Kanavi Can Be Both a Problem and a Solution for HLE
During the year-end transfer season of 2025, HLE brought in Kanavi to replace Peanut, who had to retire to fulfill his obligations. Of course, in terms of reputation, influence on HLE, or even leadership ability, Kanavi is hard to compare with “Little Peanut.” However, he is the best quality option HLE could have, as he has proven talent, leadership skills when he was with JDG or TES, and he is a Korean player, avoiding language barriers when returning to compete in his homeland.
However, so far, Kanavi has only made HLE fans miss… Peanut even more. In reality, Kanavi’s gameplay isn’t too bad. However, his ability to make crucial decisions at important moments or when HLE is at a disadvantage remains very limited. In fact, according to Peanut’s stream and feedback from HLE fans, Kanavi has many kills, but his teammates are not being prioritized as the game situation should dictate.
Simply put, Kanavi is not afraid to dive in and initiate fights, securing kills. But afterward, he is often the only one who is strong while his teammates are not. This factor has prevented HLE from widening the gap against NS in their unfortunate loss last weekend. They continuously won small skirmishes, but the gold difference was only 2k. And just one team fight was enough for NS to win the entire game (Game 1).
On the other hand, Kanavi’s frequent initiatives to give his teammates more advantages is also a strength. However, this player needs to have a broader view of the game rather than just focusing on trying to fight or getting as many kills as possible.
HLE Remains a Formidable Team
As a team that has just assembled its roster, it’s understandable that HLE experiences some hiccups. Of course, HLE is still a very formidable team. The thing is, they may only truly seek good results when their star players “wake up.”