T1 Esports Academy have won the inaugural World Star Challengers Invitational, defeating Solary 3-2 in a dramatic grand final and finishing an international run that tested Korea's academy champions against some of the strongest Tier 2 teams from around the world.
The title adds another trophy to an already memorable 2026 for T1's academy roster. After winning the LCK Challengers League and qualifying for WSCI, the Korean side arrived at the new international event with a young lineup and ended it as the tournament's first-ever champion.
From a 5-1 group stage to the trophy
T1 Esports Academy started WSCI by taking first place in Group A with a 5-1 record, finishing ahead of DN SOOPers Challengers, EDward Gaming Youth Team and FUEGO. The result sent T1A into the eight-team knockout bracket as one of Korea's leading contenders.
T1 Academy's playoff road
The first playoff obstacle was North America's Cupid Esports. T1A won the best-of-five 3-1 and moved into a semifinal that carried much more weight: a meeting with Galions, one of Europe's standout Tier 2 teams.
Galions had already shown Europe's strength
Galions were not simply another team in the bracket. The French organization entered WSCI as an EMEA Masters champion and reinforced that reputation by finishing second in Group D before producing one of the most emphatic results of the playoffs: a 3-0 sweep of KT Challengers in the quarterfinals.
That made the semifinal an important test for T1 Academy. Galions had already eliminated one Korean challenger roster without dropping a game, but T1A responded with strong laning phases and repeatedly converted early advantages. The Korean side won the series 3-1 and booked its place in the inaugural WSCI final.
Solary pushed T1 to the limit
The final brought another major European opponent. Solary, the EMEA Masters Winter champions, had been almost untouchable before the title match: they completed the group stage 6-0, then defeated Movistar KOI Fénix 3-1 and swept DN SOOPers Challengers 3-0.
T1 Academy took the opening game of the final, but Solary answered emphatically and won Games 2 and 3 to move one victory away from the championship. With the series at 1-2, T1A had no room left for error.
The response was decisive. T1A won Game 4 17-4 to force Silver Scrapes, then closed the tournament with a 22-6 victory in the deciding fifth game. Seventeen-year-old bot laner Eclipse stepped up when the series mattered most and was named Finals MVP.
A strong argument for international Tier 2 competition
WSCI's first edition offered something League of Legends has rarely had: a direct international comparison between academy and regional-league teams. The knockout stage ended with two Korean and two European teams in the semifinals, while the final itself went all five games.
For T1 Esports Academy, the championship completes a run through North American opposition and two of Europe's strongest teams. For Galions and Solary, deep runs also underlined the level available in the EMEA Tier 2 ecosystem. If WSCI returns, its inaugural edition has already given the scene a compelling benchmark for how the best developmental teams from different regions compare.