Team Secret Whales win third consecutive LCP title, heading to Worlds as top seed

Team Secret Whales have done something that no other roster in the League of Legends Championship Pacific has managed: win three straight regional titles. With their Split 3 victory now secured, the team locks in the LCP’s top seed for the 2026 World Championship, scheduled to run from October 15 to November 14.

A dynasty built at breakneck speed

TSW claimed Split 1 back in March, followed it up with a Split 2 title in June, and now have the Split 3 trophy to complete the set. The Split 2 grand final saw them dispatch Deep Cross Gaming 3-1. TSW dropped just six games across 29 played during Split 2, essentially running through the league with an undefeated record in series.

At the center of that run is jungler Hizto, born Lê Văn Hoàng Hải, who at just 18 years old has already collected multiple MVP awards across LCP splits. The team also bolstered their roster with the addition of toplaner Pun, giving them another dimension in the solo lanes.

What the LCP actually is, and why it matters

The League of Legends Championship Pacific launched in 2025 as part of Riot Games’ broader overhaul of competitive League of Legends in the Asia-Pacific region. Riot consolidated multiple regional leagues into a single tier-one competition featuring eight teams. The structure is a hybrid model: three partnered organizations hold permanent slots, while five guest teams rotate in based on qualifying performance.

TSW emerged from a late-2024 merger between Team Secret, the storied European esports organization, and Team Whales, a Vietnamese outfit with deep local talent connections.

International track record: promising, but incomplete

At Worlds 2025, their first trip to the biggest tournament in League of Legends, TSW finished 12th through 14th. MSI 2026 told a more interesting story. TSW finished 5th through 6th, a result that included a historic upset over Top Esports, one of China’s LPL heavyweights.

What to watch at Worlds

The addition of Pun in the top lane could be a factor. Opponents have less film to study, fewer tendencies to exploit. If Pun can hold his own against the top laners from the LCK and LPL, TSW’s teamfight compositions gain a new wrinkle that wasn’t present at MSI.

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