LCK: Hanwha Life confirmed its role as favourite and defeated DRX with ease

The Korean LCK playoffs have begun, and with it the chance to advance to the home Worlds. The playoffs kicked off with a duel between Hanwhou Life and DRX.

After a sensational comeback in the last week of the LCK regular season, DRX began to relive the identical scenario from a year ago. The then underrated and struggling unit not only qualified from sixth place for Worlds, but also sensationally dominated it.

Hanwha Life Esports, on the other hand, managed to build on a great spring and even take third place in a direct battle with Dplus KIA, which gave them the advantage of a first-round playoff draw. The third unit of the regular season thus chose DRX, which despite the comeback did not impress strongly.

The paper favourite played the first playoff series in style and concentrated, efficient play, destroying the hopes of the opponent. DRX managed to overwhelm the favourite in the third game at 0-2.

However, Hanwha withstood a wild match that saw over fifty kills, and a comfortable 3-0 win gives them confidence that the team will finish at worst fourth before the regional qualifiers.

In the context of fighting for Worlds, Hanwha Life is well positioned. Given the current state of Dplus KIA and T1, the team’s stock can be expected to rise further. However, it is still the case that if the team wants to advance directly to Worlds, they must beat KT Rolster or GenG.

For DRX, the fact that the summer split is rated better than the spring one plays into the potential qualification chances. The paradoxical situation where both DRX and Liiv Sandbox had the same number of points for the season, and the greater importance of the summer split, favors the defending Worlds champion.

DRX, however, know that if they are to think about another sensation, they must win two Bo5 series from the lowest seeded position. However, given their current performance, even this is becoming very unrealistic for now. But who knows, one miracle already happened last year.

Source: LCK Global, Leaguepedia