Hanwha Life and G2 Esports earned wins on Friday as action in the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage got underway in Daejeon, South Korea.
Hanwha Life swept Secret Whales in a Round 1 upper-bracket match, winning in 26, 28 and 30 minutes. Geon-woo “Zeka” Kim of South Korea paced the victors with a 20-2-13 kills-deaths-assists ratio.
G2 Esports had to rally for a 3-2 win against Top Esports, who took a 2-0 lead with wins in 34 and 32 minutes. G2 answered with wins in 27, 41 and 36 minutes, led by Rasmus Borregard “Caps” Winther of Denmark with a 34-19-33 KDA ratio.
All matches are best-of-five in the $2 million tournament, which concludes on July 12 with a top prize of $500,000. The winner of the grand final also qualifies for this fall’s 2026 World Championship.
Play continues in the double-elimination bracket stage Saturday with two more Round 1 matches: LYON vs. FURIA and Bilibili Gaming vs. T1.
2026 Mid-Season Invitational prize pool:
1. $500,000
2. $300,000
3. $240,000
4. $200,000
5-6. $160,000
7-8. $110,000
–Field Level Media
