Zeka propels Hanwha Life Esports to win at First Stand

Hanwha Life Esports recorded a 2-1 win over Karmine Corp on Thursday to remain undefeated in the round-robin stage of the 2025 First Stand Tournament in Seoul, South Korea.

Five teams are competing this week in Riot Games' $1 million League of Legends event, with the winner of Sunday's grand final taking home $300,000. Following the single round-robin stage (best-of-three matches), the top four teams will move to the knockout stage (best of five).

South Korean Geon-woo "Zeka" Kim was named the MVP after helping Hanwha Life Esports sandwich a 35-minute win on red and a 30-minute victory on blue around Karmine Corps' 41-minute triumph on blue.

Also Thursday, CTBC Flying Oyster swept Team Liquid after notching 29- and 33-minute wins on red.

Friday schedule:

--CTBC Flying Oyster vs. Top Esports

--Hanwha Life Esports vs. Team Liquid

Round-robin stage standings (with overall record and map record):

1. Hanwha Life Esports, 3-0, 6-1

2. CTBC Flying Oyster, 2-1, 4-2

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

4. Team Liquid, 1-2, 2-5

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

2025 First Stand prize pool:

1. TBD, $300,000

2. TBD, $225,000

3-4. TBD, TBD, $172,500

5. TBD, $130,000

--Field Level Media