On the 15th, T1 defeated KT Rolster in the grand finals of the '2026 LCK Challengers League' held at the WDG Esports Studio in Hongdae, Seoul, to claim the championship.
Living up to their dominant "undefeated" matchup record against KT since the regular season, T1 did not drop a single set as they clinched victory, ascending to the throne for the first time in five years since 2021 Spring. Furthermore, 'Painter' Kim Eun-hoo and 'Eclipse' Kim Min-jun became CL Royal Roaders, while 'Painter' enjoyed double the celebration by being awarded Finals MVP.
T1's momentum was formidable right from game 1. Just over a minute into the game, they scored a duo kill in the bot lane, and at the 2-minute mark, 'Painter' on Lee Sin successfully executed a mid gank. Around the 4-minute mark, they picked up another kill through a bot dive. Having shattered the balance early on, T1 quickly began to snowball their lead.
KT Rolster tried to build a springboard for a comeback by repeatedly targeting 'Haetae' Sim Su-hyeon's Olaf and denying dragon stacks. They even shut down 'Eclipse' Kim Min-jun's Caitlyn once. However, in a teamfight ahead of the third dragon, T1 landed key abilities cleanly to set up an unhindered damage opportunity for Caitlyn. Securing a massive teamfight win, T1 rode the momentum to destroy the Nexus in game 1.
Game 2 followed. Midst a tight back-and-forth exchange of kills, T1 seized control during a teamfight around the 14-minute mark by sweeping up four kills. 'Cloud' Moon Hyeon-ho's Nami landing an Aqua Prison on three players proved crucial. KT Rolster attempted to turn the game around through objectives like the Rift Herald and dragon, but T1 emerged victorious in the decisive Baron fight to take game 2 as well.
In game 3, which could have been the final match, KT Rolster seemed to pull themselves together. Leveraging the early skirmishing power of 'Sylvie' Lee Seung-bok's Pantheon and 'Hwichan' Jeong Hwi-chan's Locke, KT landed effective blows to take the lead. However, T1 did not simply collapse. By executing side-lane play centered around 'Haetae' Sim Su-hyeon's Camille, T1 bought time for their late-game carry damage dealers to scale.
Once the scaling of 'Guti' Moon Jeong-hwan's Viktor and 'Eclipse''s Ezreal got back on track, T1's teamfight prowess began to shine. Around the 20-minute mark, T1 scored an Ace in front of the Baron pit, signaling a complete turnaround. For KT Rolster, stopping a momentum-charged T1 proved impossible, and T1 claimed the final game 3 as well.
