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Hanwha Life Esports won the LCK Cup 2025 with a 3-2 victory over Gen.G Esports. Although Gen.G put up a great fight, HLE — with their newly acquired Toplaner Zeus — showcased great resilience and a vast champion pool to win the clash. This is Zeus' second regional victory, following his triumph with T1 in the LCK Spring 2022.
The LCK Cup 2025 win has also allowed HLE to secure qualification for First Stand 2025, the first international League of Legends tournament of the year.
Hanwha Life Esports wins the LCK Cup 2025 and qualifies for First Stand
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Hanwha Life Esports navigated a tough route to book their spot in the LCK Cup 2025 Final — having faced powerhouse teams like T1, Gen.G, and Dplus KIA in the Playoffs. Significantly, all these matches were five-game series.
Fan expectations suggested that HLE would take longer to build synergy with the new Toplaner. However, the team gradually became stronger, with all five players showing great toughness in the Fearless Draft format of the LCK Cup.
In the Grand Final, HLE emerged victorious in the initial game following a challenging contest. The players' macro decisions were executed with precision. Conversely, in the subsequent game, Gen.G decisively overwhelmed their opponents, showcasing an exceptional performance by Ruler on Corki.
The focus of the third game in the series centered on Toplane Impact. HLE Zeus picked Aatrox and demonstrated superiority over Kiin's Vayne. With a lead of 4K Gold over his counterpart in the Toplane, Zeus commanded the late-game team fights for HLE.
The fourth match proved to be another decisive victory, as Gen.G's Mid-Jungle pairing of Chovy and Canyon selected Viego and Karthus, securing a win within 30 minutes.
In the pivotal game, Zeus once more outperformed the opposing Toplaner, significantly influencing late-game objective control and team engagements with his choice of Gwen. In contrast, Kiin and Canyon delivered lackluster performances with their selections of Ornn and Trundle, respectively.
Ultimately, Zeus and HLE got the Ocean Soul and defeated Baron Nashor, leading to a triumph in the last team fight to clinch the Grand Final series with a score of 3-2.
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Zeus wins LCK Cup 2025 Finals MVP
Following two successive victories at the LoL World Championship with T1 in 2023 and 2024, Zeus' move to Hanwha Life Esports in 2025 was a surprise. After fulfilling a brief military service obligation in Korea, he subsequently joined the team for the LCK Cup 2025.
Although Zeus' initial performance did not meet his usual standards, he progressively demonstrated the skills that have established him as one of the premier Toplaners in recent history.
Zeus achieved two Playoff MVP awards in matches against T1 and Dplus KIA and demonstrated exceptional performance in the Grand Final against Gen.G to get the Finals MVP title and a prize of 2 million South Korean won.
During the post-game interview, he was asked about his feelings regarding his team's historic victory as the first to secure the LCK Cup in 2025. Zeus claimed he believed things were going to be a bit more difficult, as he said:
"LCK Cup was the first tournament after I moved the team, so I thought it was going to be a little more difficult. But things went really well until the end, and I was not expecting to win it all. But here we are, winning the trophy, so I am very, very glad and happy."
Zeus and HLE will serve as the representatives for the LCK in the First Stand 2025, which is set to commence on March 10, 2025. Additionally, four other teams from the LPL, LTA, LEC, and LCP will also participate in the competition.
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