KC vs AL at Worlds 2026: Friday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. ET, with the LPL champion in a best-of-one

The only team that came through the Play-In meets China’s champion in the middle of the Friday slate. Here’s when KC vs AL starts in every time zone, who plays and how both teams got to Texas.

What time is KC vs AL?

Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at 4 p.m. ET, which is 1 p.m. PT and 3 p.m. local time in Allen, Texas. Riot’s official schedule lists it as the fourth of eight Round 1 games in the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage. Play starts at 1 p.m. ET with Gen.G vs. Invictus Gaming, Hanwha Life Esports vs. Top Esports follows at 2 p.m., Bilibili Gaming vs. Movistar KOI comes at 3 p.m., and G2 Esports vs. Dplus Kia follows KC vs AL at 5 p.m. ET.

Each game starts when the previous one ends, so the 4 p.m. slot shifts later on a day of long games. All eight games are at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, north of Dallas, which hosts the Swiss Stage, the quarterfinals and the semifinals before the final moves to Brooklyn on Nov. 14.

KC vs AL time around the world

Karmine Corp’s fans get a Friday night game: 10 p.m. in Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Madrid, and 9 p.m. in London. In China, home of Anyone’s Legend, the game starts at 4 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, and in Korea, home of AL’s Tarzan and Kael, at 5 a.m. Saturday.

In the Americas, Brazil watches at 5 p.m. Friday and Mexico City at 2 p.m. Clocks in Europe change on Oct. 25 and in the US on Nov. 1, so these times hold only for this game.

Karmine Corp: unbeaten through the Play-In

Karmine Corp, the French organization, spent 2026 one step behind G2 Esports in the LEC. It reached the final in March and again in June and lost both 3-2 to G2, with a 3-0 sweep of Movistar KOI in the June playoffs along the way. At MSI 2026, KC beat Relove Deep Cross Gaming 3-0 on June 28 in the Play-In knockouts, then lost 3-0 to T1 and 3-0 to Team Liquid Alienware and left before the bracket stage.

The fall playoffs ended in third place: a 3-1 win over GIANTX on Sept. 5, a 3-1 loss to G2 on Sept. 6 and a 3-0 loss to Movistar KOI on Sept. 19, one series short of the final. That sent KC to the Play-In in Los Angeles, and it went through unbeaten: 3-2 over Cloud9 Kia on Oct. 15 after trailing 2-1, then 3-0 over MVK Esports on Oct. 16 and 3-0 over MVK again on Oct. 18. The lineup in that last series was Canna in the top lane, Yike in the jungle, kyeahoo in the mid lane, Caliste as the bot laner and Busio as the support.

Anyone’s Legend: the LPL champion

Anyone’s Legend built its season toward September. In the first LPL playoffs, AL swept Xi’an Team WE 3-0 and beat Invictus Gaming 3-1 before Weibo Gaming ended its run 3-1 on March 5. In the second, AL swept EDward Gaming and LGD Gaming, but Bilibili Gaming knocked it out 3-0 on June 8, and Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports played MSI for the LPL.

September went differently. AL beat LGD Gaming 3-1 on Sept. 4, lost 3-0 to Bilibili Gaming on Sept. 7, came back through Invictus Gaming 3-2 on Sept. 12 and beat Bilibili Gaming 3-1 in the final on Sept. 13. That Bilibili Gaming team won First Stand in March and lost the MSI final 3-2 to Hanwha Life Esports in July. The lineup in the LPL final was Breathe in the top lane, Tarzan in the jungle, Shanks in the mid lane, Hope as the bot laner and Kael as the support. AL played neither First Stand nor MSI, so Round 1 is its first game at a Riot international event in 2026.

Who wins KC vs AL? Our pick

Our pick is AL. The LPL title came against the First Stand champion and MSI runner-up, beaten 3-1 in a final. The draw tiers agree, with AL in Tier 1 and KC in Tier 4, and the rule that keeps teams from the same league apart in Round 1 ruled out Invictus Gaming as AL’s opponent.

KC’s case is form. Karmine Corp won nine of its 11 Play-In games, came back from 2-1 down against Cloud9 Kia and arrives with three best-of-fives of Worlds play behind it, while AL plays its first official game since Sept. 13. A best-of-one rewards a sharp, prepared draft, and KC has the more recent stage reps. Both teams play on Patch 26.20, the Worlds patch, so the patch 26.21 changes stay off the stage.

The pairing comes from the draw on Oct. 18, right after KC’s last Play-In win. Our Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage page has all eight matchups and the tiers.

How to watch KC vs AL

Riot’s official LoL Esports broadcast carries every Worlds game on Twitch, YouTube and the LoL Esports site, and official co-streams pick up the same feed. Swiss Stage Pick’Ems lock before the first game at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 23, three hours before KC vs AL, as our Worlds 2026 Pick’Ems page explains.

The winner goes 1-0 and plays another 1-0 team in Round 2 on Saturday, Oct. 24, also a best-of-one, while the loser drops into the 0-1 pool. Three match wins sends a team to the quarterfinals, and three losses sends it home. Later the same day, T1 plays LOS at 7 p.m. ET, and LYON vs. Team Secret Whales closes Round 1 at 8 p.m. ET. For every match and result, see our Worlds 2026 schedule.

This page is updated as soon as KC vs AL ends, with the result and the winner’s Round 2 opponent.