The first phase of the
LCK Season 2026 concluded on Sunday with
’s victory over
. While the six teams advancing to the Legends Group for the second phase had already been confirmed a week earlier, the final spot in the
Road to MSI was still up for grabs during the last week of competition, and the race for the top two seeds remained unresolved.
After spending much of the first phase atop the standings,
have once again earned the opportunity to qualify directly for MSI by facing
, who finished second. T1 ended the phase with the same overall record as
but secured the higher seed thanks to a superior game differential.
Both Hanwha Life Esports and T1 are now just one best-of-five victory away from qualifying for the second international event of the season and will have two opportunities to secure their place. By contrast, Dplus Kia and
begin their journey from the bottom of the bracket and must win four consecutive matches to qualify, with any defeat resulting in immediate elimination.
face a similarly difficult path, requiring three victories, while Gen.G must win two series to book their ticket to
MSI.
With seven Player of the Match awards already this season,
has been one of the standout performers in the LCK. He will no doubt remember last year’s decisive loss to T1, a defeat that denied Hanwha Life Esports a place at MSI. The reigning world champions demonstrated to their former toplaner
that they remained a formidable force even after his departure.
This time, however,
finds himself on the opposite side of the rivalry as well, adding another layer of intrigue to the matchup. While T1 was the first team to defeat HLE this season, their most recent meeting went firmly in favor of the orange side, powered by another exceptional performance from Seo “
” Jin-hyeok.
Having relinquished first place in the regular-season standings for the first time since LCK Summer 2023, Gen.G remain a major threat lurking in the background. The organization needs only two series victories to qualify for MSI, and the loser of the opening qualification match could quickly find itself going from bad to worse by facing a Gen.G squad that enters the Road to MSI on a four-match winning streak.
