The victory of Bilibili Gaming (BLG) sparked widespread celebration across Chinese social media on Sunday, as fans celebrated the team's 3-1 triumph over South Korea's Gen.G in the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, ending a five-year wait for another world title for China's top domestic league, the League of Legends Pro League (LPL).
The League of Legends World Championship is the game's premier annual international competition and one of the most prestigious events in global esports.
Held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the grand final saw BLG lose the opening game before winning the next three to defeat Gen.G and lift the Summoner's Cup. The victory marked the LPL's return to the top of the global competition for the first time in the past five years since Edward Gaming (EDG) won the title in 2021.
Capturing the emotion of the LPL's 1,834-day wait for another world title, BLG's official social media account shared a message to its supporters: "From repeatedly coming close to victory to standing together on the highest podium today … At last, we can shout it out together: We are world champions!"
For BLG's players, the triumph was the culmination of years of pursuit and, for some, the chance to put past disappointments behind them.
"Today is the happiest day of my life," BLG's top laner Chen Zebin, also known as Bin, wrote on Weibo after the victory.
Mid laner Zhuo Ding, also known as Knight, said winning the worlds had long been his ultimate goal. Having finished runner-up in 2024, he described this year's title as a chance to make up for that disappointment and restore the LPL's standing.
Knight also addressed doubts about his ability to overcome Gen.G's mid laner Jeong Ji-hoon, known as Chovy, in the final.
"Before the match, many people didn't believe I could beat Chovy, or that BLG could beat Gen.G. Now, I've proved that I'm better than him and that BLG is the strongest," said Knight, who was named the final's Most Valuable Player.
The championship run was notable not only for the trophy itself, but also for the opponents BLG overcame along the way. The team defeated all four representatives of South Korea's League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) at this year's worlds: Hanwha Life Esports in the Swiss stage, Dplus KIA in the quarterfinals, T1 in the semifinals and Gen.G in the final.
The semifinal victory over T1 was particularly significant. It ended the South Korean team's 13-series winning streak against LPL opponents in best-of-five matches at the World Championship, a record that had stood for years.
The achievement drew reactions from across the esports community and beyond. Chinese esports commentator Wang Duoduo celebrated the result on social media, writing: "They did it. They made history! For the first time, an LPL team has defeated all four LCK representatives at the world championships. All the regrets of the past have become part of the road that brought them here."
Chinese gymnast Zhang Boheng, the 2021 world all-around champion posted: "I was so excited! Staying up all night was worth it. … I'm just as excited as I would be if I had won a championship myself," he wrote, adding that he hoped to watch the worlds final in person next year.
BLG's South Korean head coach Yang Dae-in, known as Daeny, pointed to the team's preparation and understanding of the game's latest patch as important factors behind its success. In a post-final interview, he said he believed BLG had been ahead in its analysis of the current version of the game, while the LCK teams were catching up.
The victory also brought the tournament beyond the screens of fans watching at home. According to the organizers' event information, viewing activities were arranged at more than 300 cinemas in over 110 cities across China, with more than 2,000 screenings scheduled.
In Hangzhou, two screening halls at one cinema, with a combined capacity of more than 500 seats, were almost full, according to media reports. Some screenings sold out soon after tickets went on sale.
From social media celebrations to packed cinema screenings, BLG's victory became a shared moment for fans across the country as the team put LPL back on top of the world.
tujiayi@chinadaily.com.cn
