Secret Whales complete a perfect LCP year

Secret Whales are LCP champions once again. They swept CTBC Flying Oyster 3-0 in the Split 3 grand final on Sunday to lift their third domestic trophy of 2026, after the Split 1 and Split 2 titles earlier this year. No team has found the formula against them at home: across the entire year and its three splits, they lost just two series in the LCP.

Lê "Hizto" Văn Hoàng Hải was named Finals MVP for the second split in a row, adding to a trophy cabinet that already includes the regular season award. The young jungler set the tone from game one on Jarvan IV (4/1/18) and never let go, closing the sweep out on Vi.

Domestic kings, international question marks

The clean sheet at home only makes the contrast sharper. Internationally, Secret Whales have won a single series in seven attempts across First Stand, MSI and the Esports World Cup — a 3-1 victory over Top Esports in Daejeon. Set that result aside and the picture turns bleak: one game won out of sixteen on the international stage.

That is the record they will carry into the 2026 World Championship, where they arrive as the LCP's first seed. Dominating a region three splits running earns respect; it no longer answers the question that matters. For a roster this talented, and a jungler this hyped, Worlds in America is where the confirmation that LCP can still compete against the rest of the world has to come.

Before that, three of them — Hizto, Dire and Eddie — will head to the Asian Games to represent Vietnam on October 2. The detour should serve as an appetizer: with the Korean and Chinese Taipei national squads in the field, they will get an early look at some of the players they could meet again at Worlds.