On November 4 (KST), in the quarterfinals of the 2026 LoL World Championship (Worlds) held at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, USA, Gen.G Esports took Game 1 in their matchup against LYON. It was a match where the individual prowess of "Kiin" Kim Gi-in and "Canyon" Kim Geon-bu stood out.
First blood in Game 1 went to LYON. "Berserker" Kim Min-cheol's Ezreal and "Isles"' Nautilus secured a clean duo kill at level 2. Although "Dhokla"'s Jax was caught in the top lane, LYON successfully traded kills 3-to-1 in the first dragon fight. In the process, Ezreal scaled rapidly, sitting at 3/0/1.
Having completely lost bottom lane priority, Gen.G turned their focus to top and mid. "Canyon" Kim Geon-bu's Qiyana targeted Jax repeatedly, handing him three deaths, while the bottom duo ambushed mid to eliminate "Saint" Kang Sung-in's Orianna. A lull in the action followed, with Gen.G leading on the topside and LYON holding the advantage in the bottom lane.
It was Gen.G that broke the silence. A well-scaled Olaf on "Kiin" Kim Gi-in picked off Orianna in a side lane. LYON rushed to pursue, but Olaf survived thanks to the sacrifice of "Duro" Joo Min-kyu's Leona. Gen.G also safely navigated a crisis where Qiyana was nearly caught, and instead pulled further ahead by entering the enemy jungle to take down Jax.
Around the 22-minute mark, Gen.G picked off Jax once again, secured their third dragon, and then swept up three kills off Olaf's charging initiation to secure Baron as well. Although they lost some kills in a somewhat overextended fight in front of the inhibitor, they destroyed both the top and mid inhibitors. After taking both the Hextech Soul and Baron, Gen.G advanced toward the bottom lane once again, closing out the game with a decisive teamfight victory.
