For the League of Legends (LoL) community in Korea, international tournaments like MSI or the World Championship (Worlds) were opportunities for this region to assert its strength. Moreover, LCK has always been proud to be home to one of the most powerful League of Legends scenes in the world. However, that was a story from the past, before 2018.
The 2018 World Championship was the first (and so far only) year that recorded no LCK team in the top 4. In fact, that year, the most successful team of LCK, SKT T1 (later renamed T1), couldn’t even secure a spot in the tournament. Since Invictus Gaming (IG) won the 2018 World Championship, the LPL has risen to become a formidable force. Not just a challenger, it can be said that the League of Legends scene in the billion-people country has surpassed even the LCK.
With just a few days left, the 2022 World Championship will officially kick off. In this tournament, alongside the familiar names of T1, Gen.G Esports (Gen.G), and DWG KIA (DK), DRX will be the fourth team, replacing Hanwha Life Esports, which has lost its strength after parting ways with several key players. As for the LPL, this region is considered to have sent its strongest 4 representatives to date: JD Gaming (JDG), Top Esports (TES), EDward Gaming (EDG), and Royal Never Give Up (RNG).
Recently, in a survey conducted with LCK fans about the chances of winning the 2022 World Championship of local teams compared to LPL teams, the results might surprise many. Accordingly, the audience from the region known for its pride in its strength believes that the 2022 World Championship will still be the playground for LPL. In fact, LCK fans even stated that all 4 LPL teams could clinch the championship. Meanwhile, the 4 LCK teams are thought to have to “fight among themselves” to determine which team would be the runner-up.
The reasoning of LCK fans is that in the past, LPL championship-winning teams always had 2 Korean imports in their lineup. However, in the 2022 World Championship, this formula may not hold as both TES and RNG exclusively use domestic players. Not to mention, since MSI 2021, LCK has been empty-handed against LPL. In fact, at the 2021 World Championship, 3 out of 4 teams in the semifinals were from LCK. But ultimately, the champion was EDG – the only name from LPL at that time.
Moreover, since IG’s victory at the 2018 World Championship, in just 5 years, LPL has won 3 World Championship titles, 3 MSI titles, and 1 MSC title. Compared to LCK’s dominance period (from 2013 to 2017), LPL’s power is even more terrifying. Because later on, League of Legends garnered more attention and top teams received substantial investments. Many formats have changed, making competition for titles much more challenging than before. A typical example is that in 2016, there were only 16 teams participating in the World Championship. But by 2017, this number had risen to 24.
Conclusion
It is understandable that LCK fans do not place too much faith in their representatives at the 2022 World Championship. But League of Legends matches always hold many surprises. However, one thing is certain: the clash between LCK and LPL at the upcoming World Championship will always be the most anticipated showdown by audiences around the world.