The Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage begins October 23 with eight best-of-one matches, according to Esports.net. The 16 teams compete for eight Knockout Stage spots.
Each winner moves to 1-0 and each loser to 0-1. Three wins secure qualification. A third loss ends a team's tournament.
Round 1 pairings cross regional lines. The source reports these matchups: Gen.G versus Invictus Gaming, Team Liquid Alienware versus CTBC Flying Oyster, Anyone's Legend versus Karmine Corp, G2 Esports versus Dplus KIA, Hanwha Life Esports versus Top Esports, LØS versus T1, Team Secret Whales versus LYON, and Bilibili Gaming versus Movistar KOI.
The source says teams from the same region cannot meet in Round 1. It describes four pools, with Pool 1 facing Pool 4 and Pool 2 facing Pool 3.
After Round 1, teams are redrawn into groups based on their records. From Round 2 onward, matches that put a team one win from qualification or one loss from elimination become best-of-three. Other matches remain best-of-one.
The source did not finalize the match order or full schedule, so October 23 is the confirmed start date only.