, C9 caught kyeahoo's Anivia, who had no Flash, in the mid lane, while KC simultaneously eliminated Jhin in the bottom lane for a net gain. In the next fight, however, C9 fought back with Blaber's Jarvan IV making key plays, handing Yike's Naafiri two deaths.
KC held their ground well in terms of macro play, but C9 gradually took the upper hand in skirmishes to build a gap, eventually claiming the Dragon Soul outright. After securing both Baron and the Elder Dragon, C9 won Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead.
Facing elimination, KC took control of the game by leading engagements centered around mid and bottom lane while steadily building up dragon stacks. Unlike previous games, the match was less bloodthirsty overall, but because dragons were vital, major fights consistently erupted around neutral objectives. KC secured the Dragon Soul at 30 minutes, capitalized on a window while the enemy Yunara was absent to take Baron, and pushed forward to close out the game, bringing the score to 2-2 and pushing the series to a final Game 5.
With both teams' fates on the line in Game 5, C9 drew first blood in the bottom lane. C9 accumulated two dragon stacks, but KC eliminated Loki's Yone, keeping the gold even at the 12-minute mark. It seemed KC was building momentum by picking up more kills, but C9 successfully claimed another dragon to reach three stacks. However, KC won a fight inside the enemy jungle and slayed Baron at the 21-minute mark.
KC then won a crucial teamfight, extending their gold lead past 4,000, and secured another Baron. Having seized complete control of the game, KC ultimately defeated C9 3-2 after a hard-fought five-game series.
