After Hanwha Life Esports emerged as the victor against T1 the first time this season, the LCK 2025 rounds 1-2 tournament will pit the two teams against each other again. The looming question for bettors is whether the results will be any different this time.
The top three teams have already been established as the last week of the ongoing LCK split kicks off. Following Gen.G outplaying and defeating every team it faced in the tournament to go undefeated, Hanwha Life Esports and T1 take up the second and third spots, respectively.
HLE and T1 are slated to face off in the tournament’s final week. While both teams are guaranteed a spot in Road to MSI playoff, the team that finishes second gets a game-changing advantage. HLE may have defeated T1 with a convincing 2-0 score the last time the two teams met, but things could go very differently this time.
Coming off of an impressive win in the recent First Stand tournament, Hanwha Life Esports may have some of the most individually skilled players of any Korean League of Legends team. Zeus, Zeka, and Viper are standout players and continue to perform well in every match. Peanut showcased excellent jungling in some matches but occasionally falters, making it tough to rely on him.
T1’s Faker, Gumayusi, and Oner all have high carry potential. The three players have each carried their team to victory on different occasions, and T1’s mid-jungle and bot lane synergies have been on display in recent matches. The team’s top laner sometimes leaves much to be desired, and HLE’s Zeus efficiently outplayed and shut Doran down the last time the two players faced off against each other. However, T1 is in a much better place now than it was in round 1, and HLE is coming off two consecutive losses that may affect the team’s mental state should things begin to go awry here.
Below are the rosters and roles for both teams:
Hanwha Life Esports:
T1:
Hanwha Life Esports and T1 will both likely prioritize their most common picks for the match. For HLE, these champions include Jayce, Xin Zhao, Sylas, and Renata Glasc. Champions like Ambessa, Sejuani, and Azir may get a chance to shine as well if T1 doesn’t draft them first.
T1’s mid and jungler picks are all but set in stone, as Faker’s best champions are Ahri and Victor, while Oner shows great play with Xin Zhao and Sejuani. The team’s other players will likely want to prioritize picks like Ambessa, Gwen, Jhin, Miss Fortune, Rakan, Alistar, and Lulu.
Hanwha Life Esports may have started the split on a bad note by losing against Gen.G, but the team bounced back after that to go on a winning streak. Unfortunately for HLE, that streak is now gone, and HLE is going against T1 after losing twice in a row.
By contrast, although T1 also has a loss against Gen.G in its recent match record, the team is going against HLE after coming off two consecutive wins and in good overall form.
T1 and Hanwha Life Esports have faced off on the big stage 29 times before. T1 has emerged as the victor 15 times while HLE has 14 wins, which means HLE can tie the score if it wins against T1 again.
Even though HLE is coming off two losses while T1 is coming off two wins, HLE is the favorite to win against T1 with a betting line of 1.65. T1’s line of 2.20 cements it as the underdog in the meeting.
HLE and T1 both have excellent ADCs, supports, and mid laners. The jungler and top laner positions are opposite cases. Oner is an excellent jungler who has remained consistent for T1, while Peanut struggled a lot in the ongoing spring split. Zeus is considered one of the best professional top laners in the world and hasn’t given fans much reason to doubt that, while Doran has struggled multiple times in recent matches for T1.
Hanwha Life Esports’ strength is primarily in team fights. The First Stand winners will want to initiate and set up fights with T1 when it’s certain of victory, while utilizing T1’s habit of often forgetting about objectives until it’s too late to properly contest them. If Peanut can acquire objectives on time and gank efficiently enough to ensure Zeus and Viper can get the right gold advantage, then HLE may come out of the match as the victor once again despite its recent missteps.
Do you think you know which team will come out on top? Then place your bet now!
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