Top Esports and Hanwha Life Esports are slated to meet in the debut First Stand event’s semifinals, with HLE being the clear favorite. But does TES have any upset potential in the upcoming match?
After five top teams duked it out in the 2025 First Stand’s round robin stage, the tournament’s knockout stage is finally here. One of the two matches in the semifinals is Top Esports versus Hanwha Life Esports. Unlike in the previous stage, losing here instantly eliminated the lesser team, which means there’s great pressure on both teams to win. Another difference is that, unlike the best-of-three format from the first stage, this stage features best-of-five matches, giving both teams more opportunities to shine.
Top Esports may be considered a top-performing team, but its play here has left much to be desired. The side barely avoided elimination thanks to Team Liquid having a slightly worse record by a technicality, and is now going against the event’s hottest undefeated team. HLE blitzed through much of the round robin stage, and TES is in trouble if the two teams’ previous games are anything to go by.
Hanwha Life Esports has showcased immense skill throughout the tournament, showcasing why it’s the favorite to win it. Arguably the biggest example of HLE’s level was the third and final game against Team Liquid. After two games of the team going for unconventional picks that deviated from what its players usually played, the third game saw the team destroy Team Liquid to make a statement.
The team’s top-laner Zeus is known for consistently performing at a high level. Naturally, he isn’t alone since he also has other powerhouse players like the midlaner Zeka and jungler Peanut, powering HLE to victory over many of their opponents to date.
On the other hand, Top Esports hasn’t had a good run in this tournament. Losing three matches with a score of 0-2 was already bad, and the team was also the only squad to lose to European side Karmine Corp. The only team TES has defeated so far is Team Liquid, the sole team knocked out in the round robin stage.
Below are the rosters for both teams in the upcoming match:
Hanwha Life Esports
Top Esports
While the fearless draft system ensures both teams can’t play the same sets of champions in every game, Hanwha Life Esports would have likely done that even without those rules in place. In typical HLE fashion, the team will likely go for unconventional picks to see what they can get away with until it loses them a game. When it does, fans can expect to see picks like Vladimir, Vi, Skarner, Nidalee, Varus, Ashe, and Rell.
As for Top Esports, champions like Gnar, Vi, Orianna, Miss Fortune, Ashe, and Rell can be expected. Unfortunately for TES, many of the team’s picks, including Kalista, haven’t been able to pay off in this tournament. Since this match is a best-of-five, some new and interesting champion compositions are likely to be seen. But it’s unknown if Top Esports will be able to show much in the way of real opposition to overpower HLE.
The only time Top Esports and Hanwha Life Esports have met on the big stage was during the First Stand round robin stage. HLE defeated TES without much struggle and a final score of 2-0 in the best-of-three match.
HLE is definitely the favorite to win the upcoming match, and the team’s performance in the tournament so far ensures it. HLE’s 1.13 against Top Esports’ odds of 5.80 makes TES the clear underdog.
Hanwha Life Esports is a force to be reckoned with but the team’s members can get overconfident quickly. While the team’s performance gives it every reason to be confident, it also means Top Esports may get the second game when HLE starts going for more questionable picks if it should win the first game.
Overall, HLE has everything Top Esports hates, which includes a tendency to force team fights and an aggressive playing style. TES’ best bet may be to ban some of the opposition’s strongest picks like Peanut’s Skarner, though even that may not be enough for the Chinese side to win against HLE, especially considering the LCK champion hasn’t lost a single match since February.
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