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The 2025 opening match is a rematch between Hanwha Life Esports vs. Gen.G... Which key champions will determine their fate?
The 2025 LCK grand opening is on the 2nd. The first clash to signal the start is a rematch between Hanwha Life Esports, who avenged their nightmare 19-game losing streak in 2024 and rose to the 'strongest' position in 2025, and Gen.G Esports, who have been preparing for revenge.
Last year, Gen.G dominated Hanwha Life with an overwhelming advantage, continuing their record-breaking 19-game winning streak. However, in the 2024 Summer Split and the 2025 LCK Cup, Hanwha Life defeated Gen.G and took the throne, marking a new phase in the rivalry between the two teams. Considering the historical record, including the regular season, the two teams are still evenly matched, making it difficult to predict the outcome of this opening match.
The jungle and support positions are pointed out as key positions that will determine the victory or defeat in this opening match. The 'Canyon' Kim Geon-bu and 'Duro' Joo Min-gyu duo of Gen.G, who gave up overwhelming initiative to Hanwha Life's 'Peanut' Han Wang-ho and 'Delight' Yoo Hwan-joong from the early design stage in the LCK Cup, will be a major point to watch whether they can overcome their slump and succeed in a turnaround in this game.
In addition, as this is the first match between the two teams since the line swap ban patch was applied, it is also interesting to see who will showcase a more sophisticated strategy based on their understanding of the changed meta. In particular, Hanwha Life has already experienced the patch version in the 'First Stand Tournament' (FST), but considering that they have had a long break since the tournament and that there may be changes in champion tiers due to patch changes in the meantime, the two teams' ban-pick strategies and operational capabilities are expected to be key factors in determining the victory or defeat.
This tournament will apply the Fearless Draft method, and the strategic battle over ban-picks is expected to be fierce. Based on the ban-picks as of Split 2 of the 2025 LPL, there are more than 10 champions that have been banned more than 20 times, such as Skarner (43 times), Jayce (40 times), Rumble (38 times), Kalista (36 times), and Varus (25 times), and ban cards are being used evenly for various champions.
In the top lane, Gwen (28 times) and Ambesa (27 times) have emerged as key cards, but Gwen recorded a decent win rate of 53.6%, while Ambesa showed a poor win rate of 33.3%. Rumble (16 times), Jayce (7 times), and Aatrox (6 times) are also being selected in the top lane.
In the jungle, Vi (25 times), Sejuani (17 times), Xin Zhao (15 times), Naafiri (14 times), and Skarner (10 times) were mainly used, and in particular, Naafiri (78.6%) and Skarner (80%) drew attention with their high win rates.
In the mid lane, Aurora (20 times), Taliyah (18 times), Ryze (14 times), Yone (13 times), and Galio (13 times) have established themselves as mainstream picks, and Ryze (71.4%) and Taliyah (61.8%) are showing strength with high win rates.
In the bottom lane, Varus (28 times), Ezreal (23 times), Kai'Sa (16 times), and Miss Fortune (13 times) were mainly selected, and Varus (67.9%) and Kai'Sa (68.8%) performed well, while Ezreal (39.1%) and Kalista (33.3%) showed contrasting results with poor win rates.
In the support position, tank-type supports such as Alistar (28 times), Rell (18 times), Leona (13 times), Rakan (12 times), and Nautilus (12 times) were mainly used, and only Alistar (64.3%) showed a decent win rate. Rell (44.4%), Leona (38.5%), and Rakan (33.3%) recorded low win rates, and among utility supports, Renata was selected 11 times but only achieved a 45% win rate.
웹진 인벤김병호 기자
2025-04-02