Hanwha Life Esports 2023 Roster
(TOP) Hwang “KingGen” Seong-hoon
(JUG) Kim ‘Clyde’ Tae-min
(MID) Kim ‘Zeca’ Gun-woo
(BOT) Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyun
(SUP) Kim ‘Life’ Jung-min

The Stobrig was held ahead of the 2023 LCK Spring Split. There were a number of player and coaching changes, but one of the most notable was Hanwha Life Esports.

In 2022, Hanwha Life Esports completed its roster construction under the keyword ‘nurture’. The team’s academy alumni and mascots Lee “Dudu” Dong-joo and Oh “Busta” Hyo-seong, promising prospects Kim “Charis” Hong-jo and Lee “Ssammi” Jae-hoon, and veteran Kim “Onflick” Jang-gyeom to lead the team. Unfortunately for Hanwha Life Esports, their 2022 report card had two words written on it: failure.

However, at the recent Stavrig, Hanwha Life Esports showed a more aggressive approach, and as a result, they’re ready to take on 2023 with some big names. The roster includes three players who have won the Rold Cup before: Hwang “KingGen” Seong-hoon, Kim “Zeca” Gun-woo and Park “Viper” Do-hyun. They are joined by jungler Kim “Clyde” Tae-min and support Kim “Life” Jung-min, who have their own style.

With a roster full of outstanding players, Hanwha Life Esports announced ‘SUPER DIVE’ as its slogan for 2023. It was inspired by the word “dive” in League of Legends, which refers to a play that involves taking a big risk and diving into enemy territory in order to turn the tide or win the game.

It’s a playstyle that Hanwha Life Esports has been trying to emulate for years. During his time as head coach, Son Dae-young consistently revealed this motto in interviews with various media outlets. While the organization was unable to fully implement the motto for various practical reasons, it can be said that the 2023 season slogan expresses its intentions more actively and directly.

According to rumors, Hanwha Life Esports’ scrim performance is quite good. Usually, when you fill a roster with players who are known for their colorful resumes and good skills, it is said that it takes a while for the overall team to move up because of the difficulty in matching the sum. However, if the rumors of good scrimmage performance are true, Hanwha Life Esports seems to have easily overcome such difficulties.

It’s impossible for people outside of the organization, including journalists, to watch the teams’ scrimmages in person, and there’s no telling how the meta will play out after the LCK opens. There have always been teams that have chewed up scrim before the start, and vice versa. Judgments made before the lid is lifted are likely to be wrong.

However, the 2023 Hanwha Life Esports has enough to get fans excited. The roster is certainly heavier than in previous years, with players who have all had success at one time or another. Furthermore, the recent rumors about the scrim have been mostly positive.

Will this be the hot, entertaining victory that general manager Son Dae-young has been advocating for and that the 2023 team’s slogan, “Super Dive,”고스톱 refers to? One thing is for sure: Hanwha Life Esports has the right opportunity to fulfill that dream.