Vietnam's NK takes second place after 3-4 defeat in FC Pro Champions Cup final
NK earned US$55,000 after recovering from a 0-3 deficit against South Korea's T1, only to lose the deciding game on penalties.
South Korea's T1 beat Vietnamese team NK 4-3 to win the FC Pro Champions Cup 2026 in Seoul. NK forced the best-of-seven final into a seventh game after losing the opening three, but a penalty shootout ended its comeback.
Tran Hoai Nam, who competes as NamThi, began the recovery by beating Byul 2-1. Le Ha Anh Tuan, known as LHAT, followed with a 5-2 win over Navy, while captain Do Trung Thanh, or ThanhMan, beat Hoseok 3-2 to draw the teams level.
LHAT and Hoseok met again in the decider. Regulation time ended at 2-2, before Hoseok won the shootout 5-4.
The penalties drew questions from Thai Advice Esports player Phatanasak Varanan, known as JubJub. He said LHAT missed twice in succession and compared those attempts with earlier misses by teammates TDKeane and Michael04, whose shooting inputs had received green-zone ratings. JubJub questioned whether competitors from Thailand and Vietnam had been disadvantaged.
The cause of the misses remains unestablished. No technical investigation has confirmed a game malfunction, and a miss following a green-rated input is not sufficient evidence of a fault or a manipulated result.
The tournament ran from October 13 to 18 at Seoul's DDP Showroom, with 12 teams competing for US$300,000. NK collected US$55,000 for second place. Its route to the final included a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over China's SCMJ and a 3-2 semifinal win against South Korea's Gen City.
