MSI 2026 Match Review – Hanwha Life Esports Versus LYON: LYON’s Hopes Crushed at The Final Moments

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By:Devin Morris
The MSI 2026 Logo

No one expected LYON to be in the MSI Lower Bracket Final. They dismantled G2 Esports, who had previously beaten T1. LYON came into this series swinging and never let HLE have their way. LYON was competitive in every game, even in their losses. While many might look at the fifth game as a stomp, they were close to a win. If Delight does not land those hooks, and one more play goes their way, LYON could have been in the MSI Grand Final.

MSI 2026: Game One Review

HLE beating LYON 3-2 to reach the MSI Grand Finals
Image of HLE Beating LYON at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

LYON – Blue Side

  • Ambessa
  • Qiyana
  • Ryze
  • Jhin
  • Poppy

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Sion
  • Jarvan IV
  • Syndra
  • Ziggs
  • Camille

Burning Spells Early

Delight engages on Isles to burn his Steadfast presence. That allows Kanavi to gank the bot lane. The gank secures a first blood kill for Gumayusi. Inspired and Isles land a kill on Gumayusi, who was looking to ward the bush. Everyone but the bot laners is in the top lane at 6 minutes. HLE is first on the play and earns two kills. Inspired kills Kanavi, but not without giving his life.

Saint Steals the Drake

LYON looks to contest the second Drake of the game. They lose 2 to 1 in kills, but Saint steals the objective to deny the Drake stacking. HLE extend their advantage through playing around Gumayusi. An aggressive play from Isles as HLE try to collapse earns kills on Kanavi and Delight. The play negates the gold lead, and they get the Rift Herald right after. Another punish from LYON results in two more kills and their first gold lead of the game.

Saint Dies on the Hextech Soul

With LYON trying to circle HLE, HLE catch Saint in the mid lane. As a result, LYON give up the Hextech Soul. After another pick, this time on Isles, HLE move towards the Baron. Inspired kills Delight as he tries to prevent him from entering the pit. Isles teleports back in as LYON look to fight. Zeus dies, but the rest of LYON’s members, along with the Baron, fall.

A Sneaky Elder Drake

HLE push to break open LYON’s base as the Elder Drake spawns. LYON have other ideas and send Inspired and Saint to the objective. HLE arrives, but Inspired lands the Smite. LYON win the fight with only the solo laners left alive on HLE. LYON stalls out the game with the Elder buff. Kanavi catches Inspired in the top lane, leading to HLE winning the fight to end the first game.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 8
  • Kanavi – 6
  • Zeka – 7
  • Gumayusi – 8
  • Delight – 6

LYON

  • Dhokla – 5
  • Inspired – 6
  • Saint – 6
  • Berserker – 4
  • Isles – 6

Player of the Game – Zeus

MSI 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

Hanwha Life Esports – Blue Side

  • Anivia
  • Nocturne
  • Orianna
  • Miss Fortune
  • Rakan

LYON – Second Pick

  • Gragas
  • Lee Sin
  • Akali
  • Ezreal
  • Alistar

HLE’s Lanes Win Early

All three of HLE’s lanes have an early lead, thanks to the laning phase. The teams battle over the Grubs, Isles, and Inspired look for Kanavi, but they go too far. With nothing left, Gumayusi runs Isles down for the first blood. Delight and Kanavi do not coordinate well on the Dake fight, and LYON have the space to get a win.

LYON Come Alive

The teams contest at the Rift Herald for a 5v5 fight. It looks difficult early for LYON. However, Saint and Inspired clutch the fight to trade three for three. LYON break open the bot lane with a dive on Zeus. They use the Rift Herald to destroy both bot towers. At the same time, Dhokla dies, and HLE pick up the mid and top outer tower. HLE thinks they have killed Inspired, but he lives long enough for LYON to turn the fight around. They now have a 1k gold lead.

HLE Cannot Out-Teamfight LYON

Kanavi goes in with Zeka’s Shockwave, but Saint Stopwatch the combo. LYON chase the rest of HLE and move back to the Baron. LYON does not let HLE get close to the Hextech Soul. They take the Drake and then chase every HLE member to end the game.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 4
  • Kanavi – 3
  • Zeka – 3
  • Gumayusi – 4
  • Delight – 3

LYON

  • Dhokla – 7
  • Inspired – 9
  • Saint – 8
  • Berserker – 7
  • Isles – 7

Player of the Game – Inspired

MSI 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

LYON – Blue Side

  • Gwen
  • Skarner
  • Viktor
  • Lucian
  • Milio

Hanwha Life Esports – First Pick

  • Rumble
  • Vi
  • Yone
  • Kog’Maw
  • Lulu

LYON Wins the 2v2 Early

With heavy trading in the bot lane, Berserker and Isles win the 2v2 as Berserker picks up the first blood kill on Gumayusi. Kanavi helps Zeka’s lane with a dive, while Inspired dives Gumayusi for his second death of the game. Kanavi takes control of the mid-game with a significant farm lead.

Top Side Versus Bot Side

Zeus solo kills Dhokla, but at the same time Inspired joins his bot lane in another dive. They kill both HLE bot laners, with Inspired dying. Berserker has a 2k gold lead against 1k on both Zeus and Kanavi. LYON looks to dive Zeka. He dies, but three HLE members show up. Kanavi lives long enough for him and Zeus to clean up. At the same time, Dhokla solo kills Gumayusi.

Berserker’s Lead Falls Off

HLE makes a play onto Berserker, and Gumayusi picks up the kill to recover some of the deficit. HLE breaks open the mid and bot lane, while LYON dives Zeus for his shutdown. Dhokla is the only death on the Hextech Soul point fight, and LYON have to give up the objective.

Mistakes from HLE

HLE overextends on the mid lane. Zeka dies instantly, and Zeus has to go in to save Gumayusi. Both of them still die, and LYON gets the Baron. Kanavi decides to fight Saint, dies, and gives the shutdown gold to Saint. Gumayusi dies in the mid lane again; HLE crumbles. They barely defend, and the teams move to the Drake. LYON wins the fight and denies the Hextech Soul. Saint and Berserker force HLE from their Nexus towers. They push for the end.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 6
  • Kanavi – 7
  • Zeka – 6
  • Gumayusi – 4
  • Delight – 5

LYON

  • Dhokla – 5
  • Inspired – 6
  • Saint – 8
  • Berserker – 8
  • Isles – 7

MSI 2026: Game Four Review

Draft

LYON – Blue Side

  • Jayce
  • Pantheon
  • Annie
  • Mel
  • Pyke

Hanwha Life Esports – Second Pick

  • Swain
  • Naafiri
  • Aurora
  • Caitlyn
  • Karma

Action in the Top Lane

Inspired and Isles join Dhokla to dive Zeus. Kanavi arrives to trade 2 for 2 on the dive. Isles returns to the top lane and helps Dhokla kill Zeus again. Kanavi arrives in time once again to kill Dhokla. Kanavi and Delight then dive Isles, and the supports trade their lives. Kanavi has four kills early. The game slows down with only one kill for Isles.

Isles Sets Up LYON

Isles catches Zeka on his Between Worlds with his Flash. Zeus teleports up to save his mid laner, but he is too late and dies as well. LYON overextends in HLE’s Jungle. HLE chases them down for three kills to negate the gold lead. LYON recovers their lead by giving up the Drake and playing the map. For the second time in the game, LYON overpushes in HLE’s Jungle and loses the fight. HLE takes the Mountain Soul, another fight win, and moves towards the Baron. HLE sends the series to Silver Scrapes with the Baron push.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

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

LYON

  • Dhokla – 4
  • Inspired – 4
  • Saint – 5
  • Berserker – 4
  • Isles – 7

Player of the Game – Kanavi

MSI 2026: Game Five Review

Draft

Hanwha Life Esports – Blue Side

  • Aatrox
  • Nidalee
  • Ahri
  • Kalista
  • Blitzcrank

LYON – Second Pick

  • Shen
  • Xin Zhao
  • Sylas
  • Xayah
  • Renata Glasc

Early Bot Lane Pressure

With pressure towards the bot lane, HLE burns the Summoner Spells of LYON’s bot lane. HLE all-in, and Zeus denies the Stand United, allowing Delight to take the first blood. LYON looks to break open the bot lane. They get onto Gumayusi, but the HLE solo laners teleport in. Delight’s Hook saves Zeus, and three kills go to Zeka. At 15 minutes, everyone but Delight has a 1k gold lead.

LYON Missing Out On Gold

LYON have an ideal fight in HLE’s Jungle. They kill Kanavi, and Zeka overextends. However, Delight lands the vital Hook again to save Gumayusi, and HLE cleans up. HLE secures the second Drake, and they crush yet another fight thanks to Delight. All of a sudden, HLE has a 9k gold lead. All five LYON members fall right before the 20-minute Baron spawn. HLE takes the objective, pushing them 12k ahead. HLE wins the fight in LYON’s base, and the MSI series ends.

Player Ratings

Hanwha Life Esports

  • Zeus – 8
  • Kanavi – 8
  • Zeka – 7
  • Gumayusi – 7
  • Delight – 9

LYON

  • Dhokla – 3
  • Inspired – 5
  • Saint – 5
  • Berserker – 4
  • Saint – 4

Player of the Game – Delight

MSI 2026: Series Ratings

HLE qualifying for the MSI Grand Finals
Image of HLE at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Hanwha Life Esports

Zeus – 6.6 (Total Apex Player of the Series)

Zeus’ weakest performance of the series was on the Anivia. He was not terrible in any means, but did have a couple of mistakes. For the rest of the series, he played well. The Swain and Aatrox were pivotal for HLE with their backs against the wall.

Kanavi – 6.4

Kanavi started slow, but ramped up as the series continued. He had a couple of unnecessary deaths on Jarvan IV, and had horror engagements as Nocturne. He was in charge for the rest of the series, dominating as Vi, Naafiri, and Nidalee.

Zeka – 6.0

Zeka’s mistake on Yone cost HLE game three. Had he not missed his Q3, HLE might have run away with the win. He was not at his best in the series, but did have solid games on Aurora and Ahri.

Gumayusi – 6.0

Gumayusi started the series well with the Ziggs performance. He tailed off in the mid parts, losing out in the 2v2 to Berserker and Isles in game three. He got back on his feet for the rest of the series and played stable for the HLE win.

Delight – 6.0

Delight needed to bounce back after the Bilibili Gaming series. He had that today, with the only errant game being on Rakan, an unusual occurrence for him. The Blitzcrank in game five was everything HLE needed and more. His two hooks over the wall in consecutive fights saved HLE in Game 5.

LYON

Dhokla – 4.8

Dhokla had a difficult time against Zeus. While he held his own in some games, the pressure told. Whether it was him dying solo to Zeus, or HLE repeatedly targeting him, he never had room to maneuver in the series.

Inspired – 6.0

The biggest criticism of Inspired for this MSI series was his Smites. He lost out on a couple of vital Smites that nearly cost LYON. He leads the line for the team, and this series was no different. He was front and center for almost every positive LYON play.

Saint – 6.4

A massive step up from Saint once again in this MSI series. While Zeka was not at his lethal best, that takes nothing away from Saint’s performance. He was instrumental in LYON’s two-game wins. He dominated as Akali and was a big reason why LYON made the game three comeback.

Berserker 5.4

Besides the game three Lucian performance, Berserker had a quiet series. He never really got his chance to impact the map. He gave away his lead in game three, but recovered and joined Saint in the comeback.

Isles – 6.2

The biggest surprise of the MSI series. Not only did Isles have a consistent series, but he also did it on champions no one expected him to. After having the worst Pyke performance of the tournament against FURIA, he was the best LYON in that game.

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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