Hanwha Life sweeps opener in Mid-Season Invitational bracket stage

Field Level Media|published: Fri 3rd July, 13:33 2026

Gen.G advanced in the League of Legends competition at the Esports World Cup on July 19, 2025

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

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