The LoL World Champions were eliminated from LCK Summer 2024 by these opponents. T1 should take this match seriously!
It was before the LoL Worlds 2024 event. T1 fell to the losers brackets after their match vs Hanwha Life Esports. And then, T1 were eliminated from the tournament. Yes, Hanwha Life did that to win that event a bit later.
It was a rather dark time for T1 fans. The team struggled to qualify for the League of Legends World Championship 2024. However, that turbulent period was very short.
Now, it’s time to repeat history or take revenge! T1 and HLE did not face each other at the LCK Cup 2025 Groups and Play-Ins. Their match opens the Playoffs stage. The motivation to reach the victorious end is tremendous: there is only one slot available for the region at the upcoming international, LoL First Stand 2025. And only the winner of the match between T1 and Hanwha Life Esports remains in the battle for this qualification.
Where to watch T1 vs HLE at LCK Cup 2025
Live score
It’s Round 1 of the LCK Cup 2025 Playoffs, with the single-elimination format. The losers of the match T1 vs HLE are eliminated from the tournament.
T1 2-3 HLE — Hanwha Life Esports win the series
Game | Winners |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hanwha Life Esports |
| 2 | T1 |
| 3 | Hanwha Life Esports |
| 4 | T1 |
| 5 | Hanwha Life Esports |
Banned LoL champions
Game | T1 Bans | HLE Bans |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skarner, Kalista, Ashe, Xayah, Varus | Rumble, Poppy, Galio, Rakan, Elise |
| 2 | Yone, Varus, Galio, Corki, Braum | Skarner, Kalista, Nidalee, Zeri, Rakan |
| 3 | Kalista, Yone, Skarner, Rell, Nautilus | Lee Sin, Corki, Galio, Jax, Camille |
| 4 | Yone, Nautilus, Maokai, Ziggs, Rakan | Skarner, Kalista, Galio, Lee Sin, Lillia |
| 5 | Yone, Maokai, Galio, Nocturne, Camille | Lee Sin, Lillia, Neeko, Orianna, Twisted Fate Twitch |
Picked champions
T1 Picks | T1 | Position | Hanwha Life Esports | HLE Picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambessa (G1) Rumble (G2) Irelia (G3) Jax (G4) Akali (G5) | Doran | Top | Zeus | Jayce (G1) K'Sante (G2) Gnar (G3) Aatrox (G4) Olaf (G5) |
| Vi (G1) Wukong (G2) Sejuani (G3) Viego (G4) Skarner (G5) | Oner | Jungler | Peanut | Xin Zhao (G1) Zyra (G2) Nidalee (G3) Diana (G4) Amumu (G5) |
| Aurora (G1) Viktor (G2) Mel (G3) Ahri (G4) Zoe (G5) | Faker | Mid | Zeka | Azir (G1) Hwei (G2) Sylas (G3) Yasuo (G4) Taliyah (G5) |
| Kai'Sa (G1) Jhin (G2) Miss Fortune (G3) Caitlyn (G4) Draven (G5) | Smash | Bot | Viper | Ezreal (G1) Ashe (G2) Varus (G3) Corki (G4) Kalista (G5) |
| Pyke (G1) Poppy (G2) LeBlanc (G3) Karma (G4) Soraka (G5) | Keria | Support | Delight | Alistar (G1) Leona (G2) Pantheon (G3) Elise (G4) Renata Glasc (G5) |
T1 vs HLE: Match recap
This was the first match in the LCK Cup 2025 where Hanwha Life Esports players were in their perfectly solid form. They saw the goal, and they weren’t shaken by the international titles of their opponents.
T1 made some dubious decisions, like Mel for Faker and the bold composition in game 5. The World Champions lost game 1 and then couldn’t perform the ultimate comeback.
In general, the battle was like a rollercoaster. One moment, HLE earns a match point, and the next moment, T1 gains a massive advantage in the decisive game.
The final blow was made by Hanwha Life Esports! They did it again: HLE eliminated T1 from the LCK Cup 2025 and from the First Stand 2025 qualification run.
The next opponent for HLE has been decided by the pick of Dplus. That team selected their opponents: NS RedForce, who defeated in the parallel brackets of Round 1. Therefore, Hanwha Life Esports play vs Gen.G on Feb. 16
“I predicted this would be a tough battle today, and I actually did not get good sleep. Maybe because I’m still young, I have the physical capability to play it all out. There are so many strong opponents ahead of us, and we already faced T1, so early. I feel like we have so many challenges ahead of us. I wouldn’t mind facing either team [Dplus or Gen.G] at this point. I made the promise that we will survive as long as we can, so I really want to do my best to keep it.”
Game 1
After an early team fight, HLE went slightly ahead with one more kill and around 1k gold advantage. However, the game slew down significantly: both teams were busy with cautious farming during the laning phase.
Hanwha Life won a battle for Voidgrubs. They secured more creatures but did not get kills. The teams took one Dragon each. HLE got themselves Herald and were ahead in terms of destroyed turrets. Suddenly, T1 were around 3k gold down, and four of their turrets were missing.
HLE got Atakhan and destroyed an Inhibitor during a quick base rush. They kept pushing while waiting for Baron to appear. Still, Hanwha Life did not need that buff to win. After a nice fight on the Top lane, HLE killed a few opponents and destroyed their base.
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Game 2
The game start was slower this time, but that changed with a fight around the first Voidgrubs set. T1 won it, getting more kills and initiating their gold advantage. HLE was not fully destroyed back then, though. They returned some kills quite soon, and the power level between the teams became relatively even.
Summoner’s Rift was full of action, on all lanes. It still felt like T1 players were slightly better. A fight around Herald confirmed that: four HLE players were dead, and Faker earned a Triple Kill.
While grouping around a Dragon, Hanwha Life lost a massive team fight. There were two T1 players alive, with the entire HLE team being dead. T1 controlled the game at this point. They harassed opponents, and they earned the Atakhan buff.
A weird thing about this game is that no one went for a Dragon in 25 minutes of action. T1 secured one at this time point. Soon, they took Baron, delivered an Ace, and proved they are very much alive in Round 1 of the LCK Cup 2025 Playoffs.
Game 3
It’s a historic game! For the first time ever, Faker picks and plays Mel. That Champion participated in two early productive fights: Mel killed and died during the laning phase.
The action continued to be hot in game 3. The teams exchanged kills, and both looked strong. HLE and T1 secured one Dragon each, and they were relatively even with kills and gold.
After super chaotic interactions around Atakhan, HLE got themselves the second Dragon, a Hextech one. After a little while, they secured Atakhan as well.
With a two-man advantage, HLE started Baron, but Oner stole it with Sejuani. Alas, T1 players on the Baron buff did not survive the following fight. Right after that, Hanwha Life Esports started their siege and simply demolished T1’s Nexus. HLE reached the match point, and T1 are one lost game away from being eliminated from the LCK Cup 2025.
Game 4
This time, Faker went for his classic Champion, Ahri. She was one of two early victims of HLE, though.
Hanwha Life Esports also lost some fights, but they secured both sets of Voidgrubs. Only unnecessary overstepping prevented the LCK Summer 2024 champions from building their early advantage.
T1 found some crucial kills and secured Rift Herald. In response, HLE took a Dragon.
When the game looked very even, Oner came and stole Atakhan from his opponents. In a blink of an eye, the World Champions were 8 kills and 6k gold ahead. Soon, T1 killed Baron: they pushed, and they all died. Only the number of active turrets did not let HLE finish the series at that moment.
T1 players were perfectly patient. They won a few ambushes, went for the next Baron, and destroyed HLE’s base. With such a back-and-forth battle, game 5 feels like an awesome treat for all LoL esports fans.
Game 5
Faker on Zoe? The fearless draft makes miracles!
After a somewhat shaky start, T1 secured five Voidgrubs. However, HLE got the first Dragon. Both teams played super cautiously: the importance of this game is a real thing.
HLE won a battle for the second Dragon, but Smash killed Peanut and earned a nice advantage for his Draven. T1 killed Atakhan, but almost all of them died right after that.
After a disastrous fight around a Dragon, it looked like the dream of Hanwha Life Esports became extremely unrealistic. T1 killed everyone and gained themselves a super-massive advantage, including a destroyed Mid Inhibitor. Still, HLE secured Baron after their revival.
Hanwha Life Esports won a crucial fight and got themselves a Mountain Soul. They earned the second Baron buff and won a fight around the worm. Going for T1’s base and winning the game was a logical sequence for HLE.
The current state of T1 and HLE
A lot has changed since LCK Summer 2024 and even LoL Worlds 2024.
- T1 lost Zeus. Can you guess where this player is right now? He is in Hanwha Life Esports! Also, T1 replaced Gumayusi with Smash.
- HLE lost Doran. It was an exchange of top laners — Doran is in T1 now.
In the LCK Cup 2025 event, T1 and HLE were seeded into one group. Both needed to battle in the Play-In stage for the Playoffs qualification.
T1 defeated their opponents, Nongshim RedForce, super confidently. It was one of the most dominating matches of the entire tournament.
Hanwha Life Esports also won, but their match against DRX was full of shaky moments. It felt like the team struggled to reach their flawless form.
Only the tournament winner advances to First Stand 2025. T1 already lost this chance.
LoL First Stand 2025 is from March 10 to March 16. Each major region can send only one team to this event. The qualification tournaments happen around the same time as the LCK Cup 2025.
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