In the Swiss Stage of the 2026 LoL World Championship held in the early morning of October 26 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, Dplus KIA defeated MKOI 2-0 to secure their third consecutive win and become the first team to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the early game, DK harassed the opposing top lane with Lucid's Lee Sin and Siwoo's Ornn, taking down Jayce twice. In return, MKOI secured their first Dragon by eliminating Ornn during the Dragon fight. Confident in teamfighting, DK used superior positioning and battle execution in the fight in front of the Rift Herald pit to push back their opponents and win the teamfight.
MKOI struck back as well. While Myrwn's Jayce, who had fallen behind in the top lane, tied down Siwoo's Ornn, a 4v4 teamfight broke out at Dragon, where MKOI quickly eliminated Smash's Kai'Sa and secured the Dragon. However, DK's stability doubled whenever Ornn was present. In the next Dragon fight, although DK yielded the Dragon to their opponents, they took down MKOI's top laner and support and successfully took Baron. Just as momentum seemed to swing in Dplus KIA's favor, DK players were caught out one by one in a mid-lane fight, allowing MKOI to narrow the gap significantly.
Nevertheless, DK remained unfazed, winning the next Dragon fight and securing Baron as well. A major fight broke out in the mid lane shortly after. Although DK initially retreated, they regrouped and turned the battle around, with Smash's Kai'Sa securing a pentakill to close out the win.
In Game 2, DK drew first blood in the bottom lane. MKOI answered in the top lane, where Elyoya's Vi took down Siwoo's Irelia. Timing a lane swap around the Voidgrubs to secure minion advantages, DK had Caitlyn join early to take the Voidgrubs, then chained Career's Bard ultimate into Caitlyn's trap and Syndra's CC to eliminate Vi.
In the mid lane, ShowMaker's Syndra solo-killed Diana, expanding the lead to around 3,000 gold by the 10-minute mark. In the top lane, DK arrived first to kill Gnar, after which Syndra used her ultimate to bait the incoming Vi under the turret, allowing the rest of the team to arrive faster and gain a massive advantage. MKOI forced a play top as Diana and Gnar eliminated Irelia, but the lane losses in mid and bottom were far more painful. Holding a 7,000 gold lead at 17 minutes, DK had virtually secured victory, rapidly widening the gap before slaying Baron and destroying MKOI's Nexus to head to the quarterfinals.
