Second-to-last: LCK Week 9, Day 4 recap

Hanwha Life Esports won 2-1 against Liiv SANDBOX, and Gen.G beat Dplus KIA 2-0 on March 18, the fourth and penultimate day of Week 9 of the 2023 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Spring Split at LOL Park in Seoul, South Korea.

Four of five Player of the Game awards went to mid laners.

Hanwha Life Esports vs. Liiv SANDBOX

Game 1: HLE wins

Hanwha Life Esports took Game 1 against Liiv SANDBOX with a 15-4 win in 28:18. HLE mid laner Kim "ZEKA" Geon-woo went 9/1/2 on Veigar and led in kills; top laner Hwang "Kingen" Seong-hoon finished 2/1/10 on K'Sante; and bot laner Park "Viper" Do-hyeon and support Kim "Life" Jeong-min each found 1/0/8 scores on the Lover's Duo, Xayah and Rakan. LSB secured a Baron Nashor in the loss. LCK Player of the Game: HLE ZEKA, 6th

Game 2: LSB wins

Liiv SANDBOX tied their series against Hanwha Life Esports with a 17-8 Game 2 victory in 31:26. LSB bot laner Lee "Envyy" Myeong-joon finished 6/1/3 on Jinx supported by Kim "Kael" Jin-hong's 0/1/14 Thresh; jungler Kim "Willer" Jeong-hyeon found a 5/1/9 Wukong performance; and mid laner Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon earned his 10th Player of the Game award. This time, it was HLE's turn to secure a Baron in their loss LCK Player of the Game: LSB Clozer, 10th

Game 3: HLE wins

Hanwha Life Esports locked the fifth spot in the league with a 21-16 win against Liiv SANDBOX in a 39:05 Game 3. HLE Viper's 10/1/8 Varus led in kills, and ZEKA's Ahri had a 3/2/14 performance on Ahri. On the losing side, LSB Envyy finished 8/3/5 on Samira, but LSB's only major objectives were two drakes and two towers. LCK Player of the Game: HLE ZEKA, 7th

Strafe Player of the Series: HLE Viper (14/4/17), 5th

Gen.G vs. Dplus KIA

Game 1: GEN wins

Gen.G won the first game of their series against Dplus KIA with a 10-2 win that lasted 26:45. GEN bot laner Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan and support Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong went 5/0/2 on Zeri and 1/0/8 on Rakan; and jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho was 2/0/5 on Maokai. DK mid laner Heo "ShowMaker" Su went 1/0/0 on LeBlanc in DK's losing effort, and the team only managed to secure one drake and one tower. LCK Player of the Game: GEN Delight, 4th

Game 2: GEN wins

Gen.G won Game 2 against Dplus KIA in 37:52 despite trailing 18-17 in kills. GEN mid laner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon went 9/1/5 and had the only positive KDA on his team. On the losing side, DK top laner Kim "Canna" Chang-dong went 8/6/5 on Kennen; ShowMaker's LeBlanc finished with a 4/2/7 score; and bot laner Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu added a 4/3/10 score on Sivir and notched his 2,400th LCK kill, good for second place after T1 mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's 2,802. DK also took five drakes -- including Elder Dragon -- and an inhibitor in the loss. LCK Player of the Game: GEN Chovy, 8th

Strafe Player of the Series: GEN Chovy (10/2/8), 6th

Featured photos courtesy of the LCK/Riot Games.