Week three of the LCK 2025 rounds 1-2 will see DRX and Hanwha Life Esports match up. Since HLE is the favorite to win the upcoming match by a significant margin, some may wonder whether DRX has any chance of causing an upset.
After its win in the First Stand 2025 tournament, Hanwha Life Esports continues to face some of the best Korean League of Legends teams in the LCK. With one lost match against Gen.G, the team is going into week three with a record of three wins and one loss, comfortably putting it in the top five.
On the other hand, DRX isn’t doing too well. The team only won one match against Freecs at the start of the split, then lost every proceeding match. With DRX’s spot in the playoffs at risk, winning against league favorite HLE would greatly help the team in climbing the rankings.
It’s safe to say DRX hasn’t had its best split so far. The team has lost to three of the four teams it faced, and T1 is the strong side it has faced so far. As seen in its match against FEARX, it seems as though DRX simply has no game plan going into these matches. And if the team does have a strategy, it goes out the window as soon as things start going awry.
DRX’s ADC and mid-laners have shown the skill and ability to carry DRX into the playoffs. Teddy dominated Freecs in both games, while Ucal was the only one really trying against T1. However, both players are too inconsistent to rely on. A good example of this is comparing Teddy’s performance against Freecs to his play against FEARX. Against Freecs, the player didn’t die even once in both games, demolishing the enemy’s bottom-lane and showcasing amazing carry potential. But against FEARX, when things weren’t going as well, Teddy seemingly zoned out and played on auto-pilot.
While DRX hasn’t had the best split, Hanwha Life Esports is looking pretty good. The team took a loss to Gen.G, but HLE has performed well against every other team it’s played. While Zeus and Zeka are definitely the stand-out players, HLE’s strong point is that every player is individually skilled, and its two games against T1 perfectly reflected that. Each HLE player showed up in that match, and even bringing a fraction of that same energy against DRX should be enough for Hanwha Life to comfortably win.
Below are the rosters for both teams in the upcoming match:
DRX:
Hanwha Life Esports:
Although the fearless draft system ensures that the same champion can’t be used more than once in a single match, DRX usually opts for a handful of predictable picks. These include Ambessa, Vi, Naafiri, Xin Zhao, Corki, Miss Fortune, and Rell.
As for Hanwha Life Esports, it’s hard to predict which champions the team will go for. Although popular picks include Jayce, Xin Zhao, Sylas, and Renata Glasc, the team may experiment a little thanks to the level of its opposition and HLE’s position in the league standings.
DRX and Hanwha Life Esports have faced off 23 times in the past. While DRX has won five matches, HLE won 18, giving HLE a 78% winning percentage against its opponent.
Hanwha Life Esports is looking much stronger than DRX in the current split, and the betting odds for the upcoming match reflect that. HLE’s odds of 1.04 compared to DRX’s whopping line of 10.00 makes DRX a huge underdog.
While DRX has won a handful of games against HLE before, that’s unlikely to happen here when looking at how both teams are performing lately. HLE has adapted a much more aggressive playing style than it previously had shown, opting to push back the enemy and force them to recall to open up objective opportunities for the team. On the other hand, DRX hasn’t showcased any particularly steady strategy, suggesting the team may just go with the flow.
Against such a powerhouse as HLE, DRX’s lack of proper tactics and execution may make it susceptible to HLE’s aggressive roaming. Add in the fact that the two members with carry potential on DRX get overwhelmed easily, and the upcoming match may be an easy win for Hanwha Life Esports, bettering its chances of going to the playoffs.
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