LoL - LCK: DN Freecs pick up their first win of the split against Nongshim, Hanwha Life make it eleven in a row against DRX

Week 6 of the LCK wraps up with plenty of storylines: Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports remain unbeaten, T1 bounce back, DN Freecs finally secure their first win of the split, while Dplus KIA continue to slump. On the final day, Freecs earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Nongshim RedForce—a welcome result despite their position at the bottom of the standings—while HLE comfortably dispatched DRX to extend their win streak to eleven.

The series between Freecs and Nongshim was quite entertaining, especially the first game, which was taken by Kim "GIDEON" Min-seong and his team. Freecs were just seconds away from closing it out when a last-second hold turned the game around—an Elder Drake, a Baron Nashor, and a Pentakill from GIDEON sealed the comeback, giving Nongshim the lead in a nail-biting opener.

The second game ended much quicker, and this time, it was a solid win for the Freecs. Kim "Life" Jeong-min played the first Sett in the LCK since the Summer Split of 2022, while Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon secured his 200th win in the LCK. On top of that, toplaner Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju finished with the highest damage of the game, a performance that played a key role in him earning the MVP title after the third game.

Game 3 was a classic snowball from the Freecs, with Lee "BuLLDoG" Tae-young locking in Annie mid—a pick that's gaining traction in LPL and LCK but remains rare in the West. The Freecs closed out the series to claim their first win of the split, finally breaking a streak of eleven consecutive losses. In the post-match interview, when asked what had been going wrong and how they managed to win today, Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol admitted the team had major issues with voice comms, and that they simply "practiced and shut up" to finally get on the board.

The second series of the day wrapped up in two games, with HLE making quick work of DRX in Game 1, thanks to strong showings from carries Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo and Park "Viper" Do-hyeon on Ahri and Jhin. Game 2 was a longer, more chaotic affair, with Choi "Zeus" Woo-je once again picking Nidalee top and tearing through DRX's side lane towers. A 36-minute dragon fight saw Bae "Sponge" Young-jun deny HLE the soul, but the follow-up teamfight went heavily in HLE’s favor—Viper and crew secured an ace, built a decisive gold lead, and ultimately closed out the series for their eleventh consecutive win in LCK Round 1–2, continuing their dominant run as First Stand champions.

On the opening day of next week, BNK FEARX will look to take down Nongshim, while DRX will aim to bounce back against a struggling Dplus KIA. First series is set to begin at 10 AM CET on Wednesday, May 14.