It was as close as it gets: In the playoffs of the League of Legends LPL Split 3 2026, Invictus Gaming knocked the ostensibly favored team Top Esports out of the tournament with a 3-2 victory in a best-of-5 series. The series went the full distance, only concluding in the decisive fifth game.
How Did This Result Between Invictus Gaming and Top Esports Come About?
Top Esports entered the series as the nominally stronger team; they had finished the regular Split 3 season in third place and were accordingly considered the favorite against Invictus Gaming. That's precisely why the result is causing a stir: IG turned the series around, thus prematurely sending Top Esports out of the competition for the Split 3 crown and the coveted spots for the World Championship.
What Does This Victory Mean for Invictus Gaming?
For fans with longer memories, the victory carries an additional significance: Invictus Gaming won the League of Legends World Championship in 2018 as the first Chinese team ever, with a 3-0 grand finals victory against Fnatic. Since then, the organization has struggled with inconsistent form at times. A win against a favored Top Esports team in the playoffs demonstrates that IG is once again a serious contender in the current LPL season, especially with an eye on potential qualification spots for Worlds 2026 in the USA.
What's Next for Both Teams After the Series?
For Top Esports, the loss means an early exit from the lower playoff bracket of Split 3 and consequently significantly fewer LPL Points for the internal World Championship qualification, which in the LPL is determined by the results across multiple splits. Invictus Gaming, however, remains in the running and will face the winner of a parallel bracket matchup in the next round. Especially in a league as competitive as the LPL, where Worlds qualification is not decided by a single tournament but over the entire season, a single playoff series like this can ultimately make the difference whether a team gets to compete internationally in the fall.
Source: RFT.gg
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