Many Issues of HLE Were Revealed in the Victory Against DK
For an opponent considered weaker in many aspects like DK, HLE’s victory was somewhat predictable. However, even in a BO5 format, no one expected “the Orange House” to struggle this much, allowing DK to equalize twice in a row and push the match to game 5. Nonetheless, the ultimate goal was achieved, and HLE became the first team to secure a spot in the grand finals of the 2025 KeSPA Cup. The win against DK, however, revealed many issues within HLE.
The HLE team is facing a significant issue in high-level professional League of Legends matches, which is macro play. In game 3 and especially in game 4, when they could not impose their game early on, HLE often seemed perplexed. Additionally, with the coordination among players not reaching 100%, having two rookies in key positions caused HLE to struggle in closing out the game, thus giving the opponents the chance to turn the tide.
A prime example of this issue occurred in game 3, when HLE had a lead of about 5k gold over DK at the 20-minute mark. That figure was safe enough, and if they were a strong team, like Gen.G, they would have been able to close out the match completely. However, the more they played, the more mistakes HLE made, from minor details to movement and team fights… As a result, they allowed DK to reach their power threshold and seize victory.
The 2025 KeSPA Cup is an Opportunity for HLE and Teams to Address Issues
During the end-of-year transfer season of 2025, HLE, T1… all had significant personnel changes. At the same time, Riot also introduced major changes that will impact the professional League of Legends scene in the future. Therefore, this is not just a “formality” tournament, but teams may view the 2025 KeSPA Cup as a test to identify issues and come up with solutions before the official start of the LCK season.