HLC has officially become the 2024 champion of the LCK, which has served as a direct ticket for the upcoming Worlds tournament. The victory was just the icing on the cake, as they have already shown incredible performance even against teams such as T1. The win also marked the 7th LCK title for one of their best players Peanut. In this article, we are gonna go over their games and highlight some key insights.
Game 1
BANGER START TO THE GRAND FINALS! đź’Ą@HLEofficial strike first in the series! #LCK pic.twitter.com/yycOQhUpMX
— LCK (@LCK) September 8, 2024
The draft for the game featured Kiin playing K’sante in the top lane, Canyon jungling on Skarner, Chovy with the mid Smolder pick, and Ezreal/Rell bot lane combo by Peyz and Lehends. HLC had Doran on Mordekaiser, Peanut piloting Zyra in the jungle, Zeka with Tristana mid, and Ashe/Leona combo by Viper and Delight.
The early moments of the game were sized by HLE which managed to secure a couple kills on Zyra, as well as a mountain drake. However, the GEN were able to strike back and secure the second-spawned drake as well as a few kills.
The game was slowly tilting in favor of GEN who were 1 fight away from finishing for some 10 minutes. However, despite cracking the HLE base open, 1 bad fight has put them in a position of no return, which lead to the eventual defeat.
Game 2
The second game came as a breath of fresh air, as we were finally able to see some pick other than Smolder. This time, GEN had Kiin on Ornn, Canyon on Zyra, a Corki mid pick by Chovy, and the Ashe/Blitz combo on the bot lane. HLC has countered with Renekton top, Peanut on Ivern, Zeka with his Azir mid pick, and a Jhin/Alistar combo on the bot lane.
The game was relatively stable by the 10th minute, at which HLE had picked first blood on Kiin playing Ornn. The Gen have equalized the trade by taking the first tower in the top lane. The next defining moment was a failed dragon call HLE, which enabled GEN to clear out the enemy team, the dragon, and most importantly Baron. It marked a key moment in the game, as GEN were able to convert all these gains to a clean victory.
Game 3
The third game was a tough one for HLE, they were able to secure an early game, however, they were visibly struggling against GEN. In the mid-game, they equalized the gold and managed to pick up two drakes with GEN only having one drake. The pressure was finally broken when HLE failed a baron call, which allowed the opposing team to pick up a few kills as well as the baron himself, ultimately leading to HLE’s defeat.
Games 4 & 5
🏆 WOORI BANK 2024 #LCK SUMMER CHAMPIONS: @HLEofficial 🏆 pic.twitter.com/YB1DYl9MgD
— LCK (@LCK) September 8, 2024
In game 4 GEN were off to a nice start. They picked up an early drake and managed to keep up in the skirmishes. However, around the 10th-minute mark, a battle netting 3 kills for HLE broke out, which set up the scene for the rest of the game. With the new found lead, HLE was able to play a safe game and push their leads, eventually winning the game with a score of 19:6. The 5th game followed the same pattern and ended up with a 15:4 score in favor of HLE.
Final Thoughts
HLE has shown incredible performance throughout their LCK journey, besting even the fan-favorite teams such as T1, and ultimately winning the tournament. Their entry to Worlds championship is now set in stone, and we are yet to see what they have show!