On July 23, in the 2021 LCK Summer Split, Hanwha Life Esports faced kt Rolster and Nongshim RedForce faced Fredit BRION. While kt Rolster swept Hanwha Life Esports, Nongshim RedForce squeezed past Fredit BRION 2-1 and rose to first place in the LCK.

In the first match, Hanwha Life Esports brought out a unique composition, picking Camille, Rumble, Irelia, Ziggs, and Pantheon. The start was good for Hanwha Life Esports as Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon picked up a solo-kill and also picked off the opponent jungler that came to help. However, kt Rolster struck back in the teamfights. As they scored an Ace at the dragon, the game tilted towards kt Rolster. After collecting the dragon’s soul, kt Rolster continued to win the important teamfights and destroyed Hanwha Life Esports’ Nexus.

The second game was more one-sided than the first. As kt Rolster’s top side took an early lead by countering Hanwha Life Esports’ moves, they were able to snowball very quickly. Through their lead, kt Rolster took the dragons and the Rift Herald to continue widening their lead. Hanwha Life Esports tried to come back by diving Renekton and Lucian, but it wasn’t enough. In the following fights, Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon’s Renekton was unkillable, and kt Rolster took the win.

The second match was between Nongshim RedForce and Fredit BRION. Fredit BRION had a better start as they picked up solo kills in the top and mid lanes, but Han "Peanut" Wang-ho collected kills to come back. The two teams were balanced for a while until Fredit BRION attempted Baron after taking three kills. When they did, deokdam's Aphelios dealt massive damage to stop them. From that point, Nongshim RedForce dominated Fredit BRION in the teamfights and took the win.

Fredit BRION picked Poppy support in the third game, which was a home run. As Nongshim RedForce took the lead in the early game, they tried to snowball their lead. However, in the fight around the fifth dragon, Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong's Poppy blew away Gnar and Renekton using its ultimate, and Fredit BRION had a massive teamfight win. Although Gnar and Ezreal kept pulling off super plays, it wasn't enough. As Poppy hit another home run by picking off Gnar, Fredit BRION destroyed Nongshim RedForce's Nexus and took the match to game 3.

The winner of the match was Nongshim RedForce. In the game, Eom "UmTi" Seong-hyeon's Gragas made kills wherever he went and Fredit BRION took the lead, but as Kim "Gori" Tae-woo's Yasuo made a super play at the 18-minute mark, the tides turned. He survived a 3-man gank for a long time and Nongshim RedForce countered the attack by taking two kills. As Nongshim RedForce sneaked a Baron as well, the lead was theirs. Although Fredit BRION endured the attacks well, it wasn't enough. By collecting the win, Nongshim RedForce became the first team to collect 10 wins and rose to 1st place.

2021 LCK Summer Split Results

Hanwha Life Esports 0 - 2 kt Rolster

Fredit BRION 1 - 2 Nongshim RedForce

2021 LCK Summer Split Standings

1st Nongshim RedForce 10-3 (+10)
2nd Gen.G 9-3 (+7)
3rd T1 8-5 (+5)
4th DWG KIA 7-5 (+6)
5th Liiv SANDBOX 7-5 (+3)
6th Afreeca Freecs 6-6 (-2)
7th kt Rolster 5-8 (-1)
8th Fredit BRION 5-8 (-2)
9th Hanwha Life Esports 4-8 (-9)
10th DRX 1-11 (-17)