Hanwha Life Esports finished as runner-up after losing 1-3 to Gen.G Esports in the finals of the 2026 LoL Champions Korea (LCK), held on September 13 at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Although they got off to a strong start by winning Game 1, they were unable to stop Gen.G once Gen.G gained momentum.
Entering the press conference room after the finals, Head Coach Yoon Sung-young opened the interview by looking back on the series, noting that both the drafts and in-game play had disappointing aspects. Coach Yoon summarized the match by saying, "I didn't do a good job with the draft, and there were several moments where communication split when we were ahead. However, just as there were disappointing aspects, there were also things we did well, so I want to tell the players they worked hard."
Head Coach Yoon Sung-young continued, "Today, compared to the usual Hanwha Life, there were many disappointing moments during objective setups and when we had the lead. These are areas we must fix to win Worlds." He explained, "We are an exceptionally fast-paced team. Communication needs to be better so that mistakes don't happen."
He also shared more details regarding the drafting. Hanwha Life, having taken Game 1, lost momentum in Game 2 after suffering a heavy defeat against Gen.G's top Varus. Head Coach Yoon stated, "Besides Anivia, there were a few other champions to answer it. Early on, calls were split on whether the mid laner was coming, allowing Varus to start with 2 kills. Setting the picks aside, we played poorly in terms of in-game execution, and Gen.G played better."
In Game 3, they picked Cho'Gath in response to the opponent's Lee Sin, but ultimately lost after failing to secure objective control. 'Kanavi' Seo Jin-hyeok said, "Because the enemy had Zeri-Yuumi, Cho'Gath was picked to stack dragons quickly before they could scale. However, situations to stack dragons didn't arise as expected, and the value of Lee Sin and Zeri-Yuumi scaled up quickly, leading to a helpless loss."
Regarding the surprise top Fiora pick in Game 4, Head Coach Yoon explained the reasoning: "We were considering a few options. During practice, we often saw Fiora gaining a significant lead against Gwen in the laning phase, and since 'Zeus' Choi Woo-je is an exceptionally strong laner, we trusted that strength when making the pick."
Now, Hanwha Life Esports turns its focus to Worlds. 'Kanavi' expressed his resolve, stating, "We performed well up until the finals, but whenever we face Gen.G, we tend to get rushed or tied up in knots. Since we could face strong teams like Gen.G or BLG at Worlds as well, we'll need to step up our form so we can win then."
