Hanwha Life Esports Grinds Out 48-Minute Win Over T1 to Open LCK Finals
source: HotspawnHanwha Life Esports drew first blood in the 2026 LCK Playoffs Finals Qualifier on 12 September, defeating T1 in Game 1 of their best-of-five series at the KSPO Dome in Seoul's Olympic Park.As Inven Global…
Hanwha Life Esports drew first blood in the 2026 LCK Playoffs Finals Qualifier on 12 September, defeating T1 in Game 1 of their best-of-five series at the KSPO Dome in Seoul's Olympic Park.
As Inven Global reported, Hanwha Life clinched the result by winning the final Dragon teamfight in a contest that stretched past 48 minutes.
The winner of this series advances to the grand final against Gen.G; the loser finishes third and carries a lower seeding into Worlds 2026.
The stakes couldn't be higher for either squad. As Hotspawn noted ahead of the series, Hanwha Life had already beaten T1 in all five of their matchups this season, including a reverse sweep in the upper bracket just ten days prior.
How the Match Unfolded
T1 mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok on Orianna claimed turret plates early, while jungler Moon "Oner" Hyeon-joon on Naafiri secured the first Dragon.
Meanwhile, top laner Choi "Zeus" Woo-je on Jayce traded pressure against Hanwha Life top laner Doran's Gragas, and both junglers converged top without yielding kills. T1 also initiated a lane swap around the seven-minute mark to generate additional variables.
Hanwha Life caught T1 support Ryu "Keria" Min-seok's Milio without Flash and eliminated him, though they lost both their Qiyana and Alistar in the skirmish that followed. The exchange tilted marginally toward T1.
Baron, Dragon, and a Slow Swing
The game's turning point arrived around the 23-minute mark. Hanwha Life top laner Doran overextended into enemy territory, was caught out, and the resulting fight let Hanwha Life secure their first Dragon.
From there, mid laner Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo used his Ryze ultimate to set up another winning teamfight, netting Hanwha Life the Baron. Their gold lead swelled past 5,000.
T1 held on. Their defence during Hanwha Life's Baron power play was firm enough that they surrendered no inhibitors.
When Baron and Dragon both spawned simultaneously past the 40-minute mark, the teams split objectives, each claiming one and levelling the Dragon stack count at 3-3.
Hanwha Life's decisive edge came from respawn timers. After both junglers were traded and the ADCs exchanged, Hanwha Life's Qiyana returned to the map ahead of Naafiri, allowing them to secure a second Baron.
T1 managed to pick off Alistar in the bottom lane to stall, but Hanwha Life ultimately won the final Dragon fight to close out the game.
Series Context and Playoff Picture
Hotspawn's pre-series analysis flagged HLE as the favourites across the board, pointing to their deeper champion pool flexibility compared to T1's reliance on bot laner Park "Peyz" Joon-hyeok and Keria as primary carry threats.
The analysis also noted Doran's inconsistency in the top lane as an ongoing liability for Hanwha Life, while observing that T1's draft preparation had reportedly deteriorated across the final three games of their previous series against HLE.
Game 1 goes to Hanwha Life, with the series continuing at the KSPO Dome.
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