Gen.G vs HLE – Can HLE stop the title favorites? – Worlds 2025 Knockout Stage Preview

It was meant in the stars: Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) will have their LCK Finals rematch against Gen.G in the quarterfinals of the Worlds 2025 Knockout Stage. One advances, one will go home. It’s clear that Gen.G are looking in much better form but are there any chance for HLE? Let’s find out in our match preview.

Gen.G vs HLE – Worlds 2025 Knockout Stage Preview

Worlds 2025 is officially moving to Shanghai for the knockout stage. With the top eight locked in, the match pairings have also been unveiled, with Gen.G facing HLE in the quarters.

Despite both teams finishing the Swiss stage with a 3-1 score, the two teams have showcased different levels of play throught the first phase. Gen.G, aside from the loss against Anyone’s Legend, looking consistently stronger than their opponents, dominating them through stronger macro and impeccable teamfight execution. The trend was visible in the Bo3 series against Top Esports, with both Chovy and Ruler getting out of fights alive with the slightest of margins.

HLE, in comparison, has had more volatility in their gameplay. The team is still heavily reliant on the players’ individual skills but the overall macro and coordination doesn’t seem to be as strong. They thrive when it’s about fundamentals and micro mechanics, given that there are two insane carry players like Viper and Zeus, who, however, hasn’t been able to make the most of his main strength. We’ll get into that later.

Gen.G – Is the team still the no. 1 candidate for the Worlds 2025 title?

Gen.G continues to be the best team when it comes to playing composed games with scaling team compositions. The team has the great advantage of having three formidable carries in top, mid, and ADC and all three are able to adjust based on the team compositions and champions required.

As previously mentioned, Gen.G is excellent when it comes to skirmishes and macro plays, so expect the team to pull off a similar level of play against HLE. Gen.G’s only weakness are their drafts: they sometimes don’t end up with the best team compositions, and that can somewhat influence their ability in-game. With Fearless Bo5, draft mistakes can happen more often so that will be the thing to look out for.

HLE – Peanut’s Last Dance?

For HLE, this is an important series, not only because it’s the rematch of the LCK Finals. This is going to be Peanut’s last Worlds before he goes to the military so ending on a strong note would be the best result for the jungle player. Remember Deft in 2022? It’s somewhat along those lines.

The team has the potential to beat Gen.G, but it will require several stars to align to really make it work. Viper has been the only known quantity on this HLE roster and he will show up against Ruler. That said, he won’t be enough to beat Gen.G.

Zeka and Peanut have had ups and downs during the swiss stage and they will have to show up against Canyon and Chovy. The other is HLE must have a way to quickly deny the top side picks and let Zeus get his comfort carry picks. The team’s max potential should be achieved once he moves away from the tank champions like Sion, Rek’Sai, and K’Sante that we’ve seen throughout the swiss stage.

Prediction

Gen.G is still clearly favored in this series and will likely have an advantage. That being said, it shouldn’t be a one-sided match so if HLE will show up, we might get to see a five-game series. A 3-1 seems a more reasonable score, however, and that’s what we’ll go for our prediction. Make sure to drop your pick’ems as well to earn more rewards.