The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) opened its 2026 regular season on April 1st, with Riot Games loading the first week of play with several of the league’s biggest matchups.

According to an announcement from Riot Games, Week one featured T1 against KT Rolster, T1 against Hanwha Life Esports and a rematch of the 2026 LCK Cup Final between Gen.G and BNK FEARX. The regular season began at the LCK Arena inside Chijijik LoL Park in Seoul and ran across a nine-week schedule.

T1’s meeting with KT Rolster stood out as one of the opening week’s most notable fixtures. The two organisations have one of the longest-running rivalries in Korean League of Legends and most recently met in the 2025 World Championship Final. T1 also defeated KT Rolster 2-0 in their latest meeting at the 2026 LCK Cup.

That series included a comeback in game two, where T1 recovered from a deficit of more than 10,000 gold after winning a fight around Elder Dragon. With T1 having won the past two meetings between the sides, the opening-day match offered KT Rolster an early chance to respond.

T1 faced former players in Hanwha Life showdown

After its clash with KT Rolster, T1 also took on Hanwha Life Esports in the week’s Saturday Showdown. The match carried added interest because Hanwha Life Esports fielded former T1 players Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je and Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyung. The latter had also been named Finals MVP at the 2025 World Championship.

The series also served as an early measuring stick for both sides following roster changes and the end of the LCK Cup. At the league’s opening media day, Lee said Hanwha Life Esports had improved by around 20% compared to its LCK Cup form. Meanwhile, Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, Mid Laner for T1, said his side was still building synergy with its new line-up and still had areas to improve. As a result, the meeting between T1 and Hanwha Life Esports looked likely to provide one of the first major indicators of how the LCK’s top-end pecking order could develop.

Gen.G and BNK FEARX renewed LCK Cup final matchup

The final major storyline of opening week came from Gen.G’s meeting with BNK FEARX, which replayed the 2026 LCK Cup Final. The two teams had met in March at Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong, where Gen.G secured a 3-0 victory to lift the trophy. Gen.G also entered the regular season with momentum from the LCK media day, where it was selected by nine teams as the leading title favourite.

For BNK FEARX, the match represented an immediate chance to challenge that status and gain revenge for the cup final defeat. However, the recent head-to-head record favoured Gen.G heavily, with the team holding an 8-2 set record against BNK FEARX from the 2025 LCK regular season through to the 2026 LCK Cup Final.

The 2026 LCK regular season opened with Hanwha Life Esports against OKSavingsBank BRION, with two matches scheduled each day from Wednesday to Sunday. According to the announcement, matches were broadcast live through online platforms including Chijijik and SOOP. Tickets for fans attending in person were sold through NOL Ticket, with reservations opening nine days before each match start time.