Even though the offseason hasn’t officially started yet, Korean esports organization HLE have announced the renewal of ADC player Viper for 2024.

Photo Credit: LCK

HLE will continue working with Viper going into next year

Hanwha Life Esports officially announced the contract extension of bot laner Park “Viper” Do-hyeon. The Korean player initially had his contract expiring at the end of this year but with this announcement, the 23-year-old will stay with HLE one more year.

This marks the second year Viper stays in the LCK following his two-year stint in the LPL on the EDward Gaming squad, the team he won the 2021 World Championship.

The super team in 2023 didn’t really work out

HLE has had a disappointing year, especially given the expectations set. At the end of the 2022 season, HLE formed a super team around their star player Viper, bringing in last year’s World champion top laner Kingen and mid laner ZEKA.

Alongside Life and Clid, the HLE squad was supposed to be a title contender in the LCK. While the team was indeed in the top half of the standings on both splits, it wasn’t able to fight for the LCK and finished fourth.

In the LCK regional finals to determine the last Worlds spots, HLE lost to Dplus KIA and failed to qualify.

The team also struggled as jungler Clid was suspended for a year from the competitive scene for continuous sexual harassment, and unprofessional and immoral conduct. This led to the team having to play with the academy jungler Grizzly mid-way through the Summer Split. While it’s unclear whether Grizzly will continue to be the starting jungler for 2024, it’s clear that HLE is looking to build a roster around their star player.

According to the GDC, all players except Grizzly have their contracts expiring on November 20, the day before the transfer window opens.

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