With the first three roles of top laner, jungler and mid laner covered, the power rankings move into the bot lane. Lack last year’s edition of the bot lane power rankings, the bot lane tandems will be ranked together. Moreso than other roles, the roles of ADC and support will need strong synergy with each other if they want strong results. As a result, it simply makes sense to rank them together. Now the question becomes where each bot lane tandem ended up. So it’s finally time to take a look at where each tandem ended up in the 2020 preseason power rankings!

10. Lee “HyBriD” Woo-jin  & Park “Secret” Ki-sun (APK Prince)

In what is becoming a common theme for the players of APK Prince, the duo of HyBriD and Secret ends up dead last in the power rankings. Much like their teammates, while the duo has had some solid showings, they’re simply not good enough to match up against the rest of the LCK’s talented bot lane tandems. Unless this duo and the rest of APK have managed to improve greatly since KeSPA Cup, their run in the LCK may be a very short one.

9. Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram & Park “TusiN” Jong-ik (KT Rolster)

Taking ninth is a tandem that has some history together. Formerly teammates and often the starting duo for the Afreeca Freecs, the two players now find themselves back together on KT. However, since their previous team-up, the rest of the bot lanes in the league have gotten better and better.

Meanwhile, both players have hit their peak, and have begun dropping from that peak. While Aiming is still playing at a fairly high level, TusiN’s showing at KeSPA Cup did bring some cause for concern. In general, this tandem is still serviceable and should be able to compete against the rest of the bot lanes of the league. However, they’ll likely have a tough road ahead of them regardless.

8. Kim “Lava” Tae-hoon & Son “Lehends” Si-woo (Hanwha Life Esports)

Out of all the tandems in the league, this may be the most interesting to keep an eye on going into the start of the season. While Hanwha does also have a backup ADC in Jeon “Zenit” Tae-gwon, the duo of Lava and Lehends will likely start the season off. Overall, the success of this lane will rely on the performance of Lehends, while early looks of Lava in the bot lane has been encouraging, it will become a question of whether he’ll be able to maintain it. If Lava can maintain his current level of play, the role swap may prove to be a huge success and bump Hanwha within reaching distance of a playoff spot. 

7. Park “Viper” Do-hyeon & Jeong “Irove” Sang-hyeon (Griffin)

Finishing up a very different Griffin roster is Viper and his new support Irove (formerly Kabbie) at seventh in the power rankings. While Viper is still one of the best ADCs on paper, the inexperience of Irove drags down the duo’s ranking. If Irove is able to develop and begin holding his own, then the Griffin bot lane tandem could make a huge jump up the power ranking. Until then, all eyes will be on Viper to see how he performs without Lehends backing him. But for now, the inexperience of Irove will prove to be their downfall in the power rankings.

6. Han “Leo” Gyeo-re  & Kang “Gorilla” Beom-hyun (SANDBOX Gaming)

Taking the sixth spot is a bot lane tandem that no one could’ve predicted in 2019. With former T1 trainee Leo finally having a chance to shine on the main stage and Gorilla returning to Korea after a disappointing split in Europe, this duo will have a lot to prove. So far they’ve exceeded expectations in an impressive run through the KeSPA Cup. However, the real test will now come in the form of a full Split’s worth of games. With Leo needing to show that he’s ready to be a starter and Gorilla needing to show that he can still be a starter, will this tandem have what it takes to compete against the best? 

5. Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon & Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee (DAMWON Gaming)

As the first of three bot lane tandems sticking together from the 2019 season, Nuclear and BeryL should be one of the better bot lane tandems in the league. Unfortunately, the duo has never had a chance to really stand out and impress. While they’re able to keep up against the best of the best in the bot lane, more often than not, they’re the weak link of DAMWON.

While this season could prove to be exactly what they need to change this perception, it’ll be hard. If they can prove that they can consistently hold their own and even beat out the other top bot lanes of the league, then the tandem of Nuclear and BeryL could make a big jump.

4. Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu & Ryu “Keria” Min-seok (DragonX)

Taking fourth in the power rankings is the tandem that mixes the old with the new. With a new rookie support by his side in Keria, Deft will look to defending his title as the best ADC in Korea. As a long time ADC, Deft has shown that he is able to dominate no matter who his support is. Going into this season, this will be tested once again with Keria. While Keria is a hyped-up talent,  he will still need to prove that he can consistently perform at the highest level before this bot lane tandem can truly improve. With that being said, don’t be surprised if they quickly become the best bot lane tandem in the league. 

3. Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun & Son “Jelly” Ho-gyeong (Afreeca Freecs)

In one of the biggest acquisitions of the off-season, Afreeca was able to bring back former Team WE ADC Mystic back to Korea. Now the ADC along with Jelly take the third spot in the power rankings. While Jelly will have something to prove as he lost most of his playtime to Park “Senan” Hee-seok last season, Mystic is a known commodity as eh was considered one of the best ADCs in China. So far their showing at KeSPA Cup has been impressive and is a good sign of things to come. For them, the question will be if they’re going to be able to maintain that level of play or if they’ll struggle a bit at times. If they can remain consistent, Afreeca is going to be a huge threat. 

2. Park “Teddy” Jin-seong & Lee “Effort” Sang-ho (T1)

Taking the runner up spot is another returning bot lane tandem in Teddy and Effort for T1. At this point, there is not much to be said about these two talented players. Teddy as an ADC can always be relied on to be a carry for the team, often putting the team on his back and dragging them to the finish line. Meanwhile, Effort has continued to have some great showings even internationally. However, he is still prone to mistakes which could be a result of nerves or simply inexperience. At the end of the day, if both players show up and pops off, the game will still be over in T1’s favor.

1. Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk & Kim “Life” Jeong-min (Gen.G)

Taking the top spot is yet another tandem that stuck together in Ruler and Life. Last season, Life was able to grow and develop into a strong support that can keep up with one of the best ADCs in Korea in Ruler. Unfortunately for them, their season was cut short due to poor results across the season. Now that they’re surrounded by a stronger roster, it’s finally their chance to shine. With Ruler and Life leading the way, Gen.G are easily a contender to win it all this split. Will they be able to live up to these expectations? Or will they fall short? Only time will tell. 

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/league-of-legends/.

Featured image courtesy of y.w kim (Kenzi) Flickr.

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