Victory over Gen.G with a score of 3:2 in the finals on the 23rd… MVP is ‘Zeus’ Choi Woo-jae
The First Stand to be held in Seoul from March 10 to 16
An additional seed for direct entry to the main event of MSI for the winning team’s region,
Hanwha Life Esports players and coach Choi In-kyu pose with the trophy at LoL Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, after winning the first LCK Cup on the 23rd. ⓒYonhap News, “[Dailian = Reporter Hwang Ji-hyun] Hanwha Life Esports secured the title of inaugural champion by defeating Gen.G 3-2 after a fierce match in the LCK Cup finals. With this victory, Hanwha Life will participate in the international tournament ‘The First Stand’ as the LCK representative, scheduled for March.”,
,
, ‘According to League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) on the 24th, Hanwha Life claimed the honor of being the first champions by defeating Gen.G 3-2 in a full-set match at the finals held at LoL Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the previous day.’,
,
,
Hanwha Life Esports’ mid laner ‘Zeka’ Kim Geon-woo takes his seat before the start of the 5th set during the 2025 LCK Cup final at LoL Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. ⓒYonhap News, “In the first set of the final on the 23rd, Hanwha Life pressured Gen.G by relying on the cooperative plays of ‘Viper’ Park Do-hyeon and ‘Zeka’ Kim Geon-woo. Although Gen.G attempted a counterattack by taking Baron Nashor mid-game, Hanwha Life swiftly neutralized their efforts and secured the first set in 31 minutes.”,
,
, “In the second set, Gen.G made a comeback. With ‘Ruler’ Park Jae-hyuk’s growth playing a decisive role in team fights and ‘Kiin’ Kim Ki-in achieving a triple kill with Rumble, they secured victory in 26 minutes, tying the match.”,
,
, “In the third set, Hanwha Life’s ‘Zeus’ Choi Woo-jae was instrumental. Gen.G employed an unconventional pick for the top lane, but Hanwha Life took control early on, neutralizing their strategy and destroying Gen.G’s Nexus in 30 minutes to regain the lead.”,
,
,
Gen.G’s mid laner ‘Chovy’ Jeong Ji-hoon (left) and ‘Canyon’ Kim Geon-bu take their seats during the opening ceremony of the 2025 LCK Cup final at LoL Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. ⓒYonhap News, “In the fourth set, ‘Chovy’ Jeong Ji-hoon utilized mid Viego to lead Gen.G to victory. Gen.G secured major objectives to gain an advantage in match operations, pushing the Nexus in 30 minutes to stretch the competition to a final fifth set.”,
,
, “In the decisive fifth set, Hanwha Life took the lead early, suppressing ‘Kiin’ Kim Ki-in. Gen.G aimed for a late-game victory using ‘Chovy’s Aurelion Sol, but at 33 minutes, Hanwha Life secured a breakthrough by eliminating ‘Kiin’ and ‘Chovy’ in succession. With the Baron buff, Hanwha Life destroyed Gen.G’s Nexus in 38 minutes, securing their championship victory.”,
,
, ‘Throughout the LCK Cup, Hanwha Life exhibited persistent gameplay. In each of their four best-of-five playoff series, they played to five sets and emerged victorious every time.’,
,
,
Hanwha Life Esports’ top laner ‘Zeus’ Choi Woo-jae takes his seat before the start of the 5th set during the 2025 LCK Cup final at LoL Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. ⓒYonhap News, ‘The MVP of this game was ‘Zeus’ Choi Woo-jae, who showed overwhelming performance in the third set. He dominated the opponent with his exceptional combat skills using Aatrox, leading the team to victory. In a post-match interview, he stated, “I chose Aatrox as I thought it synergized well with the Electrocute rune, and we were able to play from a favorable position due to our early lead.”‘,
,
, ‘The key to Hanwha Life’s victory was their “focus.” Team captain ‘Peanut’ Han Wang-ho stated, “Our team has a lot of experience and a wide champion pool, allowing us to perform well even in the fifth set.” He added, “The key factor was our higher focus compared to the opponent.” Additionally, their ability to adapt flexibly to the Fearless Draft Rule contributed to their strategic response and victory.’,
,
, ‘The Fearless Draft restricts the use of champions used by both teams in previous sets until the current series is completed. Hence, each set increases the number of unavailable champions by 10, totaling 50 banned champions if a best-of-five series extends to all five sets.’,
,
,
Gen.G’s coach Kim Jung-su and bot laner ‘Ruler’ Park Jae-hyuk respond to reporters’ questions after finishing as runners-up in the 2025 LCK Cup final at LoL Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. ⓒYonhap News, ‘On the other hand, Gen.G couldn’t hide their disappointment. Coach Kim Jung-su of Gen.G remarked, “It’s very disappointing to lose in the fifth set. Although the players performed well, it was a season where I was lacking.” ‘Ruler’ Park Jae-hyuk commented, “I believe we can show a better performance in the LCK starting on April 2nd, and we’ll strive to show better performance moving forward.”‘,
,
, ‘With this victory, Hanwha Life claimed the title of the inaugural LCK Cup champion and secured the opportunity to prove their competitiveness on the international stage. The First Stand is an international tournament launched by Riot Games for the first time this year, to be held from March 10 to 16 at LoL Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Five regional kickoff tournaments will see participation from winning teams representing LCK (Korea), LPL (China), LTA (Americas), , LEC (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and LCP (Asia-Pacific).’,
,
, ‘The First Stand runs without breaks for a week, with a single round-robin format where each team faces one another in best-of-three series from March 10 to 14. The lowest-ranked team is eliminated. On the 15th and 16th, the top four teams will compete in a single-elimination best-of-five tournament to determine the final champion.’,
,
,
The final results of the 2025 LCK Cup ⓒLCK, “In the LPL, a winner’s final will feature Anyone’s Legend (AL) with players ‘Tarzan’ Lee Seung-yong and ‘Kael’ Kim Jin-hong, against JD Gaming (JDG) featuring ‘Paze’ Kim Su-hwan and ‘Scout’ Lee Ye-chan. In LTA, Team Liquid and 100 Thieves will contest the finals. In the LEC Winter Season, G2 Esports, and Karmine Corp, with ‘Canna’ Kim Chang-dong, advanced to the winners’ final. In LCP, Talon clashed with CFO Flying Oysters in the finals, with CFO Flying Oysters winning 3-1 to secure a spot in the First Stand.”,
,
, “The region of the team that wins the finals will receive an additional seed to participate directly in the main event of the MSI (Mid-Season Invitational) to be held in Vancouver, Canada, in June, bypassing the play-in stage. All matches of the First Stand will follow the ‘Fearless Draft’ format.\n”]