Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) successfully exacted revenge against BLG, securing the MSI 2026 championship after a grueling 3-2 series.

The opening game was a fierce tug-of-war. Initially, the Lee Sin played by Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok gave HLE the upper hand with early kills in the top lane and key objective skirmishes. However, BLG clawed back by stealing Baron and using Peng 'Xun' Lixun's Naafiri to swipe two consecutive Dragons, buying the team time to scale. BLG then executed a sharp counter-attack, catching HLE deep in their territory to wipe them out in a decisive teamfight.

The tide turned during a 37-minute Dragon contest. Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok landed a precise Flash-ult to catch Park 'Viper' Do-hyeon's Ezreal, finally securing the fourth Dragon for HLE. With Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je's Ambessa pushing the bottom inhibitor, HLE demonstrated superior macro-play, eventually closing out the 43-minute opener.

Game 2 was a chaotic brawl. Both teams swarmed the top lane early on, trading kills in small-scale skirmishes. Global gold remained tight, keeping the tension palpable well into the mid-game.

BLG, however, held the edge in objective control, securing Dragons and Void Grubs without significant pushback. The momentum shifted firmly in BLG's favour when they picked off Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong's Ziggs before a Baron fight, leading to a major victory and a Baron buff. Capitalizing on this, BLG caught Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok's Qiyana out of position, secured the Elder Dragon, and marched down the lane to destroy HLE’s Nexus.

BLG kept their foot on the gas in Game 3. Peng 'Xun' Lixun’s Nocturne dismantled Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je twice, while Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok’s Xin Zhao fell to three early deaths, putting HLE in a deep hole. HLE focused their efforts on the bottom lane to facilitate Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong's growth, playing cautiously to avoid further overextensions.

Finding a chink in BLG’s armour proved nearly impossible. At the pivotal 28-minute Dragon fight, Peng 'Xun' Lixun’s Nocturne pulled off yet another steal. After taking down Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok and Yoo 'Delight' Hwan-joong, BLG snowballed into a Baron take. HLE crumbled in subsequent teamfights, surrendering the third game with a final kill score of 20 to 7.

Facing elimination in Game 4, HLE turned to Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je’s Swain—a champion who had already made waves during the lower bracket finals. Around the 5-minute mark, despite a gank from Peng 'Xun' Lixun’s Kindred and Luo 'ON' Wen-jun’s Skarner, Swain utilized superior sustain and burst damage, paired with Seo 'Kanavi' Jin-hyeok’s Trundle, to turn the fight and net two kills. HLE continued to win exchanges, slowly widening the gap.

The fully-scaled Swain became a menace in objective fights. Even when Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong's Ashe was picked off at the 30-minute Baron pit, Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je’s Swain locked down three enemies to flip the script. After a total wipe, HLE razed the base, forcing the series into a final fifth game.