T1 vs Hanwha Life Esports Preview: Gumayusi and Peyz Clash to Start the Season

They may have won three consecutive World Championships together, but that's all in the past now that Gumayusi and his former T1 teammates of Faker, Oner, and Keria will be facing each other in an official LCK match for the first time ever.

Tune in to T1's blazing start to the season on Friday, January 16, at 2:30 am PT/11:30 am CET.

T1 vs HLE: Time to Settle a Score

Just one month ago, Guma and his ex-teammates got a taste of life on opposite sides of the Rift during the 2025 KeSPA Cup. There, Hanwha Life Esports took down the reigning World Champs 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, only for T1 to claw their way back through the Lower Bracket and secure revenge in the Grand Finals to win the whole thing.

Now, T1 and Hanwha Life are kicking off their respective LCK runs for 2026 with a match between two of the most talented bot lanes (and overall teams, really) in all of pro League. 

With a 1-1 head-to-head between Guma and his ex-teammates so far, this match should prove important both for the 2026 LCK Cup as a whole, as well as for a little bit of bragging rights.

For HLE, a strong performance here would show just how serious of a contender this team is, not just when it comes to this year's LCK Cup, but potentially for First Stand later down the road as well.

As for T1, a win over HLE would place Faker's squad in a great position to compete with Gen.G for first place of Group Baron in the LCK Cup. For all of their international success, the last time that T1 came away with an LCK trophy was all the way back in the Spring of 2022, so perhaps it's about time to start collecting some regional silverware once more.

Matchup to Watch: Guma & Delight vs Peyz & Keria

Before we get into the absolute showdown that should be this botlane clash, it's worth noting that Gumayusi has never played an official LCK match without Keria as his Support. With that in mind, expect Guma to come out ready to prove a point.

Now, given the amount of changes that have arrived to the ADC role (7th item slot, more gold, new items, higher crit damage) with the new season of League of Legends, both Guma and Peyz have plenty of options to work with. 

With how strong Ezreal appears to be in the current patch (26.01), and the fact that Peyz has never shied away from the pick, it seems highly likely that T1 would look to The Prodigal Explorer in their draft. This would in turn allow Keria to go for a more roam/playmaking style Support pick; a strength of his, to say the least.

Guma, meanwhile, would likely prioritize something like Yunara early on, which would pair nicely with Delight's proficiency on engage champs like Alistar. If the series goes the distance, Jhin is always a more-than-viable option for Guma as he works to setup Zeka and Zeus to take over and get the team over the finish line.

One is the reigning Worlds Finals MVP; the other, the reigning KeSPA Cup Finals MVP. Whichever way this bout ends up playing out, make sure to keep an eye out for the early 2v2 matchup in the bot lane.

The top AD carry players in the world have come out to a flying start to the year — what with Ruler styling on DRX and GALA picking up a pentakill on his very first game of the season. Knowing Peyz and Gumayusi, they will not want to fall behind.

Prediction: Who Takes the Match?

Admittedly, a matchup of this level is always hard to predict, particularly this early into the season. That said, Hanwha Life's landing one of the very best Junglers in the world in Kanavi during the offseason, coupled with T1's habitual slow start to the season, has to give HLE the edge here.

Make no mistake, this match should certainly prove to be a hard-fought battle either way. In the end, though, we predict Hanwha Life to take the series 2-1.

Catch T1 vs Hanwha Life Esports on the official LCK channels on Twitch or YouTube this Friday, January 16, starting at 2:30 am PT/11:30 am CET.

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Featured image credit: KeSPA

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