LCK 2026 Regular Season Week 1: Unexpected Results Everywhere

The first week of the LCK regular season did not go as expected. KT Rolster currently appears to be the best team in the league. Their wins over Gen.G Esports and T1 have set them up for success for the rest of the season. Whether they can maintain that form is in question. T1, Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, FearX, and Dplus all look shaky in the first week.

Week 1 Predictions

BFX's LCK Match History against BRO before the Series — Image of BFX Versus BRO in the LCK, courtesy of the LCK/LoL Esports

The first week of the LCK was difficult to predict. Of the ten series played, we predicted the correct team five times. Of those five matches, we guessed the right score in two of them.

Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 HANJIN BRION

Prediction: HLE 2-0

T1 0-2 KT Rolster

Prediction: T1 2-1

Dplus KIA 0-2 Nongshim Redforce

Prediction: DK 2-0

KRX 0-2 DN SOOPers

Prediction: DNS 2-1

Gen.G Esports 1-2 KT Rolster

Prediction: Gen.G 2-0

FearX 0-2 HANJIN BRION

Prediction: BFX 2-0

T1 2-0 Hanwha Life Esports

Prediction: T1 2-1

Dplus KIA 2-0 KRX

Prediction: DK 2-1

Nongshim Redforce 2-0 DN SOOPers

Prediction: DNS 2-1

Gen.G Esports 2-0 FearX

Prediction: Gen.G 2-0

One Talking Point for each LCK Team

Week 1 Standings for the LCK Regular Season — Image of the Week 1 Standings, courtesy of the LCK/LoL Esports

Nongshim Redforce – Consistency

NS hit highs during the LCK Cup. They defeated HLE comfortably in their series. However, they also lost 3-0 to KRX in the play-ins. They have started the regular season well, but will NS continue the momentum they have garnered? Another consideration is that the teams they have faced have not performed well. DK was subpar, and DNS threw a winnable game.

KT Rolster – Was Effort All They Needed?

KT went to the World Championship finals last year. They then changed their botlane in the off-season, bringing in Aiming for AD Carry and Ghost, plus Pollu for support. Both supports made appearances during the LCK Cup, with Ghost getting the lion’s share of the matches. They faltered and have now brought in Effort from their challengers’ roster. The veteran support has made an impact, but was he all they needed? He has made the team more stable, but the team has improved across the board. PerfecT is in World Championship form, and Aiming has stepped up.

Gen.G Esports – Gone is Their Perfect Record

In the previous regular season, Gen.G won all eighteen of their matches before the Road to MSI. This time they fell at the first hurdle. After winning everything up until the Semi-Final against G2 Esports, everyone thought they were untouchable. Now, with their loss to KT, they are not as infallible as we may have assumed. However, losing to KT is something Gen.G does every year. Maybe they are getting the loss out of the way early.

T1 – Draft Issues

Draft continues to be T1’s problem. They have struggled with this aspect for many years, preferring their champion styles. It is more apparent this year, with the laning phases being pivotal. Previously, you could swap out of your lane at any point. Now you will need to stay there for the entire laning phase. That has made T1’s life far more difficult this year.

Dplus KIA – Nothing Has Changed

DK is the same team they were during the LCK Cup. They have high highs, but extremely low lows. Even in the same games, they can go from winning to losing in an instant. They lost heavily to NS and had an okay result against a struggling KRX.

DN SOOPers – Consistently Inconsistent

DNS delivered two widely different performances in the first week of the LCK. They dominated KRX, but lost a winnable Infernal Soul game to NS. Similar to DK, they can hit the highs, but the lows feel awful.

Hanwha Life Esports – Lack of Coordination

HLE struggled with coordination during the LCK Cup. It looked better against BRO at the start of the week. However, T1 exposed their weakness again. They had game two in the bag, but individuals fighting on bad timing led to their loss.

HANJION BRION – An Unexpected Win

BRO was the only team that went winless in the LCK Cup. Many expected them to be the worst team in the LCK. However, they surprised everyone by defeating BFX 2-0. They took advantage of the fact that the LCK Cup second seed has struggled since returning from First Stand.

KRX – Crumbling In Series

KRX tends to crumble in some situations. They are a team that can contend with the top teams in the LCK. However, they have often capitulated after mistakes in their series. The trend continued in the first week of the LCK.

FearX – Drafting and Teamfighting Questions

Two aspects that BFX thrived on during the LCK Cup were their drafts and teamfighting. Since their loss to G2 Esports at First Stand, they have lost their way. Giving Diable Senna against Gen.G was the most questionable choice. It is early days, and the team has the potential to return to winning ways.

Author

Devin Morris

I am a gaming fanatic from little old South Africa. I have had a passion for gaming and writing from a young age. My early favorites were Age of Empires, FIFA and Need for Speed games. As I grew older I moved into more competitive gaming, focusing on Overwatch, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. I also sink way too many hours into Destiny 2!