The LCS is right around the corner. Despite Lock In, there are still a ton of fun storylines waiting to be played out. From the Zoomers rising up to roster instability, Week 1 is looking to be really exciting. Here is a look at the best LCS Storylines for Week 1.
Rise of the Zoomers:
Despite Jojopyun performing incredibly well in Lock In, the question still remains of whether he and the rest of the young players are able to keep it up? A great example of this is Tenacity. While he will be playing some games on 100 Thieves, he is still an unproven LCS talent. He smurfed Academy, but that doesn’t equal LCS success. Fans can also look at a lot of the imports. Shenyi is 19 while Keaiduo is 20. Imports can be Zoomers as well which is quite evident by Keaiduo’s insane streams.
There is a lot riding on the young talent of the LCS. Teams are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into talent development. 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses both have Amateur rosters with the goal of finding the next big talent. The more successful players that come from pipelines like this, the more investment fans will see into Academy and Amateur.
On the C9 and TSM route, having their expensive Zoomer imports pan out is incredibly important too. It’s easy to forget that C9 are the youngest team in the LCS at a 20.2 average age with TSM at a close third with 20.8. So whether it’s Beserker, Shenyi or even Summit, the Zoomers need to show up when it matters. The future of the LCS is being built, but it’s easy to be blind to it in the moment. Fans should want to see these young mechanical players excel so the LCS gets stronger.
The Church is in Mass:
C9 in the Lock In was a bit of a meme. They only had two players from their full roster with the rest still in Korea. Heck, even the coaches were still partially in Korea. That changes now though as Summit, Winsome and Berserker have arrived as well as LS. Now the church is finally in session.
Fans have been wondering what the full roster of C9 is capable of with the Korea9 meme. What it will ultimately come down to though is whether LS’s plan of two teams along with his strategies work out. This team is filled with LS disciples, which isn’t to say they are not highly qualified individuals. This isn’t just coaches, it extends to players as well. Fudge, Blabber and Malice are all known to be members of the church having been coached by him in the past.
At the end of the day, while this may look great on paper, results are what matter. LS has been saying anything, but first place is a failure. It’s easy to talk the talk, now it’s time for C9 to walk the walk.
Viewership:
It is a bit sad to say, but viewership for the LCS has fallen off in the last couple years. Now whether this is due to the excess amounts of great leagues to watch like the LPL, LCK or LEC doesn’t matter. The simple fact is that Lock In Finals peaked at 223,943 viewers. That is a lot of people, but nowhere near the Lock In Finals of 2021 which had 370,801.
This fall in viewership at the end of the day is a problem. This doesn’t mean the LCS is trash or the production is bad, just that there is less interest. There is an argument to be made that without C9’s or TSM’s full roster, a lot of fans were not that interested in Lock In. Fair enough. So what matters now is that Week 1 viewership needs to make up for those lack of views. Both TSM and C9 will have their full rosters along with the rest of the LCS.
No one will deny that Lock In was a bit scuffed this year, but if the viewership trend keeps up, the LCS could have some issues in the long run. Fans shouldn’t be running around screaming doom and gloom, but it is worth keeping the back of one’s mind.
These are the Top 3 LCS Storylines heading into Week 1. There are still plenty more like 100 Thieves recovering from their early Lock In exit, Immortals trying to bounce back and Golden Guardians showing that they shouldn’t be underestimated.
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