Hanwha Life Esports dominate Karmine Corp to win First Stand 2025

The inaugural edition for First Stand has drawn to a close, with Hanwha Life Esports wrapping up their rampant run through the tournament in dominating fashion.

Having put up a clinic against Karmine Corp in the Grand Finals, Hanwha Life Esports became your First Stand 2025 Champions after taking down all other Champions from around the globe.

Hanwha Life Esports dominate First Stand 2025

After a grueling run through the LCK Cup to come away with the trophy and qualify to First Stand 2025, Hanwha Life came into the tournament as the big favorites to win it all. Despite the sheer amount of star power on the squad, however, few expected them to look this dominant.

Over the course of the Group Stage, Hanwha Life Esports trampled over all of the other league's Champions that attended First Stand, finishing the stage with an 8-2 game record.

Once the Playoffs came around, it was just more of the same for Hanwha Life, as the team swept the LPL's Top Esports in the Semifinals to set up a date with LEC Winter Champions of Karmine Corp in the Finals.

The Crushing of Hope

To everyone's surprise, Karmine Corp managed to take the first game of the series for themselves after winning a couple of crucial teamfights in the mid-game. Up 1-0 in the Finals, the Karmine Corp miracle looked closer than ever. And yet, as Hanwha Life gives, Hanwha Life also takes.

As if woken up in a rage after that first game, the remaining games of the Finals painted a picture far more in accord with the rest of Hanwha Life's showings at First Stand. Suffocating their rivals on the rift while Karmine Corp struggled for answers, the LCK Champions swept the next three games in just 29, 27, and 35 minutes, respectively.

To truly understand the level of domination displayed by Hanwha Life Esports in the Finals, however, we need only look at the following stat: Karmine Corp managed to secure no more than 1 turret, 1 herald, 5 grubs, and 2 drakes over the course of the final three games combined.

With the 3-1 victory in their hands, Hanwha Life Esports completed one of the most dominant runs at an international tournament ever recorded, coming away with the inaugural First Stand trophy without shedding a drop of sweat.

Hanwha Life Esports are your First Stand 2025 Champions. (Credit: Christina Oh/Riot Games)

Zeus and Zeka: The unstoppable duo

After dominating the mid lane to put up a staggering 23/7/26 KDA in the Finals, Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo finally got his hands on his first international Grand Finals MVP award.

Meanwhile, Choi "Zeus" Woo-ke continues to prove his run in the top lane on the international stage is still one of the most dominant the game has ever seen. Coming off of back-to-back Worlds titles with T1, the top laner's decision to leave his former teammates and join Hanwha Life Esports for the 2025 season quickly earned Zeus yet another international title.

Or should we say Zeus earned Hanwha Life Esports the trophy? This is, after all, the first international title of Hanwha Life's history. Though the win was nothing short of a team effort (and what a team it is), nobody can deny that the addition of Zeus to the squad has propelled Hanwha Life to a whole new level. Now, sky's the limit for a unit of players that is about as skilled as it gets.

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Featured image credit: Moon Suwon/Riot Games

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