In the match between kt Rolster and Hanwha Life Esports during the first round of the 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) regular season, held at LoL Park in Jongno on the 29th, Hanwha Life Esports secured a 2-0 victory. The matchup, highly anticipated as a clash between the first and second-place teams, ended in a decisive win for Hanwha Life Esports, who displayed superior performance. With this victory, Hanwha Life Esports has moved into a tie for first place with kt Rolster.

The first set remained quite tense until the mid-game. After 'Cuzz' Moon Woo-chan's Pantheon secured first blood with an early bottom-lane gank, Hanwha Life Esports responded with a top-lane dive from 'Kanavi' Seo Jin-hyeok's Vi. The teams traded kills in skirmishes across the map, but the balance finally tipped during the contest for the third dragon. After several attempts, Hanwha Life Esports secured the dragon and won the ensuing team fight, picking up a significant lead.

kt Rolster caught a break by ambushing the opponents as they retreated from a Baron take, securing three kills. However, around the 26-minute mark, Hanwha Life Esports claimed the Chemtech Soul and dominated the following engagement. As they regrouped and headed toward the mid lane, 'Zeka' Kim Geon-woo's Aurora left 'Aiming' Kim Ha-ram's Ezreal near death. Hanwha Life Esports cleaned up the remaining kills, marched into the enemy base, and destroyed kt Rolster's Nexus.

Hanwha Life Esports' momentum continued into the second set. 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyeong's Lucian and 'Delight' Yoo Hwan-joong's Milio secured a duo kill in the bottom lane, followed by a successful dive with 'Kanavi's' Jarvan IV. Led by their bottom duo, Hanwha Life Esports dominated the dragon fight, picking up three unanswered kills to pull firmly ahead. It was also a positive sign that 'Zeka's' Ahri, who had started with a death, began accumulating kills and assists.

kt Rolster managed to stall by forcing trades, but they could not withstand Hanwha Life Esports' strength in head-on team fights. A decisive victory in an 18-minute skirmish extended the gold lead to over 5,000. A liberated 'Zeka' even managed to assassinate 'Effort' Lee Sang-ho's Lulu. While there were moments of over-aggression where Lucian was caught out or forced to burn his Guardian Angel early, the difference in firepower was simply too great, and Hanwha Life Esports ultimately took the second set as well.