Gen.G vs Hanwha Life Esports: Who wins the LCK grand final?

Naerlyn Published September 12, 2026

One week after their match in the LCK upper final, Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports will face off again in the grand final of the event on September 13 at 7am CEST / 1am EST. At stake are the first seed of the region going into the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, and the title of LCK champion. Gen.G already won the LCK Cup in March, and HLE got the Road to MSI in June, though not a real playoffs. Now for the LCK grand final, Gen.G enters as the favorite as they already convincingly beat HLE just last week.

Gen.G vs Hanwha Life Esports prediction market

Market-implied chances courtesy of Polymarket on September 12, 3pm CEST, with a volume of $3.31K. 

The market price has so far remained stable between the two teams.

The prediction market for Gen.G vs HLE. Image Credit: Polymarket

Why the market favors Gen.G

Gen.G beat Hanwha Life Esports in the LCK upper final one week ago and that obviously puts them as the favorite for the grand final. GEN had a convincing 3-1 victory in which they outclassed HLE.

Hanwha Life was actually able to get ahead in three of the early games, only missing out in the final one. It’s only later on that they failed to convert it, and their performance went down from one map to the next. In the end, HLE had early advantages but Gen.G did not feel seriously threatened in this series. GEN started down but was easily able to climb back from it, as Hanwha Life looked like the tank had run dry.

The problem for HLE now is that they haven’t shown anything better in their series against T1. Sure, they won convincingly, but T1 didn’t push them much. The World champions looked uncoordinated and much less on the same page on many plays. HLE clearly had a better showing on that front, but simply being better than what T1 did won’t be enough to take out Gen.G.

On the plus side, Yoo “Delight” Hwan-joong had a particularly lackluster upper final. With an underperforming support, HLE’s task was much harder, especially as bot lane should be their angle of attack against Gen.G.

Additionally, Hanwha Life Esports has yet to be beaten with Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok on Cho’Gath. Securing that one game with the pick and banking on the bot lane faring better are the hopes of HLE’s fans.

Only Gen.G and HLE are left to win the LCK Season 2026. Image Credit: Riot Games

What traders are saying

Users on the League of Legends subreddit actually believe in HLE’s ability to make it a close game. There mainly is faith in Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong being the better ADC. At the same time, users agree that T1 did not test HLE much.

Our prediction

Prediction: Gen.G to win

While the match isn’t hopeless for HLE, we’re witnessing Gen.G coming back into peak form, and that’s a scary thought. The meta fits them better once again and they haven’t had a real competitor in several weeks. Whether this turns into another era of unbeatable Gen.G is a question for later, but we predict them winning the LCK grand final.

Let us know your predictions on our forums.

Featured Image Credit: Riot Games