On September 12, at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Seoul, Hanwha Life Esports took Game 1 of the 2026 LCK Playoffs Finals Qualifier, cleanly winning the final teamfight after a marathon match lasting over 47 minutes.
Zeus, on Jayce, heavily pressured top lane against Doran's Gragas, while Kanavi's Qiyana aggressively entered the enemy jungle looking for opportunities. Following a heavy trade in top lane, both teams' junglers headed top, but no kills were conceded. Around the 7-minute mark, T1 sought to create variables through a top-bottom lane swap.
T1 started the Rift Herald first, and Hanwha Life targeted and picked off Keria's Milio, who lacked Flash. However, both Qiyana and Alistar were caught in the ensuing fight, making it a win for T1 overall. Additionally, Gragas absorbed the enemy gank well in top lane, while in mid, Faker's Orianna took turret plates and Oner's Naafiri secured the Dragon. Both teams then traded kills in an extended slugfest.
At the 23-minute mark, both teams began grouping ahead of the Dragon. However, Doran overextended into the enemy jungle and was caught out, initiating a fight. Hanwha Life pursued, eliminated the opponents, and successfully secured their first Dragon. Later, as T1 attacked top lane, Hanwha Life set up a strong fight using Zeka's Ryze ultimate, won another teamfight, and took Baron this time.
The gold gap expanded to over 5,000, and Hanwha Life quickly destroyed the mid outer turret with the Baron buff. Shortly after, T1 aggressively initiated a fight in mid. The junglers were traded here, and in a subsequent fight over Baron, the AD carries were traded as well. However, Hanwha Life capitalized on Qiyana respawning faster than Naafiri to secure the second Baron. T1 halted the enemy advance by picking off Alistar in the bottom lane. While it was a major crisis for T1, they defended well during the opponent's Baron buff without giving up a single inhibitor.
When Baron and Dragon spawned simultaneously, Hanwha Life took Baron while T1 took Dragon, tying the Dragon stack count at 3-3. With the game clock past 40 minutes, T1 was once again holding off the opponent's Baron power play. However, Hanwha Life ultimately won the final Dragon fight, taking Game 1 after a marathon contest lasting over 48 minutes.
