On Wednesday, Round 4 of the LCK kicks off with Week 3 of the Round 3-5 stage, as Hanwha Life Esports take down Nongshim RedForce in a clean sweep. NS remain winless this split—not a single series or game won so far, a stark contrast to their surprising Spring performance. Jung "Jiwoo" Ji-woo returned to the AD Carry role after Kim "Trigger" Eui-joo stepped in last week against Gen.G.

HLE secure second place with this win, moving up to a 17-6 record in the Legend Group—four wins behind Gen.G and two ahead of T1, who will face the MSI champions on August 7. Park "Viper" Do-hyeon was named MVP of the series after strong performances on Xayah and Kai’Sa. On the other side, Jiwoo played the first-ever Yunara in LCK history, but the game ended in defeat, further lowering the new champion’s win rate.

From a Nexus to the other

The first game from Hanwha Life was a stunning display of power and coordination among the players. Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong’s ultimate on Rakan set up a perfect chain with Choi "Zeus" Woo-je’s Equalizer, followed by a beautifully timed Shockwave from Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo that was impressive to watch. This synergy allowed HLE to control the entire game and win comfortably in game one.

In the second game, Nongshim RedForce fought back strongly, dominating the map and securing objectives including the Tier 4 turrets. They were even hitting the Nexus and close to finishing the game when, at the 38-minute mark, HLE burst out of their fountain and wiped the remaining Nongshim players. With long respawn timers, HLE quickly pushed into the enemy base to secure game two and complete the clean sweep. This loss was frustrating for Nongshim, who still have yet to win a series or even a single game this split.