On the first day of LCK Round 1-2, Gen.G obliterated Hanwha Life Esports with a swift 2-0 victory that didn’t even last an hour. Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon was named MVP of the series. Meanwhile, DRX secured the win against DN Freecs, largely thanks to Lee "Rich" Jae-won’s performance.

As a reminder, the second LCK split is divided into two stages. Round 1-2 follows a classic group stage format, determining the six teams that will advance to the "Road to MSI," a double-elimination King of the Hill bracket.

The opening game between Gen.G and HLE was an absolute slaughter, with the Tigers dismantling their opponents in a ruthless 24-2 stomp. The synergy between Chovy and Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu was flawless—one on Ahri, the other on Vi—leaving Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo completely out of the game. Even when Zeka tried to escape a gank with an Aurora ultimate, Chovy’s immaculate prediction secured the kill with a perfectly timed Q.

The second game was a bit closer, with HLE putting up a much better fight. Han "Peanut" Wang-ho, on Skarner, did his best to keep his team afloat, but once again, Gen.G's solo lanes made the difference. Chovy’s well-placed ultimates on Azir and Kim "Kiin" Gi-in’s decisive engages on Gnar sealed the game in their favor.

The second series between DRX and the Freecs ended with the same 2-0 scoreline in favor of Rich and his teammates. Gwen has been a highly popular pick in the LPL lately, so it was only natural to see it make its way into the LCK as well. The champion has already been played 28 times in China but has seen much less presence in the LEC during the first week of competition.

Rich had no trouble slicing through the Freecs and Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju, finishing the Gwen game with a 7/2/7 scoreline. Park "Teddy" Jin-seong also had a flawless performance, ending the match without a single death while dealing nearly 39K damage. The second game wrapped up in just 28 minutes, with DRX securing 16 kills to the Freecs’ mere three. Once again, Rich dominated the toplane, closing out the match with a 5/0/6 KDA while dealing the majority of his team’s damage.