The LCK is back with a thunder, following the victory at the First Stand tournament by HLE, many fans and analysts are excited to see how the region has adapted to Fearless Draft, as well as the meta.
With MSI 2025 on the horizon, all of the LCK teams are looking to secure a spot at the next international tournament and defeat some of the strongest teams in the world. With that being said, let's take a look at the DNF vs HLE match from the 2025 LCK Round 1-2.
Table of Contents
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2025 LCK Round 1-2 Format
With Fearless Draft still in play, pro players will need to constantly adapt to an ever-shifting meta and draft their way to victory. Thankfully, there will be no best-of-one (Bo1) matches for this split so all of the teams will be able to give it their all.
Format
- 10 teams participate
- Double Round Robin
- All matches are best of three (Bo3)
- Top six teams qualify for Road to MSI
- Based on this rounds' results teams will be seeded into Rounds 3-5
- Top five teams will start in the Legend Group
- Bottom five teams will start in the Rise Group
DNF vs HLE Game 1
DNF vs HLE Bans
| DNF | HLE |
Varus  |
 Taliyah |
Yone  |
 Sejuani |
Kalista  |
 Vi |
Ezreal  |
 Miss Fortune |
Alistar  |
 Ashe |
DNF vs HLE Picks
| DNF | HLE |
DuDu  |
 Zeus |
Pyosik  |
 Peanut |
BuLLDoG  |
 Zeka |
Berserker  |
 Viper |
Life  |
 Delight |
Winner: HLE
HLE started off the series with some early kills, and with DNF's comp quite lackluster, it might be difficult for the team to find picks onto HLE. The game was rather uneventful as DNF was not able to contest objectives due to the lack of team fighting capabilities. Slowly but surely, HLE was able to grind DNF down until they were able to claim the Baron and went 1-0 in the series.
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DNF vs HLE Game 2
DNF vs HLE Bans
| DNF | HLE |
| Varus |
Vi |
| Yone |
 Rumble |
Renekton |
Kalista |
Skarner  |
Miss Fortune |
Leona  |
Ashe |
DNF vs HLE Picks
| DNF | HLE |
DuDu  |
 Zeus |
| Pyosik |
 Peanut |
| BuLLDoG |
 Zeka |
Berserker  |
Viper |
Life  |
 Delight |
Winner: DNF
DNF absolutely stomped HLE in the second game as DuDu's Ambessa was one of the key players for their success, with Pyosik's Sejuani acting as the much-needed frontline. Unfortunately, Zeus didn't get to play the game, thus resulting in HLE's engage to be lackluster. Ultimately, DNF was able to make use of their advantage and equalize the series 1-1 after a cheeky pick onto Viper's Ezreal.
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HLE vs DNF Game 3
HLE vs DNF Bans
| HLE | DNF |
| Ashe |
Yone |
| Skarner |
 Sylas |
| Varus |
Kalista |
Nocturne  |
 Jhin |
Lee Sin  |
 Galio |
HLE vs DNF Picks
| HLE | DNF |
Zeus  |
DuDu |
| Peanut |
 Pyosik |
Zeka  |
 BuLLDoG |
Viper  |
Berserker |
| Delight |
 Life |
Winner: HLE
HLE certainly did not disappoint as their comp was so dive heavy that DNF couldn't react to the sheer aggression from Zeka's Akali and Peanut's Vi. Over an 12K gold lead before the 30-minute mark showcased how strong HLE is, and despite losing a game to DNF, it was quite the great series on the side of the First Stand victors. Finally, HLE sieged the enemy base after taking the Baron and won the series 2-1.
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