The fight for the last playoff spot in the LCK promises to be a huge drama

While we watched the big drama between Dplus KIA and T1 on Sunday, the battle for the last playoff spot is shaping up to be an unexpected drama.

The LCK spring spilt was unusually early in terms of playoff seedings. This time, however, the LCK is traditionally headed for high drama. Kwandong Freecs, who had playable opponents and could have secured sixth place, failed critically and allowed their pursuers to dramatize the playoff fight.

Kwandong had a two-win lead (4-6) over their rivals before the sixth game week. Thus, in general, while Kwandong did not have the performance to finish in the top five, the team had an edge against the rest of the league. After today, however, the situation is different.

BRION has found a path to success, will fortune eventually smile on the “Power of Friendship”?

BRION’s split this year is a very special one indeed. On paper, the team can play, they can torment big teams, but they can’t close games. A team that is only talked about in good terms because it is a bunch of friends and is considered a bit of a cult among western fans, on the one hand, doesn’t deserve it.

Unfortunately for them, these sometimes incomprehensible mistakes cost more than the team can probably admit. The frequent 1-2 results with opponents that are on paper evenly matched only shows how thin the line between success and failure really is.

But BRION showed this week that it can be done if you want it. Right at the beginning of the week, the team was facing an important battle for theoretical playoff hopes. The Kwandong Freecs basked comfortably on top and watched the other four teams break their teeth amongst themselves.

The power of friendship, however, showed that you can take on a better opponent. BRION, though again through some infirmities, lost a certain 2-0 that could have been worth gold in the aggregate. Still, the 2-1 result still counts. After all, a win is a win.

The BRION boys then went into the match against the by then third-placed Hanwha Life with hope. A similar course, unnecessary mistakes and finally a 1-2 loss made the team another headache. It was this series that could have completely flipped the battle for sixth place, as the team was able to level the score at 4-8 after Liiv Sandbox’s 2-0 win over Kwandong.

Still, in the current context, there is hope that the final weeks of the regular season will guarantee high drama. For my part, I personally wish BRION slip into the knockout fights again. At the very least, the team deserves it for the effort. Maybe it will happen and maybe we will see BRION in the regional qualifiers for Worlds. That would be something!

The competitors are not sleeping and applying for the playoffs

The rest of the bottom of the table hasn’t laid down their arms yet either. The aforementioned Liiv Sandbox managed to clip Kwandong’s wings and come within striking distance.

The same can be said for DRX, who have found common ground despite the ups and downs. Sunday’s series with the favored KT Rolster was a testament to that. KT unexpectedly struggled with the still reigning World Champions and had to put out a huge problem in a minute twelve.

It was Sandbox’s clash with DRX at the end of week seven that can tell a lot about who has what form ahead of the last games of the regular season. They can be helped in this by the still unbeaten GenG who will challenge Kwandong on Thursday. Or also Dplus KIA and T1 who will test BRION.

The series with Nongshim will definitely be crucial for Kwandong, for whom it will also be one of their last chances to still have a say in the LCK standings. Plus, Nongshim play DRX beforehand, so we’ll have a five-team battle for one playoff spot going full steam ahead.

We’ll see who finally captures the last open spot in the coming weeks. But it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on this ongoing battle, as the LCK has never been all about the big teams.

Source: LCK Global, Leaguepedia