LCK: Who will win the last ticket to the Worlds? LCK Regional Qualifier Preview

The Korean LCK has its last part of the summer split and the whole season ahead of it this morning – the regional qualification finals.

The last game of this year’s LCK is in the fight for the last spot for the World Championships. We already know three of the four participants who will be competing in the domestic highlight of the season. The winner of the duel between DPlus KIA and Hanwhou Life Esports will accompany GenG, T1 and KT Rolster.

Still, this clash is very much seen as a battle of sick teams. Both teams are going through significant problems and performance slumps. The fear among fans is that the battle for all will be a bit of a boring spectacle. While Dplus KIA has been seeing erratic performances all year, Hanwha’s is a flop at the end of the summer split.

As a reminder, Hanwha fell to KT 1-3 in the first round of regional qualifying for the world championship, while Dplus beat DRX 3-0.

One last chance for Deft to shine on the world stage

The big question mark around Dplus’ performance is inconsistency and too much passivity. The team may have finished fourth in the regular season, but for an organization that is generally one of the big favorites, it is a weak patch on a failed season. Words of promise of better performance over the summer have been replaced by futility and a search for a way out of the impasse.

Most notably, though, it’s Canna at the top and the Deft/Kellin pairing at the boot. Canna was definitely supposed to bring more stability after the failed return of star veteran Nuguri, but so far it looks like two bad series are sticking to one good one.

On the boot, the situation is similar. While Deft is playing very consistently, we see some malaise here as well. Occasional poor decisions and shaky performances from Kellin allow even Deft to pile up a significant amount of errors. The giant icon of all the Marksmen in the world certainly envisioned his last season of his career before mandatory military service.

While longtime veterans Canyon and Showmaker are sure pillars of the team, the two often can’t pull the whole team together, which then delves into a veil of unnecessary complications and an unclear game plan where even the stable links collapse like a house of cards.

Still, Dplus face the most crucial duel of the season, which can paradoxically help in the event of success. While the team commands a lot of respect on paper, with success, there are many issues to iron out in six weeks and be the Korean joker for the Worlds. For Deft, it’s one last chance to show he hasn’t forgotten any of his craft.

Will Hanwha stop the results slide and will we see an unexpected reunion of big stars?

Hanwha faces a similar task. However, the team that has managed to embarrass the biggest favourites has unexpectedly collapsed at the worst possible moment. The expected dark horse of the league became a mere relic that fizzled out during the playoffs.

The team made a solid first step in the playoffs. However, two subsequent clashes with favored KT Rolster in two weeks (0-3; 1-3) showed how quickly the team lost its natural flow and concept. The team did not benefit much from the change in the jungle, where the veteran Clyde was replaced by a young Grizzly.

The big talent showed during the regular season that his performances can be decent. But as the importance of the games increased, Grizzly lost ground. The player suddenly bought one elementary mistake after another, but the rest of the team is not helping him.

The team started to play timidly, and the driving forces like Zeka and Kingen didn’t show great performances either. The crown was then put on by Viper, who is also not having a good time after returning to LCK. A team that wasn’t afraid to try new things has become a slap in the face.

But Hanwha has a similar motivation to succeed. If the team can find some remnants of pride and fighting spirit, then it will definitely be nice to watch the team at Worlds. Hand on heart, in the current balance of power, I see Hanwha more than Dplus as a Worlds contender.

At the same time, with Hanwha’s eventual promotion, there would be a legendary reunion. We would be watching the original lineup of the legendary Griffin team reunite for the first time in five years at the tournament. Doran, Tarzan, Chovy, Viper and Lehends, arguably the most talented team in history, now each playing for a different team. A reunion that many fans across the globe would have looked forward too.

Today’s final regional qualifier will show whether that will be the case. But one thing is certain, it will be a battle of nerves and the remnants of fighting faith. This morning, the world will know the final Korean team for Worlds 2023.

Source: LCK Global, Leaguepedia