Gen.G secure back-to-back national titles and Worlds 2026 spot

14 September 2026

For a while now, one name has been dominating League of Legends in South Korean and that name is Gen.G. In roughly four hours of world-class international esports action, Gen.G managed to beat Hanwha Life Esports in the Grand Final of the League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK), clinching their second domestic title in a row. Their victory also meant that Gen.G have now won six out of the last seven national championships in the South Korean League of Legends scene. No wonder that the organization has also secured the number one seed for Worlds 2026, which is set to take place from October 15th to November 14th in the United States.

Gen.G and Hanwha mark the rhythm

Gen.G showed good form throughout the LCK 2026, but initially it was Hanwha Life Esports who dominated. After Rounds 1 and 2, they were top of the table, followed by T1 and eventual champions Gen.G. It was in the following Rounds 3 and 4 where Gen.G took control, finishing first in the Legend Group, though shared with Hanwha. This meant neither of the two had to appear in the Play-In and could instead advance immediately to the Playoffs.

Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports both entered the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs in Round 2. The former dispatched of KT Rolster (3-0), while the latter overcame T1 (3-2). What followed was an Upper Bracket Final between Gen.G and Hanwha, which ended in a 3-1 victory for Gen.G. Hanwha dropped down to the Lower Bracket Final, where they once again beat T1 (3-1) to make it into the Grand Final.

Double victory over Hanwha

That Grand Finale therefore ended up being a copy of the earlier Upper Bracket Final between Gen.G and Hanwha. To such an extent actually, that even the progress of the showed a lot of similarities. Like during the first encounter, Hanwha got off to a great start, winning the first Game in just under 40 minutes. Unfortunately for them, after that, Gen.G did exactly what they did in the earlier final as well, namely win three Games in a row. Overall, Gen.G were just too strong (again) this year and they will be traveling to the United States later this year as the number one seed for Worlds 2026.

Gen.G dominance

South Korea is a major region for the worldwide League of Legends community and it has been for some time. This makes the dominance of Gen.G all the more impressive, with the Seoul-based organization winning no less than six of the last seven LCK splits. They won the Summer Split in 2022, both the Spring and the Summer Split in 2023, and the Spring Split in 2024. The Summer 2024 Split has been the only split Gen.G have lost domestically since 2022.

The League of Legends Championship Korea’s switch from two splits to a single split per season did not change much in terms of Gen.G’s dominance. Since the introduction of this change in 2025, they have won both: the LCK 2025 Season last year and the LCK 2026 Season just a few days ago.