B'alaj Chan K'awiil was a major protagonist in the bitter factional dispute between two lords carrying the same emblem glyph.

Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil's claim to the royal emblem of Mutal was evidently based on him being the son of K'inich Muwaan Jol, as stated on Dos Pilas Panel 6.

In 650 Yuknoom the Great, the Snake Lord, of Calakmul attacked Dos Pilas and forced Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil to take refuge at Aguateca.

Then in 657 the Snake Lord attacked Tikal itself and drove Nuun Ujol Chaak from his city, establishing Calakmul as the supreme power in the entire region.

Balaj Chan K'awiil began a program of monumental inscriptions in 682, recording his travails and ultimate victory, as well as his debt of fealty to Calakmul.