MSI 2026 Match Review – Hanwha Life Esports Versus G2 Esports: HLE Slap G2 Back Down to Reality

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By:Devin Morris
The MSI 2026 Logo

G2 earned a reverse sweep in their opening MSI series against Top Esports. They had to take a step further to beat Hanwha Life Esports. However, despite some interesting drafts, they could not match HLE’s aggression. The LCK first seed ran away with the second and third games. Both were two of the most dominant performances at the tournament. HLE progressed to the Upper Bracket Final, where they meet Bilibili Gaming.

MSI 2026: Game One Review

Hanwha Life Esports reached the Upper Bracket final by defeating G2 3-0 at MSI
Image of HLE beating G2 at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

Hanwha Life Esports – Blue Side

  • Ambessa
  • Vi
  • Yone
  • Ziggs
  • Camille

G2 Esports – Second Pick

  • Warwick
  • Xin Zhao
  • Ryze
  • Seraphine
  • Nautilus

G2’s Initial Skirmish

The top laners, junglers, and supports for both sides skirmish on the top side of the map. Kanavi misses his Vault Breaker, and that triggers G2 to fight. They pick up two kills, with only Zeus left alive. HLE fight back with kills of their own. Minutes later, HLE have four kills and a 1k gold lead. G2 forces a five-player play in the top lane. Delight dies, but they lose their bot lane in trade. HLE break multiple turrets in the mid game and extend their gold lead to 4k.

Hope Comes Crashing Down

G2 open on the map first and kill Delight, Zeka, and Gumayusi. Zeus shuts down the hope as he lands the Public Execution on Caps. He tears through the surviving G2 members. G2 shut down Zeus in trade for the Baron. G2 pulls the trigger first in the Mountain Soul fight and denies the objective. The teams opt for multiple scraps that neither team controls. G2 barely wins the Drake fight, but they can not take the Drake yet. BrokenBlade’s Warwick tore them apart.

A Failed Dive from G2

G2 refuses to give HLE time to breathe. They kill Gumayusi, but that is all they get. Gumayusi deals significant damage before he dies. HLE aces G2 and takes the Mountain Soul. The Baron fight is more of the same. Gumayusi sides, but G2 can not fight back against the rest of the team.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 8
  • Kanavi – 8
  • Zeka – 8
  • Gumayusi – 7
  • Delight – 5

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 7
  • SkewMond – 5
  • Caps – 5
  • Hans Sama – 3
  • Labrov – 6

Player of the Game – Zeus

MSI 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

Hanwha Life Esports – Blue Side

  • Anivia
  • Jarvan IV
  • Sylas
  • Lucian
  • Milio

G2 Esports – Second Pick

  • Yasuo
  • Lee Sin
  • Syndra
  • Yunara
  • Lulu

Flawless Bot Lane Play

Gumayusi and Delight win the early trades. Along with Kanavi, they force the G2 bot lane away from the tower. When they return, Gumayusi chunks the bot lane again. Zeka and Kanavi arrive to get three kills. The snowball keeps rolling as G2’s bot lane can not kill Gumayusi in a 2v1, and Zeka teleports to kill Hans Sama.

G2 Fights Back

After a play in the mid lane and a bot lane skirmish win, G2 recover most of the gold lead. At the same time as the skirmish, Caps ganks Zeus to get a kill for himself. The moment of reprieve does not last long as HLE wins another skirmish. BrokenBlade and Caps die in the side lanes, and all of a sudden the gold lead increases to 4k. It goes from bad to worse as every play goes to HLE. HLE, with Baron, ends the game in 24 minutes.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 9
  • Kanavi – 9
  • Zeka – 9
  • Gumayusi – 9
  • Delight – 9

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 3
  • SkewMond – 4
  • Caps – 4
  • Hans Sama – 2
  • Labrov – 3

Player of the Game – Zeka

MSI 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

Hanwha Life Esports – Blue Side

  • Rumble
  • Naafiri
  • LeBlanc
  • Caitlyn
  • Bard

G2 Esports – Second Pick

  • Twisted Fate
  • Wukong
  • Cassiopeia
  • Ezreal
  • Karma

Bot Lane Trades Again

Both bot lanes want to trade for priority. No one dies until the 5th minute mark. Labrov steps on a trap, and that leads to Kanavi getting the first blood. The early game explodes with another dive from Kanavi on BrokenBlade and Zeka solo-killing Caps. G2 get one kill on Kanavi during another dive, but that’s all they have at 12 minutes. HLE has eight kills, a tower, and a 5k gold lead.

The Snowball Rolls Down the Hill

For the second game in a row, HLE dominates the mid game. They make every play work and the gold lead keeps increasing. G2 get a handful of kills back, but it does not change the outcome. HLE are 12k ahead at 20 minutes. HLE can not end the game with Baron, but it is inevitable. They end the series at 25 minutes.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 9
  • Kanavi – 9
  • Zeka – 9
  • Gumayusi – 9
  • Delight – 9

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 2
  • SkewMond – 4
  • Caps – 3
  • Hans Sama – 3
  • Labrov – 2

Player of the Game – Kanavi

MSI 2026: Series Ratings

Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports meet in the MSI Upper Bracket Final
Image of BLG Versus HLE at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Hanwha Life Esports

Zeus – 8.7

Zeus was ready for all of BrokenBlade’s counter picks. He played steadily against the Warwick and then took control against the Yasuo. He needed the gank from Kanavi to get ahead in game three. The entire series, he was dominant.

Kanavi – 8.7

Kanavi had a couple of blunders during the series. None of them mattered, but that is what cost him from getting the player of the series. He led the way for HLE in fights, as they crushed G2.

Zeka – 8.7 (Total Apex Player of the Series)

Zeka narrowly gets the player of the series. He was unbelievable. He found numerous outplays and clip-farm moments in the series. As soon as he got a lead, he took control of the game.

Gumayusi – 8.3

Despite dying a couple of times in Game 1, he almost always dealt significant damage. He ensured that HLE’s top side could clean up the rest of the fight. He put G2’s bot lane down in game two with an impressive Lucian performance.

Delight – 7.7

Delight was one of the reasons G2 had chances in Game 1. He struggled to find the correct timings and got caught in bad positions. The rest of the series, he was fine and helped set up plays on Bard.

G2 Esports

BrokenBlade – 4.0

BrokenBlade performed well on Warwick. It was a step up from his Warwick game last year. He was not a cost in the early game and helped G2 to have some hope. The rest of the series was rough. Zeus and the rest of HLE shut him down at every turn.

SkewMond – 4.3

SkewMond was decent, considering the result. He had some good plays in the series. However, G2 were often too far behind or outclassed to make use of the gold that they got.

Hans Sama – 2.7

An underwhelming performance from Hans Sama. After being a point of difference in recent series against Eastern opposition, Hans Sama struggled. He did not look comfortable on Seraphine and could not keep up with Gumayusi.

Labrov – 3.7

Labrov had a good Nautilus game. If G2 won fights, he was leading the way. The rest of the series was more difficult. He could not play with proactivity on Lulu and Karma.

More MSI Content

Below is all the previous MSI content on Total Apex. You can expect more MSI articles in the following weeks.

Devin Morris is a Gaming Writer and Esports Editor for Total Apex Media. Devin is a gaming fanatic from little old South Africa. Devin has had a passion for gaming and writing from a young age. Devin's early favorites were Age of Empires, FIFA and Need for Speed games. As Devin grew older he moved into more competitive gaming, focusing on Overwatch, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. Devin also sinks way too many hours into Destiny 2!

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