Hanwha Life Esports defeated BLG at the 2026 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) finals, held at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, on the 12nd. After losing in the third round of the winners' bracket, the team fought through the losers' bracket to earn their spot in the finals, ultimately emerging as the champions on the biggest stage.

The following is the full transcript of the press conference with the Hanwha Life Esports team.

Q. (To Head Coach Yoon Seong-young) What lessons did you learn from facing BLG in the third round of the winners' bracket? Do you think that experience helped in today's finals?

Head Coach Yoon Seong-young: I think it helped a lot. Back then, I did a poor job with the pick-ban phase in games 1 and 2, which made it very difficult for the players. I think we addressed those issues well today, and even when we were behind in games, the players didn't give up and did their best until the end, which led to this result.

Q. (To Head Coach Yoon Seong-young) What aspects of the pick-ban phase did you handle better than your counterpart, Head Coach Yang Dae-in?

Head Coach Yoon Seong-young: After losing in the winners' bracket, the coaching staff and players had many deep discussions about our pick-ban strategy. I believe we were better prepared in that regard this time.

Q. (To Kanavi) Hanwha Life Esports has achieved its first-ever MSI title. What does this victory mean to you.

Kanavi: It’s very meaningful to win the MSI with my teammates. I’m very happy that we could win our first MSI together.

Q. (To Zeus) Some argue that top laners have less impact on the game compared to other roles. What are your thoughts on this, and how do you feel about the title of 'world's best top laner'.

Zeus: Generally, I don't think the top lane itself has a massive impact on winning. However, when the game is tight, it's crucial for top laners to create variables. I used to be the type to just focus on winning my own lane, but since last year, I've been thinking about how to influence the game as a whole. I believe the top lane is a position where you can do a lot if you play well. In that sense, I believe I am the best, so I am confident in the 'World's Best Top Laner' title.

Q. (To Gumayusi) After losing to BLG and falling to the lower bracket, you fought your way back by defeating Lion to finally win your first MSI. What internal changes did you experience during this process.

Gumayusi: I don't think there were any major internal changes. After losing to BLG, I simply focused on refining our pick-ban strategy to better counter the non-ADC champions they like to use.

Q. (To Zeka) You once said in an interview that winning the LCK is harder than winning an international tournament. Now that you've won the MSI, do you still hold that view.

Zeka: That was a relatively recent interview. I said that because, in my experience, the mid laners I face in the LCK are much stronger than the international mid laners I encounter. I still feel the same way.

Q. (To Zeus) You defeated Bin today and were named Finals MVP. How were you able to lead the team to victory in Game 5.

Zeus: Bin and I have traded wins and losses for a long time. Regardless of the outcome, I was just happy to play such a great series today. In Game 5, it was a Mundo versus Aatrox matchup; honestly, Aatrox is vastly superior in that matchup until about the 20-minute mark. My teammates needed to hold out during that disadvantageous window, and they did so perfectly, which allowed us to gain a significant advantage in the mid-to-late game.

Q. (To Head Coach Yoon Seong-young) You seemed to prefer traditional ranged damage dealers in the bot lane rather than AP non-ADC champions.

Gumayusi: First of all, while our bot lane is strong enough even with AP champions, I felt we were much more powerful when playing traditional ranged damage dealers. Given our team composition, it was a situation where picking a traditional ADC was the right choice.

Q. (To Zeus) How much did your long experience in the LCK and your history at international tournaments help you in yesterday's match against Lion and today's against BLG?

Zeus: In both yesterday's and today's series, there were many critical moments where we would have collapsed if even one of our players lacked experience or wavered. But even in those desperate situations, everyone kept their composure and believed that 'if we keep going, we can win,' which was the biggest help to our performance.

Q. (To Zeka) Not only did you win your first MSI title today, but you also set a record as the only player to win Worlds, First Stand, and MSI in their first appearances. What does this mean to you, and what kind of player do you want to be remembered as?

Zeka: I'm happy to have built such a great career by winning this tournament. However, I think there is still a lot of the schedule left this year after this MSI win. My goal isn't just to stop at winning on my first attempt, but to continue stacking up more trophies in the future.

Q. (To Delight) Given the star-studded roster of Hanwha Life, you were seen as having the fewest international titles. Now that you've achieved your first MSI win, does today's final stand out as your most special memory?

Delight: I've won the domestic league a few times, but I hadn't achieved any significant results internationally until now. Starting today, I've finally secured a meaningful first international win. I still think the more important Worlds are ahead, so I plan to work even harder from here on out.

Q. Yesterday's match against North America's Lion was an unexpected, full five-game series. You mentioned in an interview that you had to pull out the joker pick Swain to win, and today was another tight 3:2 victory. Do you think Lion showed the performance of a team worthy of reaching the finals, or did Hanwha Life simply improve as you adapted to the meta throughout the tournament?

Gumayusi: I believe that even if Lion had reached the finals today, they would have put up a great fight against BLG.

Q. (To Zeus) You picked Dr. Mundo in Game 5, a champion known to be at a disadvantage against Aatrox—some might even call it a self-counter. What was the reasoning behind that pick? Also, you mentioned in a previous interview that you've started to think about the game's overall impact rather than just the laning phase; would the 'old' Zeus have avoided picking Mundo?

Zeus: While playing against BLG today, I got the strong impression that they didn't want to give me certain champions, like Anivia or Mundo. Aatrox isn't usually a common first pick, so I thought they chose it specifically to prevent me from playing Mundo. Realistically, I had never played the 'Mundo vs. Aatrox' matchup in my life, so I wasn't 100% sure how well I could hold out. But I felt confident enough to pull it off, so I picked it. The old me probably would have picked a safe, standard champion.

Q. (To Gumayusi) Today's final was a close series that went to five games, and the bot lane dynamics and the roles required of the damage dealer in teamfights changed each game. From the perspective of a damage dealer, what was the most important standard you tried to maintain until the final game?

Gumayusi: Throughout the pick-ban process, the core requirement from the coaching staff for the bot lane was to use our lane priority to join early skirmishes and control objectives. We worked hard to stay ahead in those areas, and I think that showed in our gameplay.

Q. (To Kanavi) The opponent showed they were very conscious of you, with movements like invading the jungle from level 1 to disrupt your pathing. Did you anticipate BLG would attack your early pathing like this, and how did you provide feedback and prepare for the next game after being targeted?

Kanavi: BLG also invaded the jungle early in our previous winner's bracket match to execute their plans. Naturally, we prepared for that while getting ready for the finals, but the opponent played better than expected, which caused things to get messy early on. From Game 2 onwards, I just tried to play while focusing on minimizing those early disruptions.

Q. (To Head Coach Yoon Seong-young) After MSI, there are still international tournaments like the Esports World Cup and Worlds. The Esports World Cup is coming up soon; what are some areas you think the team is lacking in or needs to improve for the remaining tournaments?

Head Coach: I believe we have to leave for the next tournament immediately. The lack of time to rest is physically demanding for us. However, since the EWC schedule isn't that long, it will be tough, but I trust that all the players, being such experienced veterans, will manage their own conditions well.