T1 and
Hanwha Life Esports faced off for the second time this Friday, August 15, in the LCK Round 3-5 stage. Once again, T1 came out on top with a clean sweep, despite strong performances from HLE’s players. Choi "
Doran" Hyeon-joon was named MVP of the series, highlighted by an impressive game on Yorick. This win brings T1 to 18 victories in the Legend Group, matching HLE’s total, though Hanwha still hold one fewer loss. The First Stand champions will play their
remaining series against Gen.G this Sunday.
The first game of the series was extremely close, with T1 holding only an 800 gold lead at the 30-minute mark. Park "Viper" Do-hyeon made his 500th LCK appearance, and the match featured a rare and surprising event: while the reigning world champions were taking Baron Nashor, Choi "Zeus" Woo-Je teleported to a ward in the river—but he ended up behind a rock in the jungle, where Jax appeared. The ensuing team fight played out and was followed by a pause, though no chrono break was issued. The game ultimately concluded with T1 securing the win.
In Game 2, Hanwha Life Esports built a nearly 6,000-gold lead, but T1 held strong. Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong continued securing objectives despite playing Lucian, a champion without the high burst typically seen on Varus, which he often uses for such plays. Meanwhile, Doran delivered a standout performance on Yorick, finishing 6/3/0 with over 26,000 damage and surviving multiple close-call team fights. His efforts helped T1 secure the victory against Hanwha Life’s former toplaner.
In the first series of the day in the Rise Group,
DN Freecs — already out of playoff contention with no chance to reach the Play-In stage — pulled off a surprising 2-1 victory against
OKSavingsbank Brion.
Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon brought out Hecarim, the first time the champion has appeared in the LCK since Gen.G’s Han "Peanut" Wang-ho played him in July 2022, a gap of 1,132 days. Despite the win, Freecs remain at the bottom of Group Rise with a 3-23 record, while BRION sit in third place at 9-16, still two wins ahead of DRX and behind BNK FearX.
