Vietnam's MVK Esports defeated FURIA 3-1 on October 17 at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, USA, during the 2026 LoL World Championship Play-In Stage, following up on their previous victory to advance to the Play-In Stage final.
Early in Game 1, MVK scored first blood when 'Gury' on Jarvan IV targeted mid lane to take down the opposing Syndra. Although 'Harky' on Ezreal died in the bot lane after overextending slightly, 'Kratos' on Zaahen scored a solo kill on 'Guigo''s Camille in top lane. MVK subsequently secured the Dragon fight and Rift Herald before crushing a mid teamfight, expanding their lead to over 7,000 gold in just 17 minutes.
FURIA picked up a few kills to prevent the deficit from ballooning further, but MVK remained firmly in control. After securing the Dragon Soul, MVK comfortably closed out Game 1.
In Game 2, MVK's mid laner 'Chika' on Kog'Maw baited with low health to force out Viktor's Flash and trade kills. However, upon returning to lane, Chika was heavily disrupted by the opposing support and forced to recall immediately. Nevertheless, FURIA made up for their early losses as Viktor picked up two kills in small early skirmishes.
MVK seized the initiative by diving top lane to kill Ambessa and claiming the first tower. FURIA successfully counterattacked when MVK overextended slightly in bot lane to claim a shutdown kill, but MVK reclaimed the advantage in mid lane. After cleanly taking Baron at 24 minutes, MVK destroyed FURIA's Nexus at 27 minutes to make it 2-0.
Facing elimination in Game 3, FURIA drew first blood in bot lane by taking down Leona, with 'Ayu' on Miss Fortune picking up the kill. Shortly after, MVK answered back as jungle Jayce helped take down 'JoJo''s Seraphine for their first kill. Unlike in previous games, FURIA stacked up multiple kills in bot lane, establishing firm control and building momentum.
With Miss Fortune excelling in teamfights, FURIA held two Dragon stacks and a 2,000-gold lead by the 18-minute mark. Capitalizing on their well-farmed Miss Fortune, FURIA gradually expanded their lead. After catching out 'Chika''s Mel, FURIA started Baron to force a fight, won the engagement to extend their lead, and successfully secured Baron. Protecting Miss Fortune until the end, FURIA finally took their first game victory against MVK.
In Game 4, the early battleground was once again the bot lane. After MVK took down 'JoJo''s Alistar in a 2v2 bot skirmish, the momentum snowballed into a 1v1 bot laner duel, allowing 'Harky''s Corki to pick up two kills before the five-minute mark. Fortunately for FURIA, 'Tatu' on Pantheon pulled off a well-timed gank in top lane to kill 'Kratos' on Olaf.
However, MVK's jungler stepped up this time. 'Gury' on Wukong executed a bot lane dive that yielded a double kill for Corki, rapidly accelerating Corki's KDA to 4/0/0 in just 6 minutes of play. Leveraging their bot lane strength, MVK seized control of the enemy blue buff area starting at 7 minutes, stripping away all jungle camps. Left with no choice, FURIA heavily invested in top lane, catching Olaf once again to widen the gap between Jax and Olaf significantly.
FURIA kept their hopes alive through Jax. From a broken bot lane, Jax used Teleport to join the fight, taking down MVK's highest-bounty target, Corki, before hunting down Shen as well. MVK temporarily slowed their tempo. To avoid getting swept up in FURIA's momentum, MVK took time to regroup, disrupted FURIA's rhythm, re-established their own gameplay, and secured Baron before taking Game 4 to seal a 3-1 victory. With today's win, MVK Esports will clash with Europe's KC tomorrow for a spot in the Group Stage.
