Hanwha Life Insurance, which cracked LCK's two major mountain ranges, is glad to advance to the finals
Sep 08, 2024
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Hanwha Life Insurance defeated T1 3-1 in the 2024 LCK Summer Season Playoff Final held at Gyeongju Indoor Gymnasium in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 7th and reached the final stage for the first time since its re-foundation. Hanwha Life Insurance will compete with Gen.G for the championship at the same place on the 8th. Regardless of this, Hanwha Life Insurance will again compete in the `League of Legends World Championship' (LOL World Cup), which will determine the global championship for the first time in three years since 2021.
On the other hand, T1, which has been on the LCK final stage six times in a row over the past three years, ended the summer season in the final third place. This can be said to be a quite symbolic event in LCK.
Above all, T1 and T1 itself 'Faker'Lee Sang-hyuk is the team that has the thickest fandom not only in LCK but also in the world. In addition, regardless of whether the regular league's performance is in the top or middle ranks, it has changed to a 'invincible' mode when it comes to the playoffs for the past three years, showing off its power to reach the finals unconditionally. Lee Sang-hyuk, the center of the team, has a great presence, but he was so confident that he would never lose if all the other team members showed their skills on the big stage, so he could not ignore the psychological factors that his opponent was intimidated.
However, as T1 built the two major mountain ranges with Gen.G, there was also a regret that other teams were always only supporting. The fact that T1 and Gen.G. faced each other in the LCK final for the fifth consecutive time is that the salary of the two teams investing in the players exceeded that of the other teams. T1 is a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast in the U.S., but Comcast is actually led by Comcast, and Gen.G. is receiving global investments centered on Silicon Valley in the U.S., so there is no choice but to endure losses even though it has not yet made a profit on a team basis. It is also true that there is an uncomfortable view of the two teams' dominance amid growing concerns about the league's 's 'sustainability'.
However, in comparison, domestic capital, especially capital invested in sports, is bound to have many limitations. Even professional baseball, the largest among domestic professional sports, has been in the black for more than 40 years, and most of them are receiving support from group affiliates as part of social contribution or marketing activities.
In the meantime, Hanwha Life Insurance, a domestic capital, formed its own 'Super Team' lineup with a considerable amount of investment, if not about two teams, and cracked the two teams' dominance over the past three years. It can be a driving force for other teams to further stimulate investment, or it can act as a fresh stimulant for LCK, which can halve fun and competitiveness due to the fixation of power polarization. This is why Hanwha Life Insurance's advance to the finals is more welcome.
bluesky@sportschosun.com
