As expected, the August 29 LCK Rounds 3-5 matchday delivered pivotal clashes. In the Rise Group, BNK FearX managed to overcome DRX, though not without difficulty. Despite the setback, the 2022 World Champions remain alive in the race, with everything coming down to next Sunday’s decisive series against direct rivals OKSavingsBank BRION. That best-of-three will determine who secures the final Play-In spot from the group.

The second series of the day held major implications for the Legend Group. Hanwha Life Esports cleanly dispatched Nongshim RedForce 2-0, fueling their hopes of overtaking T1 for second place. While T1 are still ahead, the reigning back-to-back World Champions face their biggest test in the closing match against Gen.G. Should T1 falter there, they would drop to third place, giving HLE the chance to seize the second seed — a dramatic potential shift as the regular season nears its conclusion.

A coveted second place

This win is crucial for HLE, who must now hope for a Gen.G victory over T1 — something far from impossible. Securing second place would allow them to skip the first playoff round, where the third seed has to face one of the two Play-In teams. HLE put everything into this BO3, with a highly volatile first game where NS had a slight upper hand, but Park "Viper" Do-hyeon managed to turn it around, securing his 2,000th kill and 300th LCK win — a Korean legend boasting impressive records despite spending a large part of his career in China.

The second game was a decisive stomp, with Syun "Calix" Hyun-bin delivering a great Akali performance that wasn’t enough to save NS, who once again ended the LCK day without a victory. NS now have only one BO left, and although they are already guaranteed fifth place and a Play-In spot, a win against KT Rolster next Sunday could provide a significant morale boost ahead of the knockout stages.