4 LCK teams to play in the LOL World Cup, will they bring their 9th trophy to Korea?
Sep 29, 2024
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The final round of the '2024 League of Legends World Championship' (Rolls Cup) finals (the round of 16), which will determine this year's 'League of Legends' global champion, will finally begin on October 3rd (hereinafter, Korean time).
In this competition, the top 20 teams from eight global regions participated, and the play-in stage (20 rounds) with eight teams first opened on the 25th and was held until the 30th. Four teams, including Hanwha Life e-Sports, Gen.G., D-Plus Kia, and T1, representing LCK (Korea), headed to Berlin, Germany, the first showdown on the 28th to play from the Swiss stage, the round of 16.
LCK is trying to win its ninth LOL World Cup title ever, and four LPL (China) teams are also the strongest rivals. In addition, three LEC (European) teams, which can be called home teams, cannot be ignored as this year's LOL World Cup will be held in three European countries: Germany, France and London. The Swiss stage will be held at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin from October 3 to 14, and the quarterfinals (October 17 to 20) and the semifinals (October 26 to 27) will be held at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France. The global champion will then be decided at The O2 Arena in London, England, on November 3.
▶LCK trying to win for the 9th time
Hanwha Life Insurance, which is the No. 1 seed in LCK, will play on the LOL World Cup stage for the first time in three years since 2021.
Gen.G, the second seed, has been a regular member of the LOL World Cup since 2020 and has played for five consecutive times, while D-Plus has played for six consecutive times since 2019. Last year's champion, T1, will make his ninth appearance and fifth attempt at a championship. While T1 and D+ have won the championship, Gen.G and Hanwha Life Insurance, which acquired and re-founded existing teams, have the best results in the semifinals and the quarterfinals, respectively.
Hanwha Life Insurance has the least experience in the LOL World Cup among the four teams, but it is expected to demonstrate its competitiveness on the international stage as it has the best momentum to beat both Gen.G and T1 in the LCK summer season to reach the top for the first time since its re-foundation. Although Gen.G gave Hanwha Life a championship in the summer season, he won the MSI in the international competition held in May with a clear advantage over the Chinese teams, so his first win in the LOL World Cup is also a sight.
D-Plus has not stood out on the international stage since winning in 2020 and finishing second in 2021, but many of its LOL World Cup experiences are its strengths. T1 barely won the LOL World Cup ticket last time, showing lackluster performance in the LCK summer, but as always, it has tremendous competitiveness in international competitions, so we can look forward to it. Lee Sang-hyuk, who has won all of T1's past advances to the LOL World Cup and wins, said in a media day held on the 27th, `I was not in a state of confidence to win until last year or this year. "The most important thing is to build confidence that you can do well while raising your performance."
▶ As expected, LPL and G2 are on the lookout
Again, China is expected to be the best match this time. LPL has won three LOL World Cups, the second-most after LCK.
Over the past two years alone, LCK and LPL teams have mostly been divided from the quarterfinals, the tournament, and sometimes one LEC or LCS (North America) team has been named alternately. In 2022, three LCK teams reached the semifinals, but last year in Korea, on the contrary, three LPL teams won the semifinals, which is likely to be repeated this year.
The characteristic of this year's Chinese teams is that they are mainly focused on their own players. This year's strongest Bilibili Gaming, which faced Gen.G in the MSI final, and TES' main lineup, which went to the last set against Gen.G and MSI, are all made up of Chinese players. One Korean player is active in LNG, the third seed, 'Scout', Lee Ye-chan, and Weibo Gaming, the fourth seed, 'Tarzan'Lee Seung-yong, but unlike in the past, LPL is focusing more on improving teamwork through smooth communication.
In Europe, three teams will join the Swiss stage through the play-in stage, with traditional powerhouse G2 e-sports and Fnatic, the most participating team in the LOL World Cup, going straight to the round of 16. Among them, the G2 is the top target of alert as it always holds the Korean team back in international competitions with its somewhat unconventional anti-pick strategy and creative tactics. This is also the reason why Hanwha Life Insurance's Kim Gun-woo or Gen.G.'s Kim Gun-bu chose them as the most demanding and wanted to face off except for the Chinese team.
▶ Provide a wide range of rewards
The Swiss stage, which has been introduced since last year, will have its first game through a lottery between teams placed in the upper and lower pools, and will also meet teams with the same record by lottery and reach the quarterfinals if they win three games first, while they will be eliminated if three losses are confirmed. It is a single-round system, and it can be said that luck also plays a role because the other team is selected by lottery.
For example, last year, LCS' NRG, considered a weak player, only met with one LPL team and alternately met European and North American teams to reach the quarterfinals with three wins. However, they lost to Weibo 0-3 in the quarterfinals, where the best-of-five series begins. In other words, even if you are lucky to survive in the round of 16, you must prove it with your ability to record better performances in the end.
Riot Games provides step-by-step rewards such as new unique emotional expressions and icons for fans who watch through its website. In addition, limited items are also given as gifts through guessing the winning team for each stage 'God of Victory'. In addition, clothes and accessories related to the LOL World Cup can be purchased through the online store.
bluesky@sportschosun.com
