Esports
LCK: Attacking the historical record, the resurrection of T1 or the massive weaponization of Hanwha Life. What can we expect in the spring split?
17. january, the spring split of the Korean LCK broke out. Similar to the LEC, we take a look at the changes that occurred between the teams in the offseason.
January, 17th, the spring split of the Korean LCK broke out. Similar to the LEC, we take a look at the changes that occurred between the teams in the offseason.
The world’s most famous league will play its next game tomorrow. The top ten elite teams will once again battle it out for eternal glory and participation in MSI. This year’s look at the teams in the LCK will mainly be directed at a trio of teams – GenG, T1 and Hanwha Life Esports. Still, we won’t leave out the other teams as well, as many changes have taken place.
Will anyone stop the hegemony of GenG?
GenG has ruled the LCK with an iron hand for three splits in a row. The team referred to as the kryptonite T1 has always managed to get into the position of big favorites and withstand even critical playoffs. It’s just a shame that the team can’t play this well on the international stage.
Still, GenG will try to make history in the spring split. No one in the LCK has ever won four splits in a row. Ironically, the team is committed to change and has become even stronger on the outside. Doran gave up his spot at the top to Kiin and moved on to Hanwha Life. Kiin definitely has more potential than Doran, but he has matured greatly over the past year. So GenG will want to have a more aggressive top/jungle.
Even the support role has seen a change. Delight, who developed into the best support of the season last year after transferring from BRION, ironically makes way for Lehends. Lehends is definitely more experienced than Delight. We’ll see if Lehends fits the KT Rolster transfer to a more complex team.
It’s just that the path GenG is taking is supposed to be more stable. The core of the team – Peanut, Chovy and Peyz clearly needs to get stronger. The organization is fully aware of the fact that they have a world class team on their hands. The resulting changes can be seen as an attempt to break the curse on the world stage. There, GenG have never gone further than the semi-finals since the franchise was introduced.
It is clear that GenG will be a huge favourite. Moreover, this year could be more evenly matched in the battle for first place. T1 can never be condemned, Hanwha Life has stepped up considerably and the rest of the starting field could surprise.
A turbulent year ending with a world LCK title. Will T1 return to the throne?
What T1 experienced last year is something that just won’t happen again. A team that was perpetually second through the injury to Faker to a sensational return to the world throne showed incredible inner strength.
T1 haven’t changed anything in their lineup, except for the coaching position. Coaching legend and creator of three world titles for the organization, Kkoma, returns to the team. The main task for this year is clear, to return to the Korean throne.
However, this year could be much more difficult for T1 and their plans. In addition to GenG, who have gotten stronger visually on paper, Hanwha Life is also making a big statement. One thing is for sure though, T1 is definitely one of the biggest title aspirants and any major upsets will be considered a surprise.
Hanwha Life is massively up in arms and taking risks. Will the team break the curse of the superteams?
Hanwha Life Esports are definitely making the biggest splash. After last year’s unsuccessful but quite expensive attempt at a reboot, the organization has now decided to go on an all-out attack. It is quite a regular occurrence in LCK that year after year someone tries to put together a superteam. This year, on paper at least, Hanwha has pulled this card.
Looking at the lineup for the first time, it may seem that this is a team of players who lacked something last season. Be it success on the international stage, a post-match hangover or a lukewarm return to the LCK. The only mid and marksman left from last year’s lineup are Zeka and Viper.
They will be joined by a trio of players who definitely have quality. Doran, after the season of his life, will taste happiness right here, although the replacement for Kingen, widely regarded as one of the best Korean toppers in history, will be very hard to match.
Peanut, who will try a different approach, has the same luck and fate. Originally playing for the Grizzlies, he had a promising start to the season but over time has shown some inconsistency and lack of expression. The jungle is definitely going to be a significant boost.
The same can be said for the support role. Life is a solid support but so far he lacks something extra. Delight, who gained a lot of respect during last season, is currently a more mature and mature player. Thus, the lineup should have two stable pillars as well as the expansiveness with which the team wants to bring down its opponents.
But a lot will also depend on Zeke and Viper. While the former has been experiencing more of a post-Master’s hangover as a world champion and also a slight dip in form. Viper is still looking for his return from the Chinese LPL. The imaginary career restart didn’t come last year and despite the bright moments Viper remained well behind expectations.
What is certain is that Hanwha will be looking to disrupt the GenG/T1 reign. The question is whether that will happen in the spring or summer. The imaginary line between success and failure is very thin.
The young guns as the great hopes of their teams. Will they turn their challenger reputation around?
Of course, this year will also see a few players who played last year in the LCKCL second division. Many of them have already tasted the highest waters, but this year they will be given more room for realization. Above all the newcomers, however, two players from the jungle sphere stand out – Lucid and Gideon.
Gideon is already a well-known figure on the Korean scene but he hasn’t been given much space to shine yet. Although his reputation is mainly known with KT Rolster, last year he decided to break through in LPL (Invictus Gaming), but unsuccessfully. Still, there is a lot of talk about his qualities and this year could be a breakout year.
OK Savings BRION, who acquired him, have experienced a certain reward. From the legendary and beloved line-up of many fans around the world, only a torso remains. Jungler Umti left to try his luck in the LCS with Team Liquid, marksman Hena moved to FearX (Liiv Sandbox). With the acquisition of Gideon and also Envyy, BRION should gain stability, but time will tell if it will be enough to compete.
On the other hand, Lucid enters LCK as the biggest LCKCL star of last season. A huge talent in the Korean ecosystem has been given a definite chance to break into LCK. Dplus took their chance after the departure of veteran Canyon and called up their most talented prospect.
Big opportunities but also big challenges now open up for Lucid. Following in the footsteps of one of the best junglers in history will be a difficult journey. A generational talent, the likes of which Korea hasn’t had in the jungle for a few years, will also be under heavy scrutiny from experts and fans. Will Lucid be able to handle the enormous pressure?
Weakening or regrouping forces? DPlus KIA and KT Rolster don’t want to be left behind
Among the playoff candidates, we must not forget the other two traditional teams – DPlus KIA and KT Rolster. Both teams experienced inconsistent results and some disappointment last season.
Dplus KIA would like to forget last year completely. Despite the acquisition of Defta, the team has experienced a significant retreat from results glory. Instead of fighting for a title or a great finish, the team has fallen into grey mediocrity. In the context of the strength of the competition, it was still enough to make the playoffs but it was clear to everyone that the golden era of DPlus was over.
This year, the traditional titan of LCK came with some interesting changes. The lackluster Canna made way for Kingen who, like Zeka, didn’t exactly have an ideal 2023. There was already talk of calling up Lucid from the Challenger to the main team.
There was also a change to the shoe. Deft and Aiming swapped the squads they’ll play for in 2024. Deft swapped Dplus for KT Rolster, with Aiming going in the opposite direction. Time will tell if this change will be beneficial.
KT Rolster, after making a mighty return to the elite and ending their turbulent years of performance, experienced a slight collapse at the end of the summer. The unexpected favorite of the summer split failed catastrophically against its age-old rival – T1. KT’s historic year, which was supposed to return the organization to its golden era in 2018, thus ended in a lackluster fashion.
This year, KT are looking to bet on experience with fresh blood. The lineup of Pyosik, BDD, Deft and Beryl will be completed by young Perfect. The KT Challengers alumnus will thus get a taste of debuting among the elite and so far his results so far in the LCKCL, have been one of the pleasant surprises.
Will he surprise anyone and earn his way into the playoffs?
The rest of the starting field wants to show their qualities as well. DRX, who want to make up for last year’s crash after the pomistorv crash, will try their hand at youth. Nongshim RedForce, on the other hand, want to use a long-standing concept and finally break the playoff barrier.
OK BRION want to think about the second playoff in the history of the organization despite the loss of their key players. Last summer’s split was a see-saw for BRION, and only the inability to finish games cost the unit this valuable prize.
Also, FearX (Liiv Sandbox) are looking to confirm the upward role of the last few years and be a sort of gateway for the playoffs. The team is betting on stability and definitely wants to surprise. However, the competition is showing signs of more quality this year, and inattention can cost this team a valuable promotion as well.
The lackluster Kwandong Freecs would like to make amends for last year and finally break into the playoffs with valuable experience. Of the teams in the bottom tier of the table, the team seems most capable of achieving this goal. However, for all teams to dance around the sixth spot, guaranteeing a playoff spot, it will be necessary to maintain stability and consistency.
LCK will begin their journey on January 17 in a Wednesday-Sunday format. Matches run from 9:00 our time (7:00 for weekend games). Matches can be watched on Twitch or YouTube LCK Global. The first week’s schedule can be found below.
Source: Leaguepedia, LCK Global, T1 X, LCK X
