HLE climbs to the top 5 of the LCK standings. 

On the 23rd of June, Hanwha Life Esports defeated Afreeca Freecs with a score of 2-1. Cheesing the enemy toplaner at level 1 with an ambush, playing the Kai'Sa-Braum composition, and going back to a more traditional team comp in game 3, HLE showcased a wide variety of strategies this series.

After the series, the sole MVP titlist, Lava, and Lindarang were invited for an interview with the OGN casters. 

Lava, you're the sole MVP titlist today. However, we wanted to hear from Lindarang so we invited him on stage! Please tell us how you feel about that victory.

Lava: It's incredible that I'm in the 1st place in the MVP rankings. 

Lindarang: I'm glad that we won game 3. We won thanks to all the fans that came to cheer for us. 


After game 2, Sangyoon looked like he was having a hard time.

Lava: In game 2, we lost due to Sangyoon's mistake. He was devasted by it. He was thanking all of us when we won game 3. Although a loss like that could damage a player's mental state, he held on and remained strong. 


Personality-wise, Sangyoon is overall a really bright player. Did the feedback after game 2 revolve around Sangyoon?

Lava: To keep the team atmosphere at a good state, we avoided talking about his mistake. 


As Swain in game 1, how did you guys set up the early dive in the botlane?

Lava: After killing the enemy toplaner, we noticed that Aatrox didn't have teleport. Afterward, we spotted Trundle at top, so I teleported and killed the enemy botlane.


As a toplaner, what is your opinion on the current meta?

Lindarang: Today, I brought a lot of chaos to the enemy botlane. (Laughs) However, even with the current chaotic state of the meta, you can make traditional compositions work. It depends on how you play with what you have.


At the botlane, you ran a marathon with Singed. Did you know that you'd make it alive?

Lindarang: At first, I ran to buy time for my team. However, while I was running, I saw a chance to live. I was lucky. (Laughs)

Lava: I thought that he'd die, but seeing him coming back alive was really funny. (Laughs)


Lava, you've played in both the toplane and botlane along with the midlane. As a player that has played in all three lanes, which lane was the hardest to play in?

Lava: Botlane. When we were playing against Gen.G... they were so, so good.


You guys used an ambush tactic in the toplane. Kiin looked so surprised in the player cam. Was that a strategy that you guys had prepped beforehand? 

Lava: This is a strategy that can only be used one time, so we practiced this strategy during our internal scrims (playing against the other 5 members of the team). We killed our sub toplaner 5 times using this strategy. (Laughs) We took account of a toplaner's frequent ward placement and pathing to pull this off.


How would you have reacted if you were on the receiving end of that ambush?

Lindarang: You'd know that the enemy can pull off something like that when they take Braum. But even when knowing that they may pull something like that off, there's almost nothing that you can do against it. 


I was shocked at how calculated you guys were during today's match. Although you guys had lost the game when you were playing the Kai'Sa comp, we saw just how planned you guys were with the jungle pathing and lane management. Are you guys confident playing that strategy?

Lava: We were the very first team to play the Kai'Sa-Braum comp, and nowadays, we practice until 5 AM every night. 


The coaches are also present during all those practice hours, right? For picks and bans that is. 

Lindarang: Yeah, the coach constantly tells us that he has a headache, especially because of the meta. But now that we've got the hang of it, we're naturally and steadily improving. 


During the last interview, Sangyoon's talk of eating a lot of beef after a match became a hot topic within the League of Legends community. Will you also go out to eat today?

Lava: We'll probably go out to eat something delicious. We'll post it on our team's SNS page, so check it out!

Lindarang: The team always provides us with delicious food, so I'm always excited about it.


Please give your last words to your team!

Lava: Our coaches and teammates who always stay up late to practice, I want to thank them all. 

Lindarang: From now on, we'll try our best to win all of our games. We'll stay strong-minded and move forward.