As of now in the LCK Summer 2024, HLE is proving to be an incredibly exciting team with very high performance. Recently, they defeated KDF with a score of 2-0 and climbed to the second position in the LCK standings with a record of 7 wins – 2 losses (above T1). This achievement is giving HLE a significant advantage in the race for a ticket to this year’s World Championship.
In their upcoming match, Viper and his teammates will face a major challenge named T1. If they can defeat this opponent, it will be a strong affirmation from HLE in the race for a ticket to the World Championship, and possibly even the LCK title. Regarding HLE’s star player – Viper, he seems very confident ahead of the upcoming match, though he still holds great respect for his opponents.
“Gumayusi is a smart player who can accomplish many different tasks and is very skilled in lane. I personally think I’m not good at maintaining my performance; I used to ‘throw’ games a lot when I was still playing in the LPL. Gumayusi is simply too good.
However, our goal in the next match is always to win. We will achieve this by putting our opponents’ bot lane under a lot of pressure in the laning phase. The whole team has practiced a lot, and as long as we stay focused, we will defeat T1,” Viper shared with the media.
In the fourth week of LCK Summer 2024, HLE narrowly defeated T1 with a score of 2-1. It should be noted that in the decisive third game, HLE allowed Gumayusi to have a very comfortable laning phase by focusing on attacking Zeus’s position. As a result, T1 had a very strong Kai’Sa in Gumayusi’s hands, which brought many advantages to their team. Perhaps if it weren’t for Zeka’s brilliant performance at the end of the game, T1 would likely have defeated HLE in that match.
It is likely that HLE, after their recent victory, has realized this and is now planning to ‘take care’ of Gumayusi more carefully. Moreover, attacking and controlling the bot lane area also helps HLE limit Keria’s mobility. This, in turn, increases pressure on T1 to control the map and raises their chances of winning in the upcoming match.
Fairly speaking, we cannot rule out the possibility that Viper’s aforementioned comments are just a “smokescreen” to disrupt T1’s strategy. This is because T1 is a well-rounded team with many explosive players in almost every position. Focusing on ‘taking care’ of Gumayusi could backfire if T1 adapts well during the match. Hopefully, regardless of the strategy they play, both T1 and HLE will deliver a spectacular performance worthy of a “showdown” in the upcoming encounter.