For MSI 2026, the LCK arrives as it always does, draped in the air of a favourite. But this year the region looks more fragile than usual. Two-time defending champion Gen.G have fallen and will not defend their title, leaving the crown vacant. And the team carrying Korea's first seed into Daejeon, on home soil, is one chasing a trophy — while the dynasty everyone knows is still chasing the one that got away.
T1 — the haunted house
The great T1 dynasty needs no introduction. Three Worlds in a row sit in the cabinet, yet one major trophy is conspicuously missing from it: the MSI. Lee "" Sang-hyeok lifted it back in 2016 and 2017, but none of the teammates who built this new dynasty alongside him have ever managed it — and not for lack of trying. A five-game final last year. Five-game semis in 2023 and 2024. Another five-game final in 2022.
