Hanwha Life Esports completely dismantled Top Esports on their first day at the First Stand, as the LPL vs. LCK derby quickly swung in HLE’s favor. It was a high-level matchup between the tournament’s likely two best teams, with the Koreans gaining the upper hand. However, Top Esports have little to worry about, as they are still expected to be stronger than the rest of the teams they are going to face at the First Stand. For HLE, this win puts them in a strong position for first place, as TES were their main competitor for that spot.

The last time HLE faced a Chinese team was at Worlds 2024, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Bilibili Gaming. As for Top Esports, Korean teams haven’t been too kind to them—T1 defeated them in the Esports World Cup final and knocked them out in the Worlds 2024 quarterfinals.

HLE were clearly superior

The first game between HLE and TES was a dominant showing from Park "Viper" Do-hyeon and his teammates. With an Ezreal that never missed, his Mystic Shots rained down on TES until their Nexus finally crumbled. HLE’s draft was not only easier to execute, but with Skarner left open, they took full control from the blue side and secured Game 1 convincingly.

Game 2 was even more one-sided, as Han "Peanut" Wang-ho delivered a textbook performance on his signature Nidalee. Finishing with a flawless 7/0/11 scoreline (85% kill participation), he dictated the pace of the game, relentlessly hunting down TES and Bai "369" Jia-Hao at every turn. Meanwhile, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je made a strong statement in his first international match with HLE, creating the space his team needed with Jax and Aatrox to close out the series. Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo also played a key role, his Akali proving to be a constant headache for TES, as HLE wrapped up a dominant 2-0 victory.

After defeating TES, HLE will have a day off and won’t play tomorrow. They’ll return to the stage on Wednesday, March 12, at 9 AM CET to face CTBC Flying Oyster. As for TES, they’ll be back in action tomorrow at noon against Team Liquid—a Bo3 that should, in theory, be much smoother for the LPL Split 1 champions.