Hanwha Life Esports defeated T1 3-1 to qualify HLE for the Mid-Season Invitational 2026 (MSI), leaving Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok and his team with one more chance to make the prestigious tournament.
The result means that only one of Gen.G, KT Rolster, or T1 will make it to MSI 2026. That team will start in the Play-ins, where Karmine Corp, Lyn, and Deep Cross Gaming await the LCK Road to MSI Runners-up.
How HLE took T1 down to qualify for MSI 2026
Game 1 saw HLE take a substantial lead, bleeding T1 out in the mid-game in what seemed to be moving towards a comfortable win for the LCK Regular Season-topping roster.
A rare two-for-one engagement gave T1 a potential angle on the Baron, but it was repelled by HLE’s respawning pieces. Moments later, T1 went for soul point, successfully CCing HLE’s pieces to get the drake, soul, and an ace.
As happens so often, T1 had turned the game in their favor, holding item advantages on their core of Jayce, Anivia, and Ezrael, but HLE caught Oner isolated in mid, forcing an engagement which yet again turned the game on its head, and leading immediately to HLE converting the game.
Game 2 seemed to start in a similar fashion, with T1’s high-engage draft losing early picks to leave HLE with an advantage. However, T1’s build slowly got online, with Kim ‘Peyz’ Su-hwan’s building strength on Sivir paying off for a game-turning mid-fight.
HLE collapsed under the pressure of T1’s sudden power, propelling T1 easily to equalize the series 1-1.
Game 3 was truly never a contest, with HLE severely outdrafting their opponents. Seo ‘Kanavi’ Jin-hyeok, who has traditionally struggled against his Jungle opposition, Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun, took quick control of the series, with audacious plays to take down his counterpart.
The Jungler delivered a 7/1/10 scoreline as HLE, for the first time in the series, converted their early advantage without any issue.
In Game 4, it was Kim ‘Zeka’ Geon-woo’s time to shine early, taking a substantial laning lead on Yone. More solo lane kills left T1 with fewer and fewer angles to recover the game.
By the 30-minute mark, HLE had remained measured and composed, not giving away the errors that would allow T1 back into the series. With the inhibitors destroyed, HLE forced the ending, giving Zeka his first-ever MSI after an incredible performance from the Worlds and First Stand-winning midlaner.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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