Does Gen.G really underestimate HLE?
Although several days have passed, the aftermath of the Gen.G – HLE match in the deciding round and the final match of the LCK Cup 2026 still attracts significant attention from the League of Legends community. One of the factors being discussed is the draft phase. In all three games, Gen.G willingly allowed Zeka to have the strongest “power picks” for the current midlaner, Azir, Orianna, and Ryze, yet still emerged victorious. This has sparked discussions that Gen.G may indeed be “underestimating” HLE.
However, according to Gen.G’s own comments after the match, there was absolutely no disdain towards HLE, even though their opponent was in an unstable state: “Gen.G had to choose between Varus, Jayce, Rumble, all in S tier, or let HLE have Orianna/Azir. And Gen.G chose the latter but they have Chovy – who can win through his skill.”
According to some analyses from the community and experts, Gen.G is not afraid to give their opponents power picks while Chovy will play matchups that may be disadvantageous in the laning phase but help his teammates gain an advantage. This has been repeated many times in the LCK Cup. For example, in game 2 of the DK – Gen.G match when Chovy was ready to use Galio – a champion purely for making plays, short-range and tanky, yet through skill and teamwork, Chovy still outperformed ShowMaker – who was using his comfort champion Syndra right from the laning phase.
Gen.G is in perfect form
Chovy’s willingness to “sacrifice” for the team’s goals is not a new phenomenon, but it is something this player is developing more. However, up to now, there hasn’t been any match where Ryu could propose other unusual choices for Gen.G, and it might not yet be enough to fully assess the strength of the current MSI champion. It can only be affirmed: Gen.G is in perfect form and HLE is certainly not the last “victim” of this black-and-gold team at this year’s LCK Cup.