Anyone who thought this time it would be different is sorely disappointed, as Gen.G defeated Hanwha Life Esports 3:1 and became LCK champion once more. By winning the final held on Sept. 13, the team secured Korea’s first seed at the upcoming Worlds 2026.
It is Gen.G’s second consecutive season championship after beating HLE by the same score in the 2025 final.
🏆 2026 #LCK Champions : 🐯 @GenG ! ✨ pic.twitter.com/UrGv2Bki9r
— LCK (@LCK) September 13, 2026
Gen.G’s year started with an LCK Cup title, where they swept BNK FearX 3:0 in the final, but the following months were unusually full of ups and downs, very much unlike the bulldozer-like domination we’re used to from the team. They finished third-fourth at First Stand after a humiliating 3:0 loss to G2 Esports, then went 14:4 through LCK Rounds 1-2 before missing MSI entirely after T1 beat them 3:2 in the final qualification series.
Gen.G recovered during the second half of the domestic season and finished first in the LCK regular season at 19:7. HLE ended with the same record, but Gen.G took the top seed through their 3:1 head-to-head advantage, including wins in both of their Rounds 3-4 meetings.
Finishing first gave Gen.G a bye into the second round of the playoffs, and the team never dropped into the lower bracket. A 3:0 sweep of KT Rolster secured their Worlds qualification, which was frankly never in doubt, and then they defeated HLE 3:1 in the upper-bracket final. HLE then beat T1 in the lower-bracket final to set up a rematch for the title.
HLE started the series with a nerve-wracking win in 38 minutes, after almost throwing it all away twice. But this is where the fun ended for Zeka and his teammates, as Gen.G stomped them in three games in a row that took less than an hour and a half in total. Ruler dominated in every single game, even the lost one, and deservedly won the Finals MVP.
This result sets Korea’s Worlds seeds as well. Gen.G will attend as the first seed, followed by Hanwha Life Esports as the second, T1 as the third, and Dplus KIA, returning after a year of absence, as the fourth.
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