Dplus KIA return to Worlds after beating KT Rolster in LCK playoffs

Dplus KIA are heading back to the League of Legends World Championship after beating KT Rolster 3-1 in the LCK playoffs. The victory gives DK Korea’s final spot at Worlds 2026 and sends them into the next lower-bracket round against T1 on Sept. 6.

Today’s match started disastrously for DK, with Siwoo and Career amassing 12 combined deaths in what was a rout. But after game 1 and what looked like a stern talk by cvMax, the team turned it around, with Smash stepping up and delivering a Man of the Match performance across Lucian, Jhin, and Miss Fortune.

𝑸𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔✨

𝑆𝑖𝑤𝑜𝑜 · 𝐿𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑑 · 𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 · 𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑠ℎ · 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑟

Dplus Kia가 다시 가장 높은 세계 무대에 오릅니다.
2026년의 시작부터 오늘에 이르기까지,
희망과 시련이 교차하던 모든 순간 속에서 변함없는 팬 여러분의 응원에… pic.twitter.com/MOcLxabImV

— Dplus Kia (@DplusKia) September 4, 2026

Worlds qualification ends a rough two-year stretch for the 2020 World Champion organization. DK missed Worlds in 2025 for the first time since entering the LCK in 2019, with T1 eliminating them 3:1 in the playoffs and taking the last Korean spot. The offseason that followed saw Aiming and BeryL leave, with Smash and rookie support Career joining Siwoo, Lucid, and ShowMaker for 2026.

DK’s new lineup started the year with third place at the LCK Cup, then went 11-7 through the first two rounds of the regular season. Their first attempt at reaching an international event through the LCK also ended against KT, who beat them 3-2 in Road to MSI and kept DK out of the Mid-Season Invitational.

Against all odds, Dplus won the League of Legends tournament at the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris, beating Bilibili Gaming in the quarterfinals, defending EWC champion Gen.G in the semifinals, and Karmine Corp 3-0 in the final. Smash earned finals MVP, while ShowMaker lifted his first international trophy since DK won Worlds in 2020.

ShowMaker looks to be picking up form. Image via LCK/Flickr

DK carried that form back into Korea and finished the regular season at 17-9, tied with T1 in series record but fourth in the Legend Group on game differential. Their run included two wins over KT during Rounds 3-4 and a late 2-1 victory over Gen.G, although a 2-0 loss to Hanwha Life Esports in the final week kept them out of the top two and forced them to start the playoffs in Round 1.

KT promptly swept them 3-0 in that opening series, dropping DK into the lower bracket with no room left for another loss. They survived the first elimination match by coming back from 0-2 down against BNK FEARX, then got another shot at KT, which the team converted into the Worlds qualification today.

DK now meet T1 on Sept. 6 in Lower Bracket Round 3. Both teams have already qualified for Worlds, but the loser will finish fourth in the LCK playoffs and will be LCK’s fourth seed, while the winner stays alive for a higher Korean seed and advances toward the Sept. 12 lower final.

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