HLE, Karmine Corp advance to grand final in First Stand playoffs

Field Level Media|published: Sat 15th March, 12:23 2025

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home. Jordan Woodruff

Hanwha Life Esports answered their unbeaten run through the round-robin stage with a resounding 3-0 win over Top Esports on Saturday in the semifinals of the knockout stage at the 2025 First Stand Tournament in Seoul, South Korea.

Hanwha Life Esports recorded 29-minute victories on both blue and red before winning Game 3 to advance to Sunday's grand final.

They will face Karmine Corp, which posted a 3-2 victory over CTBC Flying Oyster in the other semifinal match.

THE #FST2025 FINAL:@HLEofficial versus @KarmineCorp! pic.twitter.com/kj02NYOtU5
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) March 15, 2025

Karmine Corp raced out to a fast start by seizing 35- and 28-minute wins on red before CTBC Flying Oyster responded with a 32-minute victory on red and 30-minute triumph on blue. Karmine Corp halted that momentum by winning Game 5 to advance to the grand final.

Four teams advanced to the best-of-five knockout stage of Riot Games' $1 million League of Legends event, where the winner of Sunday's grand final will pocket $300,000.

Final round-robin standings (with overall record and map record):

1. Hanwha Life Esports, 4-0, 8-2

2. CTBC Flying Oyster, 3-1, 6-2

3. Karmine Corp, 1-3, 4-6

4. Top Esports, 1-3, 2-6

5. Team Liquid, 1-3, 3-7

2025 First Stand prize pool:

1. TBD, $300,000

2. TBD, $225,000

3-4. CTBC Flying Oyster, Top Esports, $172,500

5. Team Liquid, $130,000

--Field Level Media