Genji Esports advances to the winner’s bracket with a sweep of Hanwha Life Esports.
Genji swept Hanwha Life 3-0 in the second round of the 2023 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Playoffs at the Grand Seoul LCK Arena in Jongno-gu, Seoul on November 11. Coming off a sweep of D.R.A.X. in the first round, Genji showed its trademark sharpness of execution and focus on engagements to secure a 3-0 victory and advance to the winners’ bracket. Genji will look to advance to the finals against T1 on April 12.
Early in the first game, Genji successfully pushed his opponent out of the way in a dragon zone skirmish to take the first dragon. In the next skirmish, he gave up a double kill to Kim “Zeca” Gun-woo’s Yone, but managed to take a one-sided messenger as well. After winning the second dragon battle with Choi “Doran” Hyun-jun’s Arox, Genji picked up the pace, pushing the bottom and mid primary turrets along with three stacks of dragons to widen the gold gap. With the victory in hand, Genji pressured their opponents with a relaxed operation, eventually destroying the nexus at 28-minutes to take the first set.
After a kill on the bottom early in the second set, Genji succeeded in taking the messenger as Choi Hyun-jun, who played the rumble on the top, took the initiative. However, he began to take a toll on Hanwha’s focused moves in the ensuing engagements, giving up Baron and Fire Dragon Soul. Facing the brink of defeat, Genji pulled off a miraculous comeback in the 29th minute. After winning the fight in front of Baron with a steal from Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, who was playing Maokai, Genji continued to advance and took the second set with a single hit.
In the third set, which came down to the wire with a 2-0 lead, Genji seized the momentum early on. Playing Poppy, Han Wang-ho aggressively infiltrated the opponent’s jungle to create opportunities, and Jeong “Chobi” Jung-hoon quickly joined him in the azir for the first kill. Han Wang-ho was able to survive his opponent’s offense, giving him a huge advantage early on. Genji then took three kills in a row in the mid-five minute battle, effectively sealing the victory 메이저놀이터.
Genji then allowed Hanwha to catch up with them, but only due to their resistance. They were unable to close the gold gap, especially after giving up a baron. However, they managed to build their game around Jeong Ji-hoon’s well-developed Azir and completed the Soul of the Sea Dragon in 22-minutes. They then lost the fight in front of the Baron and were in danger of losing the game, but Genji managed to defend the main lane and finish off the Baron and the Elder Dragon. Eventually advancing with both buffs, Genji was able to clean up his opponent and close out the game.