Hanwha Life Esports came from behind to defeat Bilibili Gaming on Sunday in the grand final in the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational in Daejeon, South Korea.
The winners walked away with the $500,000 top prize and an automatic entry in the 2026 World Championship this fall.
Hanwha Life opened with a win in 43 minutes on red, but Bilibili took the next two contests in 32 minutes each — one on red, one on blue. Hanwha Life closed out the tournament with a pair of victories on red in 31 and 36 minutes.
The result could be considered a surprise since Bilibili Gaming posted a 3-1 win over Hanwha Life on Thursday in the upper-bracket final. The forced Hanwha Life to play an extra round in the lower-bracket final, where they defeated LYON 3-2 on Saturday.
Woo-je “Zeus” Choi, a 22-year-old South Korean playing for Hanwha Life, took MVP honors with a 19-23-33 kills-deaths-assists line.
The 2026 World Championship is scheduled to be held Oct. 15-Nov. 14 at three U.S. cities — Los Angeles, New York and the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas.
2026 Mid-Season Invitational prize pool:
1. $500,000 — Hanwha Life Esports
2. $300,000 — Bilibili Gaming
3. $240,000 — LYON
4. $200,000 — G2 Esports
5-6. $160,000 — T1, Secret Whales
7-8. $110,000 — FURIA, Top Esports
9. $90,000 — Team Liquid
10. $70,000 — Karmine Corp.
11. $60,000 — Deep Cross Gaming
–Field Level Media
