T1 took Game 3 to reach match point. T1 won Game 3 of Round 3 in the Lower Bracket of the 2026 LCK Playoffs, held at ChZZk LoL Park on September 6, pulling ahead 2-1 in the set. Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Locke led the late-game teamfights to drive the team to victory.

The mid-lane matchup diverged right from the start. While T1 picked Locke, who excels at roaming, Dplus KIA answered with a scaling-focused Viktor. From the early game, T1 had Locke avoid heavy laning to actively intervene in other lanes. Dplus KIA were in no hurry. Viktor, equipped with late-game carry power, was scaling safely in the mid lane.

Powered by Viktor's scaling and favorable top-lane matchups, Dplus KIA widened the gap. As time passed, the situation turned unfavorable for T1. T1 boldly opened fights, shutting down Viktor three times. In the process, Locke caught up on his lagging growth, while Dplus KIA's champion deaths continued to mount.

Ahead of the third dragon, Dplus KIA initiated the engagement first. However, after failing to secure a first kill, the turn shifted to T1. Joining late, Faker's Locke entered the chaotic battlefield and scored a triple kill. That single teamfight blew the gold lead open to 7,000.

Having fallen behind early, Locke reclaimed his firepower, now carrying a bounty. Leveraging his newfound lead, Faker erased Viktor in a single combo, and T1 seized full control of the game from this teamfight onward. From there, T1 pushed past DK's fierce resistance to secure the Game 3 victory.