Peanut Admits “Bitter Truth” About HLE
After the conclusion of the LCK 2025 Group Stage Rounds 3-5, HLE, despite having a less-than-convincing Phase 2, still comfortably sits in second place for various reasons. Together with Gen.G, they will be one of the two teams competing in Round 2 of the Playoffs, and there is a strong possibility that HLE’s opponent will be KT. However, according to Peanut himself, HLE’s presence in Round 2, having secured second place after the group stage, is largely due to… luck.
Accordingly, Peanut candidly admitted: “After a long period of regular competition, I feel that we are adapting quite slowly compared to our opponents. I sincerely apologize to the fans for this. However, since we performed well in Rounds 1-2, after six consecutive losses to Gen.G and T1, we still remain second in the standings. That is truly very fortunate.”
In reality, in all six losses against powerful opponents like Gen.G and T1, and nearly facing defeat against KT, HLE’s performance in Rounds 3-5 has been very disappointing. In fact, in the second match of their recent encounter with T1, had this team not made “self-destructive” bans and picks or played disjointedly for HLE to capitalize on, HLE might have suffered a four-game losing streak against the MSI runners-up.
HLE Can’t Celebrate Just Yet
With their current strength, it would not be surprising if HLE secures a spot at the 2025 World Championship. However, winning the domestic title in LCK this time is another matter. T1 has always beaten HLE in their last four encounters, and Gen.G similarly. Moreover, both of these teams have shown that only they can defeat each other, while the rest cannot even be mentioned at present. Therefore, the chances of HLE squeezing in are very low.
However, it cannot be assumed that HLE is to be underestimated, especially since they are still the reigning champions of the most recent domestic tournament in LCK. If they can regain their form, HLE could still create surprises, especially as both Gen.G and T1 have recently shown several weaknesses.