07
June
news
League of Legends Summer Split 2016: LCK Summer Split
It seems like just yesterday the sun had set on the 2016 Mid-Season
Invitational. Yet, the summer season has already started to dawn. With every
new season comes a new set of expectations. Here are the three things you need
to know before the split kicks off.
South Korea is not just SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1 has finally claimed the MSI title to add to its already
impressive collection of trophies. Despite a surprising start in the group
stages, where the world was reminded South Korean teams are not always
infallible, the team rallied to cinch six wins and one loss in the bracket stage
with a 3-0 sweep over North America's Counter Logic Gaming in the finals. As
South Korea's representative, the kings were able to reign once more. A
reiterative point, maybe, but it certainly seems SK Telecom T1 has been the
dominant force, taking not only this most recent MSI title, but also the IEM
World Championship and 2015 World Championship in the span of seven months.
With this display of excellence, it is easy for any other team from the South
Korean region to get overshadowed. However, the last few international
tournaments showed that South Korea still has a plethora of teams vying for
dominance that aren't named SKT.
Take, for example, the teams that participated in the spring playoffs run: the
ROX Tigers, KT Rolster, Jin Air Green Wings, and the Afreeca Freecs. Pepper in
the names of old vanguard teams like Longzhu Gaming and CJ Entus, and it's
clear that there is no shortage of star power in the LCK. Through hard work by
the players and staff, SKT T1 has just monopolized the attention of international
viewers. Well-deserved? Yes. Unlucky for other teams involved? Also yes.
The ROX Tigers are a classic case. It's been bested by SK Telecom T1 three
times: during 2015 spring season, the 2015 World Championship, and 2016 spring
season.
The summer season is a new start and if fate and hard work favours it, a new
team could finally step out of the shadows and into the spotlight
Roster changes - that's just the way it is
Let it be known that roster changes aren't new. Preseason changes happen all
the time, but they do affect how the new season plays out. Some teams have
shifted their rosters around quite a bit, with Longzhu Gaming being a prime
example. With AD Carry Kang "Cpt. Jack" Hyung-woo exploring new
territory as a match commentator, Longzhu's supplemented former G2 Esports AD
Carry, Kim "Emperor" Jin-hyun, to fill out the available space.
Some other notable names missing from its current starting roster? Top laner
Lee "Flame" Ho-jong and longtime mid laner Kim "Frozen"
Tae-il, alongside support Jang "Zzus" Jun-su.
Another roster change to note is the position swap of Jo "CoreJJ"
Yong-in of Samsung Galaxy. Previously an AD Carry for the team, he'll be vying
for the starting support position with teammate Kwon "Wraith" Ji-min.
Despite the majority of the South Korean teams having five or more players, two
of the summer season teams rosters have no substitute in sight. Back in March
23, 2015, Riot Korea announced KT Rolster's Lee "IgNar" Dong-geun's
departure from the team due to personal issues. With that announcement, KT
Rolster had been granted a temporary reprieve of the LCK rule subset that
required a six-man roster. According to sources, the rule has since been
changed, allowing teams to field five players during the regular season. However,
it should be noted that if said team should participate in the League of
Legends World Championship or any Riot-supervised international event, the team
must then field a substitute player.
During the spring split, many variations were visible: substitutes either
played no role at all (à la ROX Tigers), ended up meshing well with the team,
gradually took over the starting role (SK Telecom T1), or were used to varying
degrees of success. It's safe to assume that the same can be expected of
summer.
Hello MVP and Ever, goodbye
Kongdoo Monster and SBENU
Alas, two teams bid their adieus to the LCK with the decrescendo of the spring
split. Kongdoo Monster the team reborn from the last remnants of the storied
NaJin e-sports teams and SBENU SonicBoom. Both were unsuccessful in
requalifying for the main league during the 2016 Summer Promotions tournament.
However, the end of something heralds a new beginning, which means that two
teams will take their place. One is Ever, the South Korean challenger team that
provided quite the upset story. By knocking out then-reigning World Champions
SK Telecom T1 in the semi-finals for the 2015 LoL KeSPA Cup, Ever qualified as
a contender for IEM Season X at Cologne.
Winning Cologne with a 3-2 match score against China's Qiao Gu, Ever rode the
highs of its success story to the IEM Season X World Championship.
Unfortunately, the string of victories came to an end with a 0-2 loss to Team
SoloMid. Though it seemed like a sudden fall from the international spotlight,
its debut season in the LCK will be one to watch indeed.
The second new addition to the LCK this summer split is MVP, a rather familiar
name in the sphere of South Korean esports. MVP relinquished its two teams,
Ozone and Blue, to Samsung in 2013. But in late 2015, the organization returned
to League of Legends, sponsoring a team in the Challengers South Korea league.
The cycle is now complete, and MVP is back, albeit with a team composed mostly
of rookies. There are two returning faces: MaHa (formerly Mach) and Max. But as
these players saw little playtime during their stints on KT Rolster and CJ
Entus, it certainly leaves room to wonder if their experience will have any
impact on how the team will fare during the season.
The Coca-Cola Zero League of Legends Champions Korea Summer 2016 season kicks
off May 23, with an opening match between the Afreeca Freecs and Longzhu
Gaming.
