JiaQi’s Jhin Holds Firm as IG Seize Game 3

TL;DR: With the LPL 2026 Grand Finals level at 1-1, Invictus Gaming claimed the pivotal Game 3 over Team WE through a chaotic 33:50 battle. JiaQi’s Jhin supplied the decisive stability with an 8/2/6 line, allowing IG to win despite trailing in kills, gold, and barons.

Key Takeaways

• JiaQi posted a 7.00 KDA on Jhin, and his 8/2/6 score gave Invictus Gaming the reliable finishing damage needed to survive Team WE’s pressure.
• Karis went deathless at 9/0/8 on Corki, yet Team WE’s 70.7k gold and 22 kills did not become a winning close.
• Invictus Gaming won with 9 towers and 3 dragons, proving their map control mattered more than Team WE’s 2 barons.

Trading Blows

This was the series swing game, and neither side gave it a calm shape. Team WE built a 22-18 edge in kills, collected 2 barons, and finished with 70.7k to 67.9k gold, a narrow 2.8k advantage. About kept the pressure coming through Ashe, recording 6/3/11 as WE repeatedly created ranged poke windows.

Invictus Gaming refused to let those advantages turn into a clean siege. Wei absorbed the disorder on Trundle with 2/6/11, while his side matched WE’s 9 towers and took the more valuable dragon count, 3 to 2. The game repeatedly threatened to break open, but IG kept finding enough space to reset the map.

The Deciding Factor

JiaQi became the anchor amid that disorder. His Jhin did not need every fight to be perfect; the 8/2/6 performance ensured that whenever Team WE overextended or split its formation, IG had the damage to punish it.

Across the map, TheShy contributed 4/5/9 on Yorick, giving the winning side a persistent side-lane problem that prevented WE from converting Baron pressure into a final, unified push. The result was a game where the losing team in raw resources still made the cleaner decisive moments.

What Made the Difference

The live draft model gave Xi'an Team WE 52%, but that narrow draft edge did not materialize as a victory. Ashe, Maokai, Jayce, and Corki supplied credible poke and engage tools, and Monki added 3/7/8 on Maokai, yet IG’s execution repeatedly denied the stable formations that composition required.

Rookie supplied 2/4/8 on Twisted Fate, helping the team answer side-lane threats and keep the game fractured. That mattered more than the pre-series projection: Invictus Gaming had been favored at 59.5%, with JiaQi identified as a key early-game difference-maker, and the favourite ultimately delivered under pressure.

Polymarket Market

Polymarket read the winner correctly at draft close, pricing Invictus Gaming at 56% against Xi'an Team WE’s 44%. The series market had also leaned toward IG before Game 1, at 60% to 40%, so this result reinforced rather than reversed the day’s broad expectation. What the market could not fully anticipate was how close the execution would be: Team WE secured 22 kills, 2 barons, and a 2.8k gold lead, yet still lost control of the finish. After Game 3, the series market moved from 60% to 80% for Invictus Gaming, while Xi'an Team WE fell from 40% to 20%, making the next game a steep recovery test.

Match Stats

FAQ

*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-09-06 09:05 UTC.*