HLE’s head-to-head record against Gen.G is far worse than T1
Recently, in a match against Gen.G in the winners’ finals of the LCK Summer Playoffs 2024, Hanwha Life Esports suffered another defeat with a score of 1-3. Notably, HLE was the team that surprisingly took the lead after the first game. However, when they couldn’t replicate that against Gen.G in the remaining games, the final defeat was entirely predictable, especially considering how HLE was obliterated by Gen.G in games 3 and 4. This loss also sent HLE down to the losers’ bracket, where they will await the outcome of the match between Dplus KIA and T1.
At the same time, this defeat against Gen.G marked HLE’s 19th consecutive loss when facing the reigning LCK champions. Excluding the period from Spring 2021 to the end of Summer 2022, HLE’s losses to Gen.G have now reached 12—a “record” no team desires and one that is hard to surpass. Even DK with ShowMaker has struggled and lost to Gen.G, yet has not matched this record.
Furthermore, the 12 consecutive losses HLE has faced against Gen.G since the “star-studded” era is more than T1’s 10 consecutive losses to Gen.G. Notably, T1’s 10 losses came from a homegrown lineup. Before Gen.G entered the phase of splurging on superstars, T1 frequently defeated this team, even when they had Chovy and Ruler.
HLE and T1: Two Opposing Spending Philosophies
In reality, HLE has often been referred to by fans in a sarcastic nickname as “Gen.G but in orange” in recent seasons. This is because this team shares many similarities with the reigning LCK champions: a roster of elite players, disciplined gameplay, and high individual skill levels. However, unlike Gen.G, HLE’s “star-studded” lineup has yet to bring home any trophies and often struggles during crucial stages. In 2023, they could blame Clid. But in Spring 2024, they didn’t even qualify for MSI 2024 and lost to T1 in almost all encounters.
Meanwhile, T1 only spends money to retain Faker and sign new contracts with players from their own training academy. In the current T1 roster, only Keria was already established before joining T1. And while they have also lost many times to Gen.G since 2023, T1 has been more successful than HLE, as evidenced by their runner-up titles from LCK, MSI, and Worlds, culminating in their recent championship at Worlds 2023.
Two teams with opposing philosophies and results that are quite different. HLE may be dominating T1 this Summer, but everything will mean nothing if “orange Gen.G” still cannot defeat the original Gen.G to end their ongoing trophy drought.