Hanwha Life Esports introduces three new members to the team, finalising their roster ahead of the 2022 season.
Hanwha Life Esports has finalised its roster for the upcoming 2022 season, introducing three new members into the squad with the likes of Kim "OnFleek" Jang-gyeom, Kim "Karis" Hong-jo, and Lee "SamD" Jae-hoon. They will join the surviving members of the team like Kim "Willer" Jeong-hyeon, Oh "Vsta" Hyo-seong, and Lee "DuDu" Dong-ju. This comes after a tumultuous few weeks when the likes of Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon and Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu went into free agency after their contract expired while Park "Morgan" Gi-tae also had his expired on a mutual consensus.
With Chovy confirmed in Gen.G's line-up, HLE had a hard time finding a replacement. In comes Karis, the former mid-laner for Gen.G Esports who is now headed in the opposite direction. While he was demoted to Gen.G Challengers during the middle of the season, he is hoping to bounce back and prove his former employers wrong.
As for OnFleek, he will assume his usual jungler role alongside Willer. Whether or not HLE decides to keep two junglers for the rest of the season remains to be seen. His performances for SANDBOX Gaming were decent at best but hopefully being in a new team and environment will bring more out of his gameplay. SamD is the last piece of the puzzle, who has spent the majority of his time in the LPL. While his career doesn't boast much as of yet, the upper management of HLE must see something in him that some do not.
The team has had a rollercoaster season, finishing third during the Spring Split before crashing out in eighth in the Summer Split. Thankfully, the team pulled together to get the very last slot to Worlds 2021. From there, HLE took the play-in stage by storm, finishing second in the group and eliminating Beyond Gaming to secure their spot in the main event. Being placed in the same group as the Mid-Season Invitational 2021 winners, HLE held their own and managed to finish in second to make it through to the knockout phase.
Unfortunately, their run ended in the quarterfinals, losing three straight games to T1. For a team that many didn't expect to go that far, HLE certainly proved all their doubters wrong.
Hanwha Life Esports
Dong-ju “DuDu ” Lee 