Hanwha Life Esports barely beats LYON 3-2 at LoL MSI 2026

Wasif Ahmed Published 11/07/2026

In a heartbreaking moment for North America, Hanwha Life Esports beat LYON in a close 3-2 in the MSI 2026 loser’s final. For South Korea, this means a rematch for HLE against Bilibili Gaming in the grand final, and a fourth slot at Worlds 2026. For North America, it’s yet another near-win against the East as they fall short for the third time in two years.

Hanwha Life Esports beats LYON 3-2

The series between HLE and LYON was anything but clean. Entertaining and a welcome surprise for NA fans, for sure, but the level of play was not the one to expect from top three teams at the event.

In the first game, LYON repeatedly failed to target the opponents they took summoner spells from. HLE did a better job at it, and eventually, the advantages mounted to a soul and Baron. An Elder sneak by LYON gave them a second win, but it didn’t go far enough and HLE took that round.

The second map was all about who could play the teamfights worse. Failed combos, missed skillshots on stunned targets, poor engages, this felt like a game with no winner. LYON took a win in score only.

Unhappy with the level of play, both MSI teams decided to sink it even lower for game 3. Kacper “Inspired” Słoma was always out of position, and all of LYON was behind except for their Lucian. HLE had a comp made to specifically shut him down, so they cruised ahead.

Then, Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo made several crucial mistakes as well, gifting the game back to NA. The last two entries in the series were less eventful. While seemingly staying close for a while, it was only a matter of time until HLE decidedly pulled ahead, now making fewer mistakes.

Hanwha Life Esports rematches Bilibili Gaming

This match should have been a 3-0 for HLE. With the way they’d played at the start of the tournament, and particularly with Inspired’s terrible form in this series, it should not have been that difficult. However, difficult it was.

As far as results are concerned, this gives NA hopes and triples their number of game wins against China and Korea in 2026. The game score is now 4-24 for the year, still without a match win to show for it.

For Inspired, this is in fact the third time since 2024 that his team ends 2-3 against a top Eastern team. First Gen.G at Worlds 2024, then BLG at MSI 2025, now HLE. Watching the games though, the series reflected very poorly on the level of both teams.

Nevertheless, HLE did grant the LCK a fourth Worlds spot with that win. Now, they’re moving up for a rematch against BLG. Which gives them less than 24 hours to pick up the pace and find their regular form again. Otherwise, Bilibili Gaming will be looking at a swift repeat win.

Featured image credit: Liu Yicun / Riot Games

Wasif Ahmed

About Wasif Ahmed

Wasif Ahmed is the Lead Esports Editor for WIN.gg. He has been covering esports for nearly eight years, although his gaming journey started much earlier, when he was just four years old and was introduced to Road Rash on a dusty PC. Hit him up on X to talk about esports, why partnership models are the best fit for esports games, or if Halo 7 has finally been announced.

View full profile