Why HLE Surprised Everyone by Leading a Statistic Despite Constantly Losing to Gen.G and T1
Since the Road to MSI 2025 began and through the end of the LCK 2025 Rounds 3-5 group stage, it can be said that HLE’s decline has been the most surprising. Once the first team to win the LCK Cup, with a deep roster, no one expected the devastating loss to Gen.G followed by being crushed by T1 to affect HLE so deeply. However, recently, a player from HLE has surpassed two superstars, Ruler and Gumayusi, in a noteworthy statistic.
Accordingly, Viper is the player with the highest damage/minute among all players participating in the Legends table after the conclusion of Rounds 3-5. Notably, Viper’s figure (871) far exceeds Ruler’s (807) and Gumayusi’s (806). Meanwhile, the two players from Gen.G and T1 are very closely matched.
This statistic does not prove that HLE’s superstar is better than the AD duo of Gen.G and T1
However, many opinions suggest that the damage per minute statistic does not necessarily indicate that one player is better than another, but simply that the player is more prominent or the main source of damage for their team. In the case of Viper – Ruler – Gumayusi, this is entirely accurate.
Because Viper is the primary and most crucial source of damage for HLE. Sometimes they will rely on Zeus or Zeka. However, that is when Viper is completely outmatched by his opponents. And often in matches against Gen.G or T1, Viper is fundamentally far behind Ruler and Gumayusi right from the laning phase. This ADC has almost no contribution, and HLE has to rely on Zeus’s genius moments to salvage the game.
Meanwhile, Gen.G and T1 have faced each other multiple times, with Gen.G securing victories, yet Ruler and Gumayusi’s stats are not significantly different. This indicates that both sides are indeed formidable counterparts to each other, and these two teams have more strategies for victory compared to HLE. The evidence is that HLE has lost all matches against Gen.G and T1 in Rounds 3-5.
And when these statistics are published, it likely only adds to HLE fans’ regrets and exposes the issues of this team as they are too dependent on Viper.