Hanwha Life failed to secure fourth place during their series against KT Rolster today, but they surprised viewers with an unusual bot lane composition.
The Korean superteam pulled out a wild comp from their sleeve and chose Samira and Jarvan IV for Park “Viper” Do-hyeon and Park “Life” Jeong-min, respectively. Although Hanwha won the second game with this bot lane duo, they failed to win the series.
KT Rolster confidently entered the second game after a dominating victory in the first. Samira and Jarvan IV’s picks surprised them, but Hanwha Life failed to make much of an impact in the laning phase.
Instead, the action was focused on the upper side of the map, especially in the top lane. KT were actually ahead for the majority of the game after an early snowball, but Hanwha Life managed to stall it long enough to turn it around with a game-deciding teamfight which allowed them to rush the Nexus for the win.
Unfortunately for Hanwha Life, KT didn’t lose their focus in the third game. KT closed the series 2-1 and secured fourth place in the standings. Hanwha Life, meanwhile, dropped to fifth place. Despite the result, the teams have already booked their spots in the 2023 LCK Spring Split playoffs alongside Gen.G, Dplus KIA, and T1.
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This was the first game in the 2023 LCK Spring Split that featured both Samira and Jarvan IV, according to League stats site Oracle’s Elixir.
Hanwha Life’s composition relied on delivering a wombo combo, which is exactly what happened in the final teamfight of the second game. With Jax’s E and Wukong and Annie’s ultimates, they aimed to create a massive crowd control chain that would allow Samira to free-hit with her ultimate. Seeing as how it brought Hanwha Life success, we may see it again in the future.
