LoL - First Stand: Hanwha Life Esports, in Pursuit of Greatness (5/5)

The road to The First Stand was anything but easy for Hanwha Life Esports. Finding themselves in the lower bracket of the LCK Cup, HLE had to fight through the Play-In before reaching Playoffs, where they endured four consecutive best-of-five series—all going the full distance, all ending in their favor. Against teams like T1, Gen.G, and Dplus KIA, HLE proved their Summer Split 2024 victory was no fluke and that the organization's darkest days are now a bad memory. They claimed the LCK Cup dominantly and are now heading into the third international event in their history.

At the start of 2025, the team decided to retain four of its five players—and who could blame them for the change they made? While Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon is a solid LCK toplaner, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je still seems to be on an entirely different level. HLE took advantage of a contractual dispute between the world champion and T1 to secure him for their roster.

Beyond that, Han "Peanut" Wang-ho continues to dominate the jungle at 27, world champion Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo keeps proving he's among Korea's top midlaners, and the botlane duo of Park "Viper" Do-hyeon and Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong is wreaking havoc in the LCK—widely regarded as the best botlane in the world right now.

While HLE has been a respected organization competing at the top of the LCK since 2023, that hasn’t always been the case. After acquiring the ROX Tigers in Summer 2018, they had to wait until Summer 2021—and the arrival of Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon—just to reach Playoffs.

The 2022 season was a disaster, with back-to-back 10th-place finishes. It wasn't until 2024, with the arrival of the current roster (except for Zeus), the team finally secured the first trophy in its history, defeating Gen.G in the Summer Split grand final.

At Worlds 2021, HLE made their first international appearance after a lackluster summer, finishing 8th in the LCK but securing their spot through a strong regional qualifier run. Their journey ended in the quarterfinals, where they were swept by T1 in a one-sided series. In 2024, they arrived much stronger, with some considering them favorites after an impressive summer split. However, they once again fell in the quarterfinals, this time against a more decisive Bilibili Gaming.

Now, at The First Stand 2025, HLE is set for their third international appearance. This time, they enter as one of the tournament favorites, with Top Esports standing as their main competition.

The stakes vary for each player, but they have all proven themselves at the highest level of competitive League of Legends. At just 21 years old, Zeus has already claimed an LCK title, a gold medal at the Asian Games, and two World Championships. He built this legacy at T1 before moving to HLE, where he added an LCK Cup to his resume and cemented himself as the best toplaner in the world. Now, he will have to face the likes of Bai "369" Jia-Hao, Kim "Canna" Chang-dong, and Jeong "Impact" Eon-young—tough opponents. He is also one of the three toplaners in the competition to have passed through T1, alongside Impact and Canna, while the reigning World Champions are not even present at the competition.

For Peanut, the stakes are quite different. The days of Rox Tigers feel like a distant memory, and his last and only international trophy dates back to 2017 at MSI with SKT T1. While the jungler has won 7 LCK titles and an LCK Cup, positioning himself as one of the most decorated and iconic players in the LCK, his trophy cabinet lacks international titles. And it’s not for lack of trying—he lost in the 2016 Worlds semifinals to SKT T1, faced off in the 2017 Worlds finals against Samsung Galaxy, lost an MSI final to Royal Never Give Up in 2018, reached the Worlds semifinals with Gen.G in 2022 only to lose to DRX, secured fourth place at MSI 2023 after a heavy defeat to BLG, and was eliminated by BLG again in the quarterfinals of Worlds 2023 and 2024.

The list is long, and the remaining years are few, but Peanut has the team to achieve great things. He will need to do everything he can to make 2025 a memorable year for himself, his teammates, and the HLE fans.

Zeka is a midlaner quite different from the others, with a strong preference and mastery of champions like Akali, Sylas, and Yone. Since his incredible run with DRX at Worlds 2022, Zeka joined HLE and has remained among the top 4 in South Korea. He is considered one of the best midlaners in the world, bringing a refreshing style with explosive gameplay that's rarely seen in the midlane, where mages and scaling through farming usually dominate.

The botlane is also a major strength for HLE, with Viper and Delight forming one of the best duos in the world. Viper, who began his career with Griffin alongside the famous rookie roster, has come a long way. After a brief, forgettable stint with HLE in the summer of 2020, he moved to China, where he won an LPL title and a World Championship in 2021 with EDward Gaming. He returned to HLE in spring 2023 and has been an integral part of the team ever since.

Since spring 2024, Viper has been paired with Delight, the only player on the roster to have never won on the international stage. However, Delight has still claimed 3 LCK titles and an LCK Cup, establishing himself as one of the best support players in the world. Coming at First Stand, Delight is the player with the most different champions played (16) and is determined to secure his first trophy outside of the LCK.

More than ever, HLE is considered one of the top favorites. With a strengthened roster and experienced players like Viper, Delight, Zeus, Peanut, and Zeka, the team seems ready to take on international challenges and prove they deserve their place among the elite. After years of struggle and constant progress, their incredible cohesion and explosive gameplay make them serious contenders for First Stand 2025.