On September 13, 2026, the LPL 2026 Finals concluded at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The final matchup was between AL and BLG. Even before the match began, it was filled with talking points. After restructuring, AL gradually matured over the past two years, showcasing extraordinary team coordination and mid-jungle-support synergy, becoming a formidable force. On the other side, BLG has been the undisputed king of the LPL in recent years. Their top-tier player skills and excellent tactical execution once demonstrated a gap-leading team strength. In this year's playoffs, BLG showed even hotter competitive form.
The reason this match attracted so much attention is not only because it was a clash of titans, but also because in the recent winners' bracket final, BLG swept AL 3-0, kicking them into the losers' bracket. AL, reborn from the losers' bracket, showed stronger dominance on the field. Whether BLG could handle it as easily as before was unknown.
In the end, the match result was quite unexpected. AL defeated BLG with a score of 3-1, becoming the champion of the 2026 LPL Finals, ending BLG's multi-year championship reign, and becoming the new owner of the Silver Dragon Cup.
After the match, we interviewed AL's players together with other media friends.
Below is the specific content of the interview:
Q: Coach BigWei, leading AL to win the 2026 LPL Championship for the first time, what does this trophy mean to you personally? What would you like to say to everyone after winning this trophy?
Coach BigWei:This championship makes me feel that the efforts of our entire organization were worthwhile. Thanks to our players for their diligent daily training, thanks to the coaching staff for their constant help, and thanks to all the staff members for their strong support.
Q: Breathe, you made Zeus's lightning gesture during your entrance. Why did you design this entrance move?
Breathe:I felt that "summoning the god" might make me play more confidently, and it could also draw the opponent's attention.
Q: Hope, it has been four years since 2022 that you have entered the World Championship as the #1 seed again. How does your mindset differ from four years ago?
Hope:Hard work pays off.
Q: Kael, you mentioned before the match that you had many regrets this year. Having won your first LPL Championship today, do you feel these regrets have been made up for?
Kael:After all, there are still World Championship matches, so I need to prepare well for the upcoming Worlds and show a better side of myself.
Q: Breathe, since 2021, teams coming back from the losers' bracket have failed to win the championship. You broke this curse today. What do you think the experience of fighting through the losers' bracket gave you that the winners' bracket couldn't?
Breathe:During the losers' bracket stage, we might lack high-quality scrims, so using matches as practice gave us an advantage. As we became more familiar with the stage, we faced BLG in great form today.
Q: Coach Teacher Ma, leading the team to win the championship as a coach, how does your feeling differ from when you won important matches as a player?
Coach Teacher Ma:Since I never won a championship as a player, winning one as a coach is definitely very happy. I am also very grateful to the players and coaching staff; I think they worked hard all the way. The journey was indeed difficult, but winning the championship makes it worth everyone's effort.
Q: Hope and Shanks, from your first partnership to winning the team's first championship together, and from your first pairing to lifting the Silver Dragon Cup in the same period, what would you like to say to each other?
Shanks:I hope he becomes more and more confident, and I hope he gets a "Penta Kill" in every match.
Hope:I think he improves every year and has always been working hard. I want to tell him to win more matches and be more confident.
Q: Shanks, having successfully fought back from the losers' bracket semifinals to the finals, what do you think was the key reason for your team's rapid evolution in such a short time?
Shanks:We were beaten badly by BLG before, both in terms of game content and score, but our mentality was actually quite good. We felt our mentality could become even better, which allowed us to win.
Q: Tarzan, you mentioned in the promotional video that you didn't want to disappoint the fans. Now that AL is going to the World Championship as the #1 seed, what kind of image will you present to the fans?
Tarzan:It's still the same. We don't want to disappoint our fans, so we will work hard to play well.
Q: Shanks, the result of last year's World Championship was quite regrettable. Are you confident about making up for last year's regrets at this year's Worlds?
Shanks:I hope we maintain our good form. I think our performance today was excellent. If we can keep our mentality in check, we have a good chance of achieving great results at the upcoming World Championship.
Q: Breathe, do you have any special feelings about defeating Bin in the finals today?
Hope:I have fantasized many times about defeating him on the biggest stage, because Bin is the top laner I respect the most. Winning today means a lot to me, because I usually lost when facing him before. Finally winning makes me feel like I've made a breakthrough. Good luck at the World Championship.
Q: Breathe, how do you evaluate Bin's Kai'Sa performance in Game 2? Will you consider picking Kai'Sa in subsequent matches?
Breathe:Kai'Sa has appeared before with good results. Bin played Kai'Sa well in today's match, so if there's an opportunity later, I will consider picking her.
Q: Breathe, during the trash-talking segment, Bin mentioned that he had a 100% BO5 win rate against you. Today you broke that statistic. How do you feel? Do you have anything to say in response?
Breathe:I'm just very happy. From my perspective, this shows that I've made a breakthrough, and I feel I will play even better in the future. As for a response, I don't really have one, because I've always admired Bin. Playing against him indeed brings the most pressure, so winning today means a lot to me.
Q: Tarzan, before the match, you quoted Peanut saying, "As long as your form in the finals is better than your opponent's, you can win." Today you also won the FMVP. Looking back at that statement now, how do you feel?
Tarzan:I think that statement really relaxed me and gave me confidence. Thank you, Peanut.
Q: Facing an opponent who had previously defeated you 3-0, you successfully took revenge today. Compared to being eager to strike back, how did you adjust quickly?
Breathe:Tarzan said he did it on purpose, because he felt that if we had beaten BLG earlier, we wouldn't have won the championship today. So having the championship now is pretty good.
Tarzan:Because we lost miserably last time, it can't be worse than that, so I had no pressure at all today. I just enjoyed the match.
Shanks:After being crushed by BLG last time, I realized BLG is very strong. So today, I just wanted to play good game content, putting winning or losing aside, which made me more relaxed. I was quite happy to finally beat BLG because they are really strong and put a lot of pressure in-game.
Hope:Basically, I wasn't worried. I just played relaxed this time, without any burden.
Kael:Compared to the previous match, our performance today was more relaxed.
Coach BigWei:After playing against BLG last time, we realized some issues. Since we have a lot of match history with them, we studied some of the cause-and-effect relationships. This time, we made some adjustments on the finals stage, and the results were quite good. We are quite fortunate.
Q: As the LPL's #1 seed heading to this year's World Championship, which team do you most want to face?
Breathe:Since we're quite familiar with teams from our own region, I hope to face top laners from the LCK, because they are exceptionally strong.
Tarzan:I feel that in the current version, every team has its own strengths, so I hope to face teams from other regions.
Shanks:Personally, I hope to face GEN and T1. Losing to them last year was very painful.
Hope:I think any team that qualifies is strong. I prefer that we focus on preparing our own strategies well.
Kael:The team I most hope to face is Keria's team, because I thought they were very strong last year, so I want to play against them.
Q: Hope, the promotional video said that not many people were optimistic about AL when the team was formed, but you made it here. Winning the championship also means opening a new chapter. At this moment, what do you most want to say to everyone in AL?
Hope:First, winning the championship proves that everyone's efforts have paid off. I want to say thank you for your hard work to everyone. We have a break coming up, so I hope everyone relaxes well and then prepares even harder for the World Championship, because it is a very important tournament. Let's go together.
Q: Breathe, when you got the ticket to the World Championship in 2022, you couldn't hold back your tears on stage. After going through ups and downs, you have now won the LPL Championship together, shedding tears on the stage again. What are the differences between these two instances of tears?
Breathe:I think the similarities are quite significant, because both involved breaking through achievements I hadn't reached before, so there isn't really much difference.
Q: Tarzan, it happens to be the 15th anniversary of League of Legends. What do you think are the reasons you have maintained your passion? What do you feel League of Legends has brought to you?
Tarzan:What League of Legends has given me is like life itself; it constantly provides opportunities for growth and learning. Being able to keep learning and staying motivated is truly meaningful to me.
Q: Breathe, after joining AL and achieving such good results today, have your playstyle and style changed?
Breathe:Joining AL has been quite a dreamlike experience, and we achieved a very good result. After joining AL, my change is that I don't focus as much on laning as before; I consider many things in terms of team fights and coordinating with teammates.
Q: Kael, how do you evaluate the performance of BLG's bot lane today?
Kael:I think their bot lane duo is very strong. During our BP, the coaching staff let us pick champions we were more comfortable with, and we are very satisfied with today's result.
Q: Coach Despa1r, AL fought all the way from the losers' bracket to lift the LPL Championship trophy today. What aspect of this team makes you most proud?
Coach Despa1r:I genuinely feel that everyone really wants to win every match, and we devote ourselves to the game every day.
Q: Tarzan, your performance tonight and last night was very eye-catching. Did you do any special pre-match preparations or have any secret tricks that led to such a performance?
Tarzan:I don't feel like there was anything special. I just played without pressure, enjoying the stage and the match.
Q: Having successfully lifted the Silver Dragon Cup, do you have anything to say to the fans who have supported you all the way?
Breathe:Thank them for their continuous support. We faced a lot of doubts along the way, but now we have broken through, defeated such a strong opponent as BLG, and won the Finals Championship.
Tarzan:First of all, thank you to our fans for their continuous support. Because they have always supported us, we kept striving and growing to reach where we are today. Thank you.
Shanks:I feel our fans have had a tough time, because our year was quite difficult and torturous. I hope they can enjoy themselves today.
Hope:First, I want to say thank you to the fans who support us. Whether we win or lose, there are always fans waiting for us and cheering us on. Thank you everyone for your continuous support; it hasn't been easy.
Kael:Thank you to the fans for their continuous support. I hope the fans can be happy today.
Coach BigWei:Although we won the championship today, we have an even tougher road ahead. The World Championship is the most important to me because my results at Worlds in the past few years were not ideal. So this time, I want to repay the fans who have always supported AL with better World Championship results.
Coach Teacher Ma:Mainly because our journey was quite rough, but fans still came to the venue to cheer for us, which moved me greatly. In the future, we will repay our fans with better results. Thank you.
DeCoach Despa1r:Even when we lost matches before, we could hear a lot of support from our fans. Later at the World Championship, we will work with the coaching staff and players to find ways to achieve better results to repay our fans.