LCK Cup 2026: Gumayusi and Zeus fail to prevent HLE elimination

Hanwha Life Esports, one of the strongest teams, has exited the tournament after finishing in dead last—10th place. This result came as a complete surprise to everyone without exception, from the team itself to the fans and analysts. In this blog, we will try to understand the reasons behind this performance and why HLE were not saved by their star players and Worlds winners—Gumayusi and Zeus.

HLE’s Season Start with Gumayusi

The signing of three-time Worlds champion Gumayusi came as a shock to all fans, especially those of T1. Early in the season, following Zeus's departure to HLE, T1 struggled significantly with their gameplay and results, leading many to believe that further roster changes were inevitable. However, after T1's victory at Worlds 2025, it seemed the team was destined to keep the roster intact and continue building on their performance. Yet, Gumayusi decided to move on and leave T1, joining HLE to reunite with his former teammate, Zeus.

The first tournament for the roster of Zeus, Kanavi, Zeka, Gumayusi, and Delight was the minor 2025 KeSPA Cup. At this event, most teams field academy rosters or play with substitutes, generally using it to experiment after the shuffle period. Following their changes, HLE was one of the few teams that decided to play with their full main roster to figure out their playstyle and see what worked and what didn't. The team managed to confidently reach the final, where they faced T1, who were also fielding their full roster with their new ADC, Peyz. In a very tense series, HLE narrowly lost 2-3. It was hard to call this an early warning sign, given that it was a new roster and a relatively minor tournament.

HLE at LCK Cup 2026

The regional championship also got off to a rocky start for HLE. Their first match was against T1. Overall, T1 was a worthy opponent that HLE was capable of defeating, but on the deciding map with the score tied at 1-1, HLE made a huge mistake that instantly became an internet meme: specifically, they allowed Keria to play Bard, the T1 support's signature champion.

HLE's next opponent was Nongshim RedForce. Despite the poor start and the fact that NS RedForce had assembled a solid roster this year, the majority of analysts still favored Hanwha Life Esports. However, to everyone's surprise, NS RedForce played confidently and managed to defeat HLE 2-0.

In their third match, HLE faced HANJIN BRION, who also held a 0-2 record at the time and were expected to be the team that would help HLE climb the standings. While that is generally what happened, BRION still managed to cause problems for HLE and took one map off them.

After that, they had a match against SOOPers (formerly Freecs). HLE managed to win this match as well, but with a 2-1 scoreline, which meant they missed out on the extra points they desperately needed. Although they were sitting in the middle of the standings, Super Week was a very dangerous prospect for them, but also a chance to improve their position.

Credit: X:@HLEofficial

Ironically, during Super Week, Hanwha Life Esports had to face Gen.G, who hadn't lost a single match or even dropped a single map to an opponent. It was crucial for HLE to take as many maps as possible to qualify for the Play-In stage. They also depended on T1; in the worst-case scenario for HLE, they needed T1 to beat DK 3-0. This is exactly what happened - T1 left DK with no chance. Thus, the only option left for HLE was to defeat Gen.G. However, Gen.G are just as strong this season as in the past - a clean 3-0 victory resulted in HLE's elimination from the tournament.

But what I would like to discuss is the players' stats and their movements on the map. If we take HLE's matches and look closely, regardless of the results, if Delight has a decent KDA, then Gumayusi's KDA drops rapidly. And this happens in reverse: if Gumayusi's KDA is higher, then Delight's goes down.

The same pattern can be seen in the mid lane. If Delight has a high KDA, the stats in mid improve significantly, but Gumayusi's performance drops sharply. It is also worth noting the rather low KDA stats of Kanavi, the HLE jungler.

Of course, KDA is not the ultimate standard for all metrics, but it can explain many things. An active support and jungler will often have high KDA stats. Good examples are Keria and Oner from T1, who are notably the former teammates of Zeus and Gumayusi. The synergy and understanding of the macro game between two active roles allow the main power of the team's core positions to be unleashed. This is precisely why in T1 we can almost always see high stats for all characters. The team looks for moments, understands what the enemy champions are doing, and imposes their own game.

At the moment, HLE does not have such synergy, although the players are very experienced and certain things should be understood without words. One of the key problems is that both Zeka and Gumayusi are considered not self-sufficient players who always need looking after and require someone not to leave the lane or to create maximum space until they become very strong. And when Viper was in HLE, all the attention of the jungler and support could be concentrated on the mid lane to help Zeka when necessary. They could make a roam to the top lane or come back to bot to subsequently secure an advantage or create space for themselves to take the dragon.

With this roster, we currently have this situation: Zeka still needs help, and Gumayusi cannot stand alone either. This affects not only the stats and numbers but also the entire game. There is less movement on the map, a more constrained and cautious game, and every departure from the lane spells death for your carry. And this leads to lost lanes, which helps teams snowball against HLE. The two victories HLE achieved can be called victories based on individual skill. The players really outplayed their opponents not through teamwork, but through personal skill. So HLE has a lot of work ahead of them to avoid ending up at the bottom of the standings everywhere this season.

And even two star players who are multi-time Worlds champions won't be able to win for you if your team play doesn't fit the playstyle of specific players.

Issues with the LCK Cup 2026 Format

If we look at the standings and the format of the LCK Cup 2026, we can observe a very unusual situation. The LCK Cup 2026 features two groups: Group Elder, which includes HLE, and Group Baron. These groups play against each other, and match results determine which teams advance directly to the playoffs, who goes to the Play-In, and who leaves the tournament.

For teams in Group Baron, the conditions are the most lenient. The top two leaders of this group head straight to the second round of the playoffs. The remaining three teams (placing 3rd to 5th) are not eliminated but move to the preliminary Play-In stage.

For teams in Group Elder, the path is tougher. Only the 1st place team secures a guaranteed spot in the playoffs (Round 1). Participants placing 2nd through 4th head to the Play-In. The team that finishes last, in 5th place in this group, is the only one to immediately exit the tournament.

And this is exactly where the problem with the format and groups lies. If we look at the group results, we notice that Group Baron has two teams-SOOPers and BRION-sitting in 4th and 5th place with records of 1-4 and 0-5, respectively. By conventional logic, these two teams are the weakest and should be eliminated from the tournament, but they are protected by the format, advancing to Play-In Round 1, which already guarantees them an 8th-9th place finish. Meanwhile, Hanwha Life Esports, despite having a 2-3 record and having defeated these teams, is forced to exit the tournament in 10th place.

Of course, this might seem unfair to HLE and Group Elder, but that is the format. And objectively speaking, HLE delivered a lackluster performance, dropping many points and looking weak even compared to their own group, let alone the top 3 teams in Group Baron.

What to Expect from the Next Stages of LCK Cup 2026?

The Play-In stage kicks off on February 6th, lasting just two days and concluding on February 7th. All matches will be played in a Bo3 format, and out of the 6 teams, only 2* will be able to advance further to the playoffs.

Looking at the schedule, we see that the opening matches will be DRX vs BRION and KT Rolster vs SOOPers. In the DRX vs BRION matchup, DRX looks much more confident. Based on the group stage, BRION cannot yet offer strong competition, and due to having many rookies, they have a lot of work ahead of them. Perhaps by the Spring Split, they will be able to show something.

A harder match to call is KT Rolster vs SOOPers. Despite SOOPers having a 1-4 record in the group, they have a very decent roster with experienced players and solid rookies. However, KT Rolster also has a roster that isn't weak, and I believe that closer to Worlds, they will once again be able to compete with the top 3 LCK teams. Still, I give the edge to KT Rolster in this match with a 2-1 score.

Regarding who will make the Playoffs, I think it will be Dplus, NS RedForce, and KT Rolster. In my opinion, these teams look the best among the entire Play-In field and can confidently advance to the playoffs.