On September 2, Hanwha Life Esports pulled off a thrilling reverse sweep against T1 in Round 2 of the Upper Bracket in the 2026 LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Playoffs held at the Chzzk LoL Park in Jongno, advancing to Round 3 of the Upper Bracket. In Round 3 on September 6, they will face Gen.G Esports for a direct spot in the finals.

After the match against T1, Inven met with coach Lee "Mowgli" Jae-ha to look back on the flow of the series. Coach Lee Jae-ha noted that the previous matches had sequentially ended in 3-0 sweeps, speaking about the situation at the time that inevitably shook the team.

"The previous KT vs. DK and Gen.G vs. KT matches both ended 3-0, and in both cases, the team that had the upper hand in Game 1 suffered a comeback loss that ultimately led to losing the series. Perhaps because of that trend, when we had the advantage in Game 1 and suffered a comeback loss, the players' mindsets were shaken, and the aftereffects carried over into Game 2.

In Game 2, we drastically changed our draft as well. We aimed to hold out top with K'Sante while picking Yunara, Lulu, and Jarvan IV to draft around the bot lane. However, things went wrong right from the early-game setups, including a 3v3 in the bot lane, causing the game to collapse rapidly. We failed to execute the details during the Raptor invade, allowing the opposing Qiyana to hit level 2 first, which essentially erased the purpose of our picks."

The area Hanwha Life Esports prepared most against when facing T1 was their bottom duo. Nevertheless, due to the incredible performances of Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan's Kalista and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok's Blitzcrank in Games 1 and 2, they quickly found themselves pushed to the brink.

Coach Lee reflected, "We were most wary of T1's bottom lane. I think they perform well with both winning and losing laning picks. Seeing them perform so well today even with losing picks like Jhin and Blitzcrank made me realize that we need to think through things from many more angles the next time we meet."

Though Hanwha Life Esports was pushed into a 0-2 corner, the coaching staff reflected on the situation more objectively. He explained, "Going through Games 1 and 2, I kept thinking that skill-wise, we were better. While making sure to take care of the players' mental state, we tried to create draft setups starting from Game 3 that would be easier for them to play."

In Game 5 in particular, momentum seemed to swing toward Hanwha Life Esports starting right from the draft. They secured a strong bot lane centered around Caitlyn and added strength with the recently emerging Cho'Gath jungle. They also picked Ambessa, a champion Choi "Zeus" Woo-je plays well. Coach Lee Jae-ha also recalled that right after finishing the draft, his first thought was, "We won."

"It felt like T1 missed some picks against us, while our draft turned out exactly as we had envisioned. Since we had first pick, what we took as our first pick was the most crucial, and we had prepared all the scenarios based on their bans perfectly. After completing the draft, I thought, 'We won.'"

Although it was a thrilling comeback victory, there were lingering regrets as well. Coach Lee objectively evaluated the team's performance, saying, "Even when we were ahead in-game, there were moments where we missed objective timings or played carelessly, so we definitely plan to give feedback on that. Perhaps because it had been a while since our last official match, it felt like we only showed 60% of our true level."

He continued, pointing out the positives: "Still, since we went all five games today and logged a lot of match experience, I believe we'll perform better in the upcoming match against Gen.G. Finding areas to improve through today's mistakes might actually turn out to be a good thing."

Now, Hanwha Life Esports will face Gen.G Esports in Round 3 with a direct spot in the finals on the line. Coach Lee Jae-ha noted that Gen.G Esports has recently shown strong form across all lanes, committing to prepare by focusing on team composition balance and draft variables.

"Since Gen.G's players across all lanes have been playing solid and look to be in great form lately, I don't intend to target just one specific lane. We are mindful of the overall composition balance and the picks Gen.G plays particularly well. How we navigate the draft starting from Game 1 will be extremely important. Since we lost the coin toss for side selection, we'll need to do a lot of thinking across multiple angles, including draft variables."