‘Wonju bloodbath’ ends with T1 as the final winner, a 3-2 victory over Gen.G after a full-set thriller… fifth straight MSI secured!

T1’s ‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok. Courtesy of Riot Games

The team that will head to the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) alongside Hanwha Life Esports was T1. After a grueling slugfest with Gen.G, T1 claimed victory and seized their ticket to the 2026 MSI.

On the 14th at Wonju DB Promy Arena, in the final Round 5 of the MSI representative qualifier ‘Road to MSI 2026’, T1 defeated Gen.G 3-2 after a full five-game war.

Having finished Rounds 12 of the LCK in second place to go straight to Wonju, T1 lost to Hanwha Life in Round 3 on the 12th and yielded the LCK No. 1 seed. But by beating Gen.G on this day, they secured the LCK No. 2 seed and will attend MSI for the fifth consecutive year. Meanwhile, Gen.G, who had achieved back-to-back MSI titles in 20242025, fell short and saw their three-peat bid end.

As befits a showdown between the LCK’s top rivals, every set was a brutal fight.

Gen.G struck first in Game 1 on the back of ‘Duro’ Joo Min-gyu’s play on support Camille. But T1 brought the series level in Game 2. Around 27 minutes, T1 won big in a skirmish at Baron, and around 34 minutes, at the fight over the fourth drake, T1 prevailed again as ‘Paze’ Kim Soo-hwan’s Kalista survived to the end to carry the win.

T1’s ‘Oner’ Moon Hyun-jun. Courtesy of Riot Games

Riding the momentum, T1 took Game 3 as well. The game stayed even through mid stages, but it broke open around 44 minutes at the Elder Dragon fight. T1 picked off ‘Kiin’ Kim Ki-in’s champion, while Gen.G took down ‘Oner’ Moon Hyun-jun’s Wukong, setting up a 4v4. Then ‘Doran’ Choi Hyun-jun’s Olaf dove boldly into the heart of the enemy and, by the narrowest of margins, juggled the fight to perfection as T1 swept four kills and marched straight to the nexus to end it.

It looked like T1 might carry that into Game 4 as well, but Gen.G were not so easily subdued. Around 17 minutes, ‘Paze’ Kim Soo-hwan’s pick exploded with a quadra kill and rapid scaling, seemingly pulling T1 toward victory. However, around 30 minutes, Gen.G won the fight at dragon and the momentum swung their way. Gen.G then secured Ocean Soul and even Baron, fully seizing control, and they pushed to the nexus to force a surrender.

In the final Game 5, Gen.G set the tone early by succeeding with a top dive and then catching ‘Keria’ Ryu Min-seok’s Neeko. Kim Ki-in’s Renekton even produced a highlight with a solo kill on ‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok.

But T1 did not give up. Around 24 minutes, at the fight for the third drake, Moon Hyun-jun’s Naafiri and Lee Sang-hyeok’s Ryze stayed alive to the end to ace the opponents, flipping the game in an instant. They then rushed straight to Baron to secure it, and in the immediately ensuing 5v5, they pulled off another ace without losing a single member, surging to the nexus to put the series to bed.