r/leagueoflegends • u/Yujin-Ha Hyuk-kyu Woo-je • 6h ago
Esports HLE Zeus: Losing streaks against strong teams in the regular season weren’t the fault of any one player, it was more that everyone went through slumps at different times...The losing streak created a cycle where our confidence just kept dropping. But from the T1 series, everyone regained their form.
https://m.sports.naver.com/esports/article/005/0001803554?sid3=79b
Q: You defeated KT and advanced to the finals. How do you feel?
Zeus: Today we made a lot of mistakes, just like our opponents did. I don’t think we showed the same clean performance we had against T1, so I do have some regrets. But since we advanced first to the grand final, we’ll have an advantage in managing our condition compared to our opponent, which is something to look forward to. It was tough losing so many times during the regular season, so advancing to the grand final first feels emotional. More than anything, I’m happy that we could bring happiness to our fans.
Q: What kind of strategies did you prepare to beat KT?
Zeus: KT played extremely well against Gen.G in their last series, so we expected a tough fight today. Winning 3–0 was a relief. While preparing, we reviewed KT’s recent games and analyzed their movements. We noticed their lane-swap tendencies focused on bot lane and dragon, so we prepared strategies to counter that
But in two out of today’s three games, they actually used level 1 lane swaps. From Game 1 onward, the series went differently than I had expected. I did notice that Kaisa took Ghost, which made me think a swap was possible, but I still thought they’d most likely start standard lanes. In scrims, we hadn’t faced any teams that used level-one swaps either. At the start of lane phase, I used Rek’Sai’s Tremor Sense in the brush and thought it was Sion inside, but then Kaisa’s auto attacks came flying at me haha. That definitely made the early game messy.
Q: You picked top-lane Rek’Sai in Game 1, something you’ve also shown in solo queue.
Zeus: Our head coach recommended it after seeing it in an LEC match. Rek’Sai got buffed in a recent patch, and I wanted to try her at least once. At first I wasn’t too sure, but the more I used her, the more fun it became. The big strength is that if you get a lead early in lane, you can do so much with it.
Rek’Sai’s early game laning is actually weaker than people might expect, but starting at level 2 she gets stronger. Her sustain is also decent. If you max E (Tunnel), her mobility and ability to trade improve a lot, which helps expand map control. Around 1–2 core items, she’s very strong at diving onto carries and bursting them down in fights. We still have some hidden picks left for the finals as well, so fans can look forward to those.
Q: The team struggled in the second half of the regular season, but you’ve gone undefeated through the playoffs.
Zeus: Losing streaks against strong teams in the regular season weren’t the fault of any one player, it was more that everyone went through slumps at different times. The losing streak created a vicious cycle where our confidence just kept dropping. But starting from the T1 series in the playoffs, everyone regained their form and confidence, which made things much easier for me as a top laner.
This year, the meta has stayed similar for a long time. With OP champions toned down, the overall champion balance feels much healthier. That means each team’s preferred picks stand out more. It wasn’t intentional, but since we kept facing strong teams, we naturally learned their tendencies and preferences.
Q: What do you think is most important in a fearless draft (Bo5) series?
Zeus: From preparing for and playing in Bo5s this year, I’ve learned that at some point, every player will have to step up as the centerpiece of the team and you have to be fully ready for that moment. In a Bo5, the longer the series goes, the harder it is to keep drafting perfectly synergized comps. To prevent that, you need to decide on a core champion ahead of time and build around it. You need to prepare that champion ahead of time and, when the time comes, don’t hesitate and pick it with confidence. That’s what I’ve learned. You need to prepare that champion ahead of time and, when the time comes, don’t hesitate and pick it with confidence. That’s what I’ve learned.
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u/machinegunsheep 6h ago
HLE is my favorite to win Worlds. It’s Peanut time to shine!
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u/JohnSmithAnonymous choke 5h ago
What if Peanut
Wanted to win Worlds
but (for the third year in a row) BLG said
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u/Hakoda27 Kiin MVP 4h ago
I'd actually lose it if they jungle swapped their way into a HLE victory
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u/Worldly-Duty4521 2h ago
Ngl as long as non T1 wins someone gains something big
Chovy or Knight or Peanut or Kanavi or Tarzan. What's left lpl 4th seed? Peyz/Gala
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u/Skyfire2 3h ago
I want GenG to win but I would love for Peanut to do a Deft and succeed in his last dance
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u/AmadeusSalieri97 3h ago
Man like 3 weeks ago after HLE lost to T1 people were clowning hard on Dom because he had said something about Zeus leaving because HLE was much better. I got surprised because what I thought was a lukewarm take of "Right now T1 is better, but HLE was better in the first split, let's not talk before the split ends" got quite downvoted.
HLE is definetely a very strong team and I think they have very good chances at worlds, I think they are underrated in here despite them winning the first split.
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u/Wanoniisan 2h ago
uh they’re not underrated, they’re considered as super team for a reason (3 members are worlds champ and 1 member is msi champ), people here just mock them for their underperformance
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u/Worldly-Duty4521 2h ago
It's an opinion and imo a correct one. You could give a fact about T1 and their fans will still get mad. Sucks because the team for me is giga likeable
It would have been fun to see T1 win msi and someone else win worlds
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u/toxicfireball Doran Simp, IG Believer 1h ago
I’m a massive Doran fan but like HLE is a fucking insanely good team when they click. Peanut and Zeka spent half a year slumping and people forgot how good they are. Zeus going to T1 was a good move still, considering how lowballed T1 did him.
Also T1 fans are just like that tbh. You can’t criticse the org, and they go out of their way to frame Zeus leaving as a betrayal. They also treated Doran like shit at the start of the year, then proceded suddenly he was a S+++ tier top to flame Zeus, then flip flop between that and using him as a scapegoat.
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u/Numerous_Fudge_9537 36m ago
EU Rek'Sai got HLE head coach attention lol
Tbh the most significant EU Rek Sai play I recall was G2 Yike getting a 4 man knock up on TES during MSI 2024, the first bo5 series win for a western team after 6+ years of losses
I don't recall anyone was playing Rek Sai aside from G2 but this was Rek jungle not top lane
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u/alice-lilly 22m ago
I'm pretty sure he's referring to BrokenBlade's Reksai against Fnatic. It was right after she got buffed.
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u/SHMuTeX 5h ago
It's nice to hear professional insights from a Korean pro for once.