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We continue to follow the action at First Stand 2025. The first ever tournament of the series, and the first international tournament of the 2025 season as well, is underway with the play-offs.
We are watching the first round of the main stage, where we are waiting for the match between the main favourites of the tournament - HLE and Top Esports. Someone from this pair will leave the championship after the match, and the winner will play in the grand final on the 16th of March.
Let's try to find out who from the pair HLE - Top Esports will be stronger and will make it to the Grand Final, and who will have to say goodbye to the prospects of becoming the champion of First Stand 2025.
Let's go.
HLE Form
Let's open our analysis of the HLE vs Top Esports match with an analysis of HLE's form. In this match they play as favourites with odds to win at around 1.2.
HLE are consistently reaching the late stages of the regular split. This only started to work out in 2023. Before that, in the 2022 season, HLE were the worst team in the race, twice finishing in the top 10 in regular splits.
It was corrected by 2023, after the big Reshuffle. Two reigning world champions joined the HLE roster, which strengthened the club considerably.
- HLE roster: Zeus, Peanut, Zeka, Viper, Delight.
With the addition of Zeka and Kingen to the HLE lineup, it was clearly more vigorous. So much so that they made it to the top 4 of LCK Spring 2023. The latest addition to HLE is Grizzly, a jungler who got promoted from the academic roster.
It seems to be working out pretty well. HLE finished in the top 3 in the regular season, which with teams like Dplus, T1 and other top teams is pretty good.
In the first play-offs match HLE warmed up against DRX. Nominally reigning world champions couldn't do anything against their visions and HLE easily closed the match with the score 3-0.
Then the situation was not so rosy: HLE ran into Gen.G and fell 0-3. The favour went to the bottom set of play-offs, but it did not save them for long.
Hanwha Life Esports faced KT Rolster in the first match of the last chance grid. The pressure was too hard and HLE was washed away: 0-3 and a play-offs exit, and at the same time not a pass to Worlds 2023.
They tried to make it to the Worlds in the regional finals, but again failed. LCK finished the final tournament of the season in the top 3, having failed to use either of the two attempts to qualify for the Worlds: they lost first to KT Rolster with a 1-3 score and then to Ledge or DPlus KIA with the same score.
Hanwha Life Esports finished the LCK Spring 2024 season in the top 3. The team once again fell one series short of reaching the international LAN tournament.
HLE advanced to the LCK Summer 2024 play-offs from the second place of the regular season, finishing 14-4. Went directly to the second stage of the playoffs. They debuted at the LCK Summer 2024 play-offs with a match against T1, where they beat the reigning world champions 3-0. HLE then lost to Gen.G, beat T1 again on class and in the grand final got revenge on Gen.G and became LCK Summer 2024 champions.
Worlds 2024 HLE Long started with a solid win over PSG Talon. Next up was a win over G2 Esports. In the next match for the play-offs Worlds 2024 HLE were close to disaster against FlyQuest, but managed to turn the tide in the first map, which allowed them to close the series 2-1 in their favour. Worlds 2024 opened the playoffs with a match against BLG, where Ledge won 1-3.
They opened the 2025 season with an appearance at the LCK Cup 2025, where they played Baron Group along with T1 and others. There they took the top 2, having won the stage with the score 3-2 and got to the second round of Play-In. Already there they beat DRX, which gave them a place in the play-offs. In the first round of play-offs HLE played against T1, where they defeated the reigning world champions 3-2 in a full-fledged Bo5 match. Next up was a match against Gen.G with a similar outcome: 3-2 in favour of Hanwha Life Esports. In the LCK Cup 2025 Grand Final match, they played against DPlus KIA, winning 3-2. In the LCK 2025 Grand Final, HLE finally made it to the LCK Grand Final by defeating Gen.G to become LCK champions for the first time.
At First Stand 2025 HLE played a great group stage, winning all 4 matches with a map difference of 8-2.
Hanwha Life Esports Champions
HLE use a wide pool of characters on the top line. The most popular are Gnar (12 matches, 75% wins), KSante (5 matches, 40% wins), Ornn (4 matches, 75% wins), and Sion (4 matches, 50% wins).
Sejuani (9 matches, 11% wins), Vi (7 matches, 85% wins), Elise (4 games, 75% wins) appear most often in the forest.
Azir (9 games, 55% wins), Sylas (5 matches, 80% wins), Kassadin (5 matches, 80% wins), Akali (4 matches, 100% wins) appear on the centre line.
Shooters are chosen as standard: Zeri (11 matches, 63% wins), Varus (7 matches, 42% wins), Caitlyn (7 games, 57% wins), Lucian (5 matches, 80% wins).
Among the supporting heroes Lulu (10 games, 70% wins), Heimerdinger (7 matches, 42% wins), Lux (6 matches, 66% wins), and Nami (4 matches, 75% wins).
Top Esports uniforms
We continue the analysis of Top Esports vs HLE match with the analysis of Top Esports form. In this match, they play as an outsider with odds to win in the region of 5.
In 2022, Top Esports finished top-2 in the domestic league twice and then made two appearances at the 2022 Worlds where they finished top-10. In the new season, the situation is slightly worse: they finished top-7 in the LPL Spring 2023, managing to qualify for the play-offs but failing to win a single game there.
- Tes Esports lineup: 369, Kanavi, Creme, JackeyLove, Crisp.
The group stage for TOP Esports was pleasant, but far from perfect. TES shared the top 4 of the regular season with LNG, going 12-4 in the series.
In their first play-offs match, TES faced serious resistance from EDG. TES defeated their counterparts by a score of 3-2.
TES fell to the bottom seed after a clash with Bilibili Gaming. That match ended with a 3-1 victory for the latter. Further bad luck continued in the lower grid of LPL Summer 2023. In the match for life at the tournament TES met LNG Esports, tried to impose a fight, but were powerless, lost with a score of 1-3 and left the tournament on the 4th line.
TES later played at the LPL Regional Finals 2023, where they tried to make it to the Worlds. Again they came up just short, as TES Ledge beat WBG 2-3, thus losing their chances of making it to Worlds 2023.
TES also had NEST 2023, where TES failed to make it out of the group, finishing 2-1. The group stage of Demacia Cup 2023 was quite easy for TOP Esports: they didn't lose a single match in Group D and easily made it to the main stage. However, in the play-offs, TES did not have the same ease: TOP Esports lost their first play-offs match to Ledgeiv JDG 2-3, which is not too bad considering the overall condition of the teams during the last season.
TOP Esports had a very good LPL Spring 2024 regular season: the team went 13-3, thus advancing straight to the Double-Elimination stage. In their first round of play-offs, TES played against JD Gaming and easily stomped them 3-0. Next were BLG in the match for the play-offs and there unfolded a real drama with a 3-2 victory in favour of Bilibili Gaming. In the LPL Spring 2024 Grand Finals, TES played against JD Gaming and were outplayed for the second time.
In the LPL Spring 2024 Grand Finals, TOP Esports played against Bilibili Gaming and lost 1-3.
In the first match of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2024 Top Esports easily defeated LOUD with a score of 2-0. In the Bracket Stage match, TES played against Fnatic, where they won 2-1. They made their Bracket Stage debut with a solid 3-0 win over Liquid. Next was a defeat by Gen.G, followed by an elimination by G2 Esports and, as a result, Top 6.
TOP Esports also played at Esports World Cup 2024, where they reached the grand finals, but lost to T1.
At Worlds 2024, TES went from third place LPL Summer 2024 where Ledgeili WBG. The Long Sogpeg World Championship itself was won by the reigning world champions T1. Next was a loss to Gen.G, and then a solid win over Fnatic. They advanced to the play-offs after defeating DPlus KIA. Worlds 2024 play-offs did not go well: a 0-3 loss to T1 and a Top 8 exit.
The 2025 Longs season started with the group stage of LPL Split 1, where they drew 2-1 in Basket A. Going into the play-offs Long Sogpeg started from the first round of the lower bracket against a rather chipper Invictus Gaming and won 3-1. The next match against NiP also ended in favour of TES with a score of 3-1. In the lower grid final, TES defeated another top opponent, JDG, to close out the series with a 3-1 score. By advancing to the grand finals, TES confirmed their status as one of the strongest teams in China by defeating AL by a score of 3-1.
In the group stage of First Stand 2025, TES looked frankly awful as the LPL champions barely made it into the play-offs, finishing 1-3 in the group stage.
Most Popular Top Esports Champions
KSante (7 matches, 85% wins) and Renekton (5 matches, 80% wins) remain the most popular top line selections. Sion (3 matches, 66% wins) and Darius (2 matches, 100% wins) are next.
Sejuani (9 games, 77% wins), Vi (4 games, 75% wins), Maokai (4 games, 100% wins) are ubiquitous in the forest.
Jayce (6 games, 100% wins) appears in the mid (6 games, 100% wins). Next are Azir (4 games, 75% wins), Akali (3 games, 66% wins), Sylas (3 games, 33% wins).
TES has a standard set of shooters: Lucian (6 games, 66% wins), Varus (4 games, 100% wins), Sivir (3 games, 33% wins). Draven (3 games, 66% wins) and Jhin (3 matches, 66% wins).
Pool players: Nami (6 games, 66% wins), Yuumi (4 games, 75% wins), Nautilus (4 games, 75% wins), Heimerdinger (4 games, 100% wins).
History of head-to-head meetings between TES and HLE
This will be the second head-to-head match between the teams on the international stage. Previously, HLE won at First Stand 2025.
Predicted result of the match HLE vs Top Esports at First Stand 2025
In this match my bet is on HLE. From the experience of the match CFO - KC, we have seen how the performance in the group stage can "overlap", but here still the level of teams is different and champions LCK should not let go.
Bottom line: HLE win.
CTBC Flying Oyster
GAM EsportsWatch match
