LCK 2025: A New Korean Dynasty on the Horizon?

GenG Esports and T1 were the two best teams in the LCK for a couple of years in a row. Last year, Hanwha Life rose to topple the GenG dynasty, denying them a fifth straight LCK title. HLE aims for a second straight title. They also won the LCK Cup. However, the LCK does not count that as a title victory. Will GenG return to the throne, or can HLE begin a dynasty?

LCK 2025: Hanwha Life Versus GenG Esports Start Times

The LCK Grand Final begins at 10:00 PM PT (7:00 AM CET September 28th). Who will become the sole LCK title holder for 2025?

LCK 2025: Hanwha Life Versus GenG Esports Match History and Head-to-Head

HLE and GenG have met 9 times this season. On seven of those occasions, GenG were victorious. Six of those series were Bo3s. All of those went in GenG’s favor. The last Bo5 was a GenG 3-2 reverse sweep that qualified them for MSI as the first seed. The previous Bo5s were during the LCK Cup playoffs. HLE won both of those and qualified as the only seed.

HLE has breezed through the Playoffs after struggling against GenG and T1 during the regular season. They are undefeated in the Playoffs, having won 3-0 in both series. GenG, on the other hand, has had to pull out all the stops to get to the final. They lost to KT 3-2, narrowly defeated T1 3-2, and then dismantled KT 3-0 in the rematch.

What Happens if HLE is Under Pressure

So far, HLE has not faced many challenges in the Playoffs. They looked in control for the majority of the series against T1 and KT. It is unlikely that they will be able to cast through against GenG. If they face significantly higher pressure, will they crumble, or will they rise above? They did have to make a comeback against T1 in game three. However, there was never a stage where they were out of the game. They had to stall until Viper’s Smolder came online. There is also the aspect that the last time these two teams met, HLE suffered a reverse sweep, which hurt them until these Playoffs.

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