The first team to miss the World Championship has emerged.

After HLE invested heavily in the transfer window to bring in jungler Kanavi and AD carry Xiaolubu, numerous HLE supporters considered this season their strongest championship contender. Xiaolubu had just claimed the FMVP honor at Worlds, and many of his fans firmly believe he is the best AD carry in history. Additionally, jungler Kanavi and coach Redmi openly stated in videos that with teammates like top laner Zeus and support Delight, beating T1 would be no challenge.

However, what shocked many LOL viewers was that this “star-studded battleship” failed to advance to the LCK qualifiers under the ten-to-nine format, making HLE the very first team worldwide to miss the World Championship. Many fans joked that HLE’s owner is the biggest “sucker” in LCK, since the actual performances of AD carry Xiaolubu and jungler Kanavi were inferior to those of Viper and Peanut. Meanwhile, questions were raised about the fairness of the new LCK format. Despite being eliminated, HLE’s record was 2 wins and 3 losses; in contrast, BRO had a winless regular season (0-5) but still secured a spot in the qualifiers.

Coach Redmi blames LPL for HLE’s loss.

After failing to reach the qualifiers under the ten-to-nine system, many HLE fans flooded the team’s official social media to demand replacing jungler Kanavi and coach Redmi next season. In a post-match interview, coach Redmi publicly addressed the reasons for HLE’s heavy defeat. He attributed the loss to mistakes in their ban-pick strategy. During the interview, Redmi also belittled the LPL league, claiming that his BP tactics and Kanavi’s playstyle were shaped by long-term competition in the LPL and thus needed time to adapt to the LCK. He added that he plans to work with HLE players to improve their strength moving forward.

Redmi’s remarks sparked widespread dissatisfaction among LPL fans. Since HLE’s participation, whenever the team loses, Redmi blames the LPL, claiming its playstyle, coaching level, and player quality are all lacking, while praising the strength of the LCK. Some netizens noted this is the third time Redmi has excused himself and Kanavi by disparaging the LPL. Many viewers hope Redmi stops mentioning the LPL in the future, especially since his BP was already quite questionable even within the LPL.

The credibility of the “strongest AD carry in history” is being challenged.

Honestly, both jungler Kanavi and AD carry Xiaolubu must accept blame for HLE’s loss. Kanavi has competed in the LCK for a full season, yet his style has not yet integrated well with the HLE team, often initiating fights just to contest a level 6 jungle monster. In this BO5 series, Kanavi summoned all five HLE members to contest the Rift Herald near the Baron pit, ultimately causing loss of vision control in the dragon pit. Many viewers witnessing Kanavi’s over-aggressive play felt he had been spoiled in the LPL region.

Since joining HLE, Xiaolubu has revealed many weaknesses in both laning and teamfighting. Especially in teamfights, he frequently died without using Flash, leading many viewers to question his damage output as the team’s main AD carry. In the critical matchup between GEN and HLE, whether playing Gwen for scaling or the main AD Kai’Sa, Xiaolubu’s final teamfight damage was weaker than GEN’s Chovy. Many fans began doubting the value of Xiaolubu’s title as the “strongest ADC ever,” with some believing he can only be considered the world’s top ADC while on T1.