With the quarterfinals of the KeSPA Cup completed, fans finally got a chance to see how the top LCK teams would perform. While the results were mostly as expected, it did allow fans to realize some things just before the start of the new LCK season. While there are a lot of thoughts to be had from four great series of League of Legends, here’s three that stand out.
Courtesy of: Invenglobal
DAMWON Gaming came into KeSPA Cup with a lot of hype surrounding them based on scrim results. But as with all teams hyped up by scrim results, they still need to prove themselves through actual matches. While the team looked solid on their way to qualifying for the playoffs, their first real challenge was in the form of SK Telecom T1. After a convincing 2-1 victory over the newly made super team, fans are starting to realize one thing: DAMWON Gaming is legit, and they’re a force to be reckoned with.
It’s easy to see why this team is so good, with amazing solo lanes through top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon, who can’t get enough praise; also mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su, who continues to be a steady and consistent player that can hold his own against some of the best in Korea. All the while, ADC Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon continues to show fans that he is one of the top ADCs in the region as he looked dominant against SKT.
If this team continues to perform at their current level, don’t be surprised to see them in the finals of LCK Spring.
Courtesy of: Invenglobal
From one former godlike team from CK to another, Griffin came into KeSPA Cup with high expectations. After barely missing out on Worlds, the team is expected to do even better. With new support Jeong “Kabbie” Sang-hyeon joining the roster as solution to Son “Lehends” Si-woo’s small champ pool, the team was set to perform even better. So far they have yet to disappoint, making quick work of Afreeca Freecs by a 2-0 score.
During the series, the usual suspects continued to impress. Jungler Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong continued to impress fans, completely out-jungling Afreeca’s jungler Lee “Dread” Jin-hyeok. Meanwhile mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and ADC Park “Viper” Do-hyeon continued to show fans why they were considered some of the best players in the region as they had some great individual performances against Afreeca.
While the team looks good in general, it’s clear that they can continue to improve. While their game 2 victory against Afreeca was fairly clean, it’s clear from the first game the teams can still slowly improve. But with more improvement, we may see Griffin become the best team in Korea fairly soon.
Courtesy of: Invenglobal
While most of the LCK teams have been impressive so far, an early look at Kingzone in action has left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, it appears the experiment isn’t going to work, as the team dropped their quarterfinals series 0-2 to Gen.G.
So what are the issues with this team? For starters mid laner Heo “PawN” Won-seok’s return to competitive play has been mostly disappointing. Despite some hopeful signs early on from his general health and solo queue performance, it’s now clear that PawN likely won’t live up to the hopeful expectations of his fans. As a result of this, the team has been mostly a single carry threat through ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu who has continued to have solid performances despite the performance of the rest of the team.
Along with mid tier players that have been under-performing elsewhere on the team, there is a real chance that Kingzone could be a bottom tier team going into the LCK Spring Split. A true shame considering the potential of their players.
To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/category/league-of-legends/.
Featured image courtesy of KeSPA.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles
Follow Rui on Twitter @ruixu38
From Our Haus to Yours.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
