Hanwha Life Esports qualified for the LCK grand final on September 20 after a crushing victory, a clean sweep against KT Rolster. A few days earlier, HLE had also clean-swept T1 to reach the Upper Bracket Final. They are therefore in excellent form in these LCK playoffs, which is the perfect moment to be at their peak after a slightly weaker Spring Split and a somewhat underwhelming regular Summer season.

This best-of series against KT also marks the final Bo5 at LoL Park for LCK veteran jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho, who announced that he will not be playing in 2026 to complete his mandatory military service, required for all Korean men before they turn 30. On the other hand, KT will drop to the Lower Bracket and face the winner of the Bo5 between T1 and Gen.G, a series that will be decisive in determining who will start in the Worlds Play-In and who will advance directly to the main stage.

A one-sided Bo5 dominated by HLE

The Bo5 lasted a total of an hour and a half, averaging thirty minutes per game, with all three games completely dominated by HLE. KT Rolster, who had unleashed their full potential to defeat Gen.G earlier, didn’t really show up today. In Game 1, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je played the first toplane Rek'Sai in the LCK in nearly a year and a half, but the match was decided elsewhere. The team’s carries put on an impressive performance, with Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo and Park "Viper" Do-hyeon combining for 100% of the team’s kills.

In Game 2, during a fight at the Atakhan, Peanut secured a quadrakill on Pantheon, and together with Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong, they completely dominated the map, earning HLE their first match point. Game 3 was another stomp, lasting just 28 minutes. Seo "deokdam" Dae-gil’s Smolder didn’t get the chance to scale, while Viper crushed the game on Yunara and Delight pulled out a support Camille — the first in the LCK in over a year — which worked perfectly. HLE’s botlane fully carried the game, securing the team’s spot in the LCK grand final.

Tomorrow, Sunday, September 21, T1 and Gen.G will face off for a place in the Lower Bracket Final as well as a spot directly on the Worlds main stage. The LCK will then move to Incheon for the final weekend, with the winner facing KT Rolster on September 27 then HLE on September 28 in the grand final to determine the sole LCK champion for 2025.