Losing MSI may actually be the best thing that could have happened to
. Their
defeat to Hanwha Life Esports at MSI 2026 in Daejon this Sunday ends the Golden Road dream before it could turn into a crushing obsession, lifts a huge amount of pressure from the roster, and gives them a clean reset for the rest of 2026. Instead of chasing perfection, BLG can now focus on what they actually need most: winning the titles still left on the calendar, especially the most important of them,
Worlds 2026.
The Golden Road is the hardest achievement in League of Legends. It means winning every split and every major international event in the same competitive year, a feat no team has ever completed. BLG were starting to carry that expectation everywhere they went, and the deeper they got into the season, the heavier that burden would have become, especially since they were the only remaining team able to achieve it since their win at First Stand 2026. By losing now, BLG avoid spending the rest of the year under the pressure of having to be perfect.
History says the fall can help
League history has already shown how brutal the final step can be.
G2 Esports in 2019, with their 0-3 loss in the final, and JD Gaming in 2023, with their 1-3 loss in the semifinals, both built incredible runs only to see the Golden Road collapse at Worlds. BLG’s current midlaner, Zhuo "
" Ding, was also part of that JDG run, which makes the parallel even more striking.
There are other reminders too.
’s 2018 run was cut short in quarters after a strong domination all year long, and
s Golden Road hopes in 2024 were broken by Hanwha Life before Worlds even began. In other words, this kind of storyline rarely ends neatly. It usually ends the moment one team finally says no.
That is also what makes BLG’s loss feel oddly familiar. It is not the end of their season, only the end of an impossible expectation, and in that sense the defeat may actually protect them from the kind of mental weight that has crushed other elite rosters before.
There is also a more optimistic comparison to be made. SK Telecom T1 in 2015 lost MSI by one game in the final, but went on to win both LCK splits and
Worlds later that year. Their setback did not define them, it sharpened them. BLG could take the same path. They still look like one of the strongest teams in the world with some of the best individualities in the World, but now they no longer have to defend the idea of a perfect year. That can make a roster more focused, more flexible, and arguably more dangerous when the pressure of Worlds arrives.
With no time to rest, BLG head straight to Paris for the 2026 Esports World Cup, where they will look for revenge. In a less prestigious tournament from a sporting standpoint, although one that still brings together
16 of the best teams from each region, they could get another shot at Hanwha Life Esports, provided they first get through a group featuring LYON, JD Gaming and LØS.
