During the recent transfer window in the LPL, Top Esports was one of the most “spending” teams. They brought in big stars like 369 and Meiko to team up with JackeyLove, Tian, and Creme to create a “super team” in the LPL. There are even reports that all players of TES receive a salary cap that could support a mid-tier team just from taxes.
With such star signings, TES fans hoped that the team would quickly achieve success. However, JackeyLove and his teammates were recently eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Demacia Cup 2023. Although they faced a very strong JD Gaming (JDG), the early elimination was quite disappointing. Notably, the JDG they faced was not even the strongest JDG, as key players were playing alongside younger teammates. Meanwhile, TES fielded their strongest lineup. This has led many TES players to face backlash.
However, JackeyLove seems to reject this outcome. Notably, the ADC later condemned the Demacia Cup – a long-standing tournament in the LPL: “I feel that finding matches on the Korean server is quite difficult now. We’re close to the new season, so perhaps they have started to practice in the new version. But look at us, playing the Demacia Cup. It’s really pointless, wasting players’ rest time.”
In fact, as Gumayusi recently revealed, LCK players have indeed started practicing for the new preseason version. Clearly, participating in the Demacia Cup causes teams to lose additional time before the 2024 season begins to get accustomed to the new version. Meanwhile, creating a server with the new version for players to practice is not difficult for Riot.
Moreover, for professional League of Legends teams, researching and preparing for the new season is always extremely important. This helps them quickly find effective playstyles suited to the changes of the new season. With the 2024 season bringing a host of significant changes to maps, objectives, and items, this preparation becomes even more critical.
Participating in a “showmatch” tournament like the Demacia Cup is not appealing to many teams, even though LPL has regulations to improve the situation. Therefore, even though compared to their great rival LCK, LPL seems to have no way to justify this time.