GIDEON’s Xin Zhao Drives HANJIN BRION’s Game 3 Shock

TL;DR: With the LCK 2026 series level and Game 3 deciding who would take control, HANJIN BRION ignored a 28% market call. A patient, attrition-based snowball led by GIDEON’s Xin Zhao secured a 13-3 kill win, four dragons, two barons, and a commanding series lead.

Key Takeaways

• HANJIN BRION turned a 15k gold lead into a 74.0k to 58.6k finish, proving their upset was built through control rather than a single coin-flip fight.
• GIDEON posted a 4/1/6 line and 10.00 KDA on Xin Zhao, giving HANJIN BRION the dependable engage that KT Rolster could not dislodge.
• Roamer’s 5/0/4 LeBlanc performance made the mid-game collapse decisive, while his +557 GoldDiff@15 exposed KT Rolster’s fading map control.

Building the Lead

KT Rolster entered as the favored side, armed with a 52% live draft-model edge and a 72% Polymarket price at draft close. Yet HANJIN BRION’s actual composition quickly made that theoretical advantage look fragile.

The pre-draft watchlist flagged Ezreal, and the pick did appear exactly as anticipated. Teddy delivered a composed 2/1/5 on the champion, using safety and poke to support the slow squeeze rather than needing to be the primary carry. Across the map, Casting’s Jayce built a brutal +739 GoldDiff@15, helping deny the split-push pressure KT Rolster wanted from Yorick.

The Numbers Tell the Story

This was not a frantic brawl; it was an attrition win that steadily removed KT Rolster’s options. HANJIN BRION collected 4 dragons to 0, 2 barons to 0, and 10 towers to 2 over 35:10, converting every objective into more space and more gold.

Namgung’s Elise finished 0/1/5, but the support’s value was in enabling the map traps and picks that kept KT Rolster behind. Meanwhile, Bdd could only manage 1/2/1 on Zoe, as the predicted scaling and his exceptional champion history never materialized into a usable draft edge.

The Final Push

Once Baron pressure arrived, HANJIN BRION had the patience to finish instead of forcing highlights. Jiwoo’s Sivir ended 1/4/1, and KT Rolster lacked the damage and vision control to stop the closing siege.

The result gave HANJIN BRION a 2-1 series lead after KT Rolster had won Game 1 and HANJIN BRION answered in Game 2. Their 13-3 kill score reflected a game where every small advantage became another denied objective, until the favorite had no route back.

Polymarket Market

Polymarket did not read Game 3 correctly. KT Rolster were 72% at draft close while HANJIN BRION sat at 28%, despite the latter’s more aggressive Ezreal choice and superior early execution. The 52% draft-model edge for KT Rolster also failed to materialize: scaling meant little once HANJIN BRION owned every neutral objective and built a 15k gold lead. The day flipped the pre-series expectation as well, with KT Rolster initially priced at 74% versus 26%. After this result, the series market moved from 72% to 36% for KT Rolster and 28% to 64% for HANJIN BRION, signaling that the next game now belongs to the underdogs’ momentum.

Match Stats

FAQ

*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-08-26 10:45 UTC.*