The LCK weekend opened this Saturday, August 23, with the match of the week between first-place
Gen.G and
Hanwha Life Esports. Gen.G came out on top, temporarily
lifting T1 into second place. The MSI champions are now on their eighth straight victory since their loss to T1, while HLE collapsed for the fifth time this Summer Split. This defeat puts T1 ahead in the standings with one fewer loss. The current World Champions are now expected to claim another win tomorrow against Nongshim RedForce, which would place them in a strong position heading into the final week of the regular season.
In the second series of the day, DN Freecs managed to edge out OKSavingsBank BRION in a long BO3, a result that heavily benefits both BNK FearX and DRX. Hong "Pyosik" Chang-hyeon was voted MVP of the match after delivering two deathless wins, first on Vi and then on Lee Sin. This marks the second time this Summer that the Freecs have defeated BRION, and the race for third place in the Rise Group remains wide open and likely to go down to the wire.
Second place in the group is being contested
The second place in the Legend Group is more contested than ever between T1 and Hanwha Life. While HLE held onto it throughout the year, this time it’s T1 who occupy the spot. This second place grants direct qualification to round 2 of the LCK playoffs. T1 still have to face Gen.G, and if they lose, the battle for second will come down to their head-to-head against HLE on Wednesday, August 27.
Game 1 of the series between Gen.G and HLE opened with a very quiet early game. The first major fight went Gen.G’s way, snowballing into more kills and side lane towers. Choi "Zeus" Woo-je and his teammates managed to find one fight to narrow the gap, but it wasn’t enough. Gen.G secured Baron Nashor and closed out the game.
Game 2 marked Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon’s
700th game in the LCK, which he played on Ziggs mid. At the very first minute, Gen.G’s toplaner got caught warding and gave up first blood, and HLE went on to claim their first drake—not only of the game, but of the entire series. It was also
the first time we saw such a build on Ziggs: instead of Luden’s, Chovy went for Rod of Ages, prioritizing survivability and map pressure over team fighting. But this game was all about HLE, who closed it out convincingly with a 14–1 scoreline.
The deciding game started perfectly for Kim "Kiin" Gi-in, who picked up three early kills. Park "Viper" Do-hyeon had a huge performance on Kai’Sa, but it wasn’t enough. HLE managed to secure Baron, but at the cost of their base. With the Nexus exposed, Viper briefly kept his team alive, but not for long — Gen.G claimed the series.
Header Photo Credit: LCK/Riot Games
