Can
follow
’s path from last year and lift MSI and EWC back to back? It is a fair question, because HLE arrive at the Esports World Cup with barely any time to breathe
after winning MSI. Their schedule has been relentless all year, and the fact that they are still playing for trophies at this pace says a lot about both their level and their resilience.
That is what makes their run so impressive, but also so difficult to sustain. HLE have been living through an almost infernal calendar: LCK regular season, EWC qualifiers, Road to MSI, MSI itself, and now another international event just three days after lifting the trophy in Daejeon. There has been no real window to reset, no time to fully enjoy the title, and no margin for physical or mental drop-off.
A brutal calendar
The hardest part is not simply the volume of games. It is the lack of recovery between them. Opponents have had time to study Hanwha Life during MSI, while Hanwha Life themselves have had almost no chance to step back and reset before another tournament begins.
Gen.G already showed that a team can survive this kind of schedule. Last year, they won MSI and then went on to
claim the EWC title just over a week later, creating the fastest back-to-back international title run in
League of Legends history. That is the path Hanwha Life are now trying to copy.
But the comparison is not perfectly smooth. HLE already fell short at last year’s EWC, where they were eliminated by
in the quarterfinals. That makes this run feel like both a chance at redemption and a test of whether they can handle the pressure of repeating what Gen.G managed to do.
Proving your status as a legend
HLE open the EWC against Brazil’s MIBR.LOS, and anything less than full focus could quickly become a problem in such a short tournament, especially in matches that are mainly best-of-ones and best-of-threes. In a competition this compressed, one slow start can change the whole bracket.
If we apply the EWC format to HLE’s run at last week’s MSI, they would have been eliminated against LYON in the loser bracket final as they have been down 1-2 during the series. Same goes for their final against BLG. The EWC format is way more punitive and allows less room for mistakes.
That is why this event matters so much. If Hanwha Life can win again, they will not just be adding another trophy to the cabinet. They will also be proving they can survive one of the most demanding schedules the game has ever produced, and still come out on top. And ultimately, send a very strong message before the greatest Esports event of the year: Worlds 2026.
