Preface: There is a classic theory in the League of Legends community: every era has its own god, and even six-time champion Faker is often questioned as a "customized version champion." Although the patch has a huge impact on players, as long as you win an international championship in the current patch, you are the strongest player and team of that patch. Unless there is a drastic version change, you remain the strongest in the current patch. However, recently, HLE from the LCK has suffered an absurd five-game losing streak after winning the world championship, leading many viewers to joke that the "shelf life" of HLE's championship is too short.

Since HLE defeated BLG to win the international championship, many LCK fans expected HLE to replace the former "domestic powerhouse" GEN and become the absolute dominant team in the LCK. However, something frustrating happened: HLE's recent form has been extremely poor. Starting from the EWC (Esports World Cup), HLE has suffered five consecutive losses in series, not winning a single BO3 yet. These five losses include losing to T1 at EWC and the KeSPA Cup, and losing to KT, DK, and most recently GEN in the league.

It is worth noting that the current patch used by the LCK is not significantly different from the MSI patch. The bot lane is still dominated by mages, and top laner Zeus's signature champions—Rumble, Dr. Mundo, and Swain—have not been nerfed. Yet HLE has suffered a terrible five-game losing streak in the new season. In particular, HLE's loss to GEN is hard for many viewers to accept, especially since GEN's bot laner Ruler has been in poor form recently, causing GEN to also be on a losing streak in the LCK. Even this out-of-form GEN was still able to defeat HLE.

After five consecutive losses, many fans believe that kanavi should take the blame for the defeats. After all, kanavi's individual performance has been too unstable. Against KT, he set a record with 12 deaths in a single game; against GEN, he made various questionable plays—playing Vi, he Q'd into the enemy tower to 1v2 and gave away kills; playing Shyvana, he kept invading the jungle and feeding kills, ruining all three lanes. Some viewers even think that kanavi is the jungler equivalent of "Bin" (a top laner known for being selfish), and that as long as kanavi is uncomfortable, HLE cannot win.

Precisely because kanavi's playstyle is too aggressive and reckless, many fans are calling on the management to quickly find a substitute for kanavi or trade him away, especially since kanavi already had many questionable performances during MSI. Some viewers compare BLG and HLE, noting that after BLG replaced their "weak link" top laner, they have achieved a six-game winning streak, while HLE has been dragged down by the jungle and support positions, falling to fourth place in the LCK standings. Because of HLE's losing streak, many viewers joke that HLE is the weakest MSI champion in League of Legends history. Many LCK viewers are curious why BLG lost to HLE, a team with "obvious weaknesses."

Of course, besides kanavi and support Delight being questioned for their strength, HLE's coach RedDragon (Hong Mi) has also been mocked for his interviews that "whitewash" kanavi. After HLE lost to GEN, RedDragon said in an interview that the loss was not kanavi's fault for playing Shyvana, but rather his own poor draft. He said he chose Shyvana because kanavi is very good at that champion. Many viewers criticized this statement, saying that HLE now has a "two-wolves mutual protection" situation, as every time kanavi messes up and loses a game, RedDragon speaks up for him. Moreover, RedDragon often sacrifices other HLE players in drafts to give kanavi high-priority champions, never letting kanavi suffer any disadvantage.

Conclusion

It must be said that HLE's ceiling and floor are truly enormous. When HLE is at their lowest, they can rank last in the LCK and miss the playoffs; when they play normally, they can come back to beat BLG and win an international championship. What changes do you think HLE needs to make in the future to get their first league win? Is HLE's losing streak really the fault of kanavi and support Delight?