Frokat
With the regional leagues resuming their busy schedules after the post-MSI hiatus, LCK is no exception as it begins the second half of the year of 15th of June.
Summer 2022South Korea, Seoul, LoL Park
Gen.G
T1
Liiv SandboxAs the viewers once again stream to the good old Seol’s League of Legends park, the ten teams are preparing to once again clash for the title of the region’s – and then even the world’s – best team.
As the rosters have been finalized ahead of the Summer split, let’s take a look at what exactly we should expect from the competitors.
T1: still number one
Despite all the memes spawned by T1’s MSI performance and overly cocky banter by their players (looking at you, Gumayusi), the team remains an indisputable powerhouse in their home region. All jokes aside, since being a finalist of MSI and taking the currently strongest team in the world is seen as a failure by the fans, this says a ton about what kind of team T1 really are.
T1 at MSI 2022, Busan, South Korea. Photo by: Riot Games.
As the team enjoys the benefits of re-entering the split without any roster changes, T1 won’t have to waste time acclimating and building chemistry. Faker remains the glue that keeps the team together thanks to his decade of experience and the team keeps its identity as the leaders of LCK.
DWG KIA – the return of the king
As Nuguri steps back in as the team’s main toplaner, DK are seeking to make a statement in Summer 2022 Split. With a little bit of inter-region shuffle as Hoya leaves for the Chinese region as Nuguri, in turn, returns from it, DWG KIA are now 60% back to the roster that conquered the 2020’s World Championship. To those unfamiliar, Nuguri, ShowMaker, and Canyon were the ones to lift the Cup trophy under DWG’s banner back then.
Canyon and ShowMaker, in particular, will be seeking to continue the trend of jungle and mid diff inflicted upon T1. There’s a reason why Canyon was still considered the best jungler in the region even as DWG kept giving games to T1.
Fun fact: five out of ten LCK teams have chosen DK as the potential winners of this Split. Seeing them back in almost full glory makes it clear why. Perhaps the new blood will make them eclipse their former form, even.
Who the #LCK teams believe will win summer season
HLE: T1
LSB: T1
NS: DK
KT: DK
BRO: DK
KDF: DK
DRX: T1
DK: T1
GEN: DK
T1: GEN— Ashley Kang (@AshleyKang) June 8, 2022
Hands down the best esports journalist and content creator when it comes to LCK-related stuff, Ashley Kang is a co-founder of Korizon, the main international portal into League of Legends’ pro scene in Korea.
GEN.G – chance for a rematch
Another titan of the Korean region, GEN.G enter the second half of the season without any changes. After a crushing defeat in the finals of Spring, GEN will undoubtedly seek a rematch – with a newfound knowledge of T1’s evident mortality.
As the organization has extended their star midlaner’s contract all the way into 2023 ahead of the Summer split, we can be assured that the current roster is here to stay – and improve. GEN.G are thirsty for a rematch against T1 – after the unfortunate circumstances surrounding COVID-19 robbed both the teams and the fans of multiple series between the two titans, we will finally see who comes out on top for real during Summer 2022. Hopefully.
DRX: Deft’s last, long dance
As we exit the top-3 list, the waters become murkier and predictions less clear. Some haters even dub LCK as the “region of three teams” – but let’s be clear, that is just empty talk. Otherwise, the League’s best journalist, Doinb, wouldn’t have liked DRX this much.
Deft has been playing under many different titles for nearly a decade. Photo by: Riot Games.
DRX’s botlane is scary. Really, really scary. With Summer Split played on the newest Durability Update patch which places increased emphasis on your Marksman player, there can be no better player to bear this responsibility than the legendary Deft. As the hype about T1’s botlane was snuffed out during MSI, DRX are potentially looking to be the team with the best botlane duo in Korea – and maybe even in the whole world.
Kwangdong Freecs – still Freecs, just not Afreeca
Even though Kwandong Freecs placed higher than DRX in the Spring Playoffs, it feels fairer to place them just a bit lower on this list. No offense given!
The team’s initial matches of the 2022 Season were horrendous. The Freecs’s debut match history looked like a page from my op.gg – but the fact that the team was able to bounce back from the initial rough landing speaks volumes about KF’s untiltability as the team sprung back from the dead last position in the leaderboard right into the Playoffs. As the roster is completely unchanged entering the Summer Split, we can expect this kind of improvement to keep flowing.
Fredit BRION – number one wholesome team
Fredit has been widely recognized as a team with incredible potential for their resilient Spring 2022 run. The rollercoaster of suffering they’ve went through as the first month’s schedule pitted them against T1, Gen.G (twice, even) and DWG would’ve shattered the mental of any other team, but not of BRION. Despite the pain-coaster, BRION have managed to finish the regular Split and make it to the playoffs.
As for the changes for the upcoming Split, Sw0rd has been promoted to a starting toplaner ahead of the Summer. You might remember that name from the good old Griffin days.
KT Rolster – a far cry from the telecom wars of the past
This team’s my guilty pleasure to watch as a T1 fan, and I really wanted to place them higher, but I just can’t. Mainly because of Rascal – but as Lee Sin has been nerfed more and more as the Season 2022 went on, it seems like toplane super kicker will be collecting dust this time around.
KT enters Summer in a bit of a limbo – the confusing shuffle of their midlaner, Aria, who went from the starting midlaner, then to secondary during Spring Playoffs, then to substitute, then back to main makes it seem like the leadership is unsure about their future. It seems like VicLa will be the one in charge of midlane from the beginning this time around, though.
However, should KT Rolster manage to pull through their midlane woes, it would bump the team up at least 2 positions on this leaderboard.
Photo by: Riot Games.
Nongshim RedForce – what went wrong?
The tale of NS has been quite a tragic one in Spring 2022. Even though the team started off on a high note taking down even the likes of DWG.KIA in the opening week, the squad then proceeded to go on an unprecedented loss streak that has lasted for nearly a month, interrupted only by a shaky victory against Liiv Sandbox.
This team is a real headscratcher. The talent is seemingly there: Canna has been a beast during his prime in T1, Ghost is known to be one of the best ADCs in the region, Bdd is an incredibly talented midlaner who at some point successfully rivaled Faker in lane dominance.
But yet, the team fails to see results. What could be the cause of this? Leadership? Poor training? We can only speculate.
Liiv Sandbox: at least we’re not last.
For a team that finished 9th place in Spring, the only way out of this mess is through a massive reform. And since the only change Liiv has brought is reacquiring Prince as their ADC, it’s doubtful it would be enough for a resurgence to bring the team into the high places.
Hanwha Life Esports – are you guys even trying?
Unlike Liiv, Hanwha seemingly have completely accepted the comfy position all the way down at the rock bottom, and they enter Summer 2022 without a single change despite their 3-15 record in Spring 2022.
