Hanwha Life Esports beat Afreeca Freecs 2-1 today during the fourth week of the 2021 LCK Spring Split.
This League of Legends series featured high-level plays from both teams, but in the end, HLE thrived and managed to secure another victory. Support Oh “Vsta” Hyo-seong picked up both MVP votes today after his phenomenal performances on Rell and Alistar. His engage-heavy playstyle helped HLE win multiple teamfights and turn every small advantage into a huge gold lead. His combined KDA in the winning games was 1/1/25.
Today’s showdown began with an impressive performance by HLE. They had a good laning phase, great mid-game priority, and amazing map coverage throughout the entire game. Vsta’s Rell was essential to helping HLE achieve this great performance. He was ahead of his opponent with decision-making and allowed his team to secure early leads across the entire map.
Following an almost-perfect game by HLE to start the series, they were forced to adjust their composition in the second game after their champions were banned out. AFS surprised League fans everywhere with a mid Gragas pick and various global ultimate champions on its roster. HLE went for a snowballing composition in hopes of shutting AFS down early on, but it failed. The mid Gragas pick from AFS was crucial in equalizing this series.
The third game’s draft phase began with an early Gragas pick by HLE, taking it away from AFS after the second game mid Gragas. They sent him to the top lane, where he was able to stand up against Renekton and provide the frontline HLE needed so desperately in the second game.
Meanwhile, Vsta picked up an engage support once again. His Alistar was the main reason HLE were able to snowball through the bottom lane and then convert that lead to towers and neutral objectives. With great coordination around the map and a couple of teamfight wins under their belt, HLE secured the 2-1 series win.
Following this victory, HLE (5-2) climb to second place in the 2021 LCK Spring Split. After a shaky start, they’ve improved tremendously over the past couple of weeks and have shown huge promise. HLE’s rookies, backed up by veterans Chovy and Deft, have popped off and are rivaling the best players in the league.
HLE will be back on the Rift later this week with a matchup against Liiv SANDBOX on Sunday, Feb. 7.
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