Currently, LCK is in the Lunar New Year break. This is also the time for viewers to reflect on the first three weeks of this tournament and make their own assessments or predictions for the near future. And one evident issue that anyone can see at this top-tier League of Legends tournament is that LCK is severely lacking quality toplaners.
This is clearly visible through the personnel situation of the teams, even among those at the top of the standings like T1, DWG KIA, or Gen.G Esports, Nongshim RedForce. Among them, T1’s issue is the lack of experience from young player Zeus. A prime example is game 3 of the match against DK when he was continuously camped by the opponent and could only make a comeback after DK made a mistake by diving into the enemy’s base and got wiped out.
Gen.G and NS currently may not need to worry too much as Doran and Canna are still performing well. However, with the gameplay shifting towards the bot lane, these two players are not being prioritized as much as in the previous season’s meta, and they often can only hope to break even against their opponents. Even though Gen.G is still second in the standings and has only lost one match, the defeat against KT Rolster showed how Doran struggles compared to his predecessor, Rascal.
However, compared to Gen.G, T1, or NS, DK is the team that should be the most worried. Their top lane after Khan’s retirement consists of Hoya and Burdol. And so far, these two players have not instilled any confidence in DK’s fans. Both play with inconsistent performance and only truly shine (like Burdol in game 3 against T1) when they are on their preferred champions and receive resource support from teammates. The inability to “stand on their own” and poor performance in games from the top duo is considered one of the reasons DK is currently struggling with a record of 3 wins – 3 losses.
And at this moment, LCK fans in general and DK fans in particular are eagerly anticipating Nuguri. While it’s possible that Nuguri will not join DK, it is clear that quality toplaners are in dire need in LCK. Even T1 and Zeus cannot rely on the opponents making mistakes as they did against DK to make a comeback. And once Nuguri regains his form, he will undoubtedly be a better player than Zeus, Doran, Canna, or Hoya and Burdol.
But of course, the issue aside from Nuguri’s performance is his salary. If Nuguri really wants to return, whichever team secures him will significantly strengthen its roster, but it will certainly have to be a big team, willing to pay his “huge” salary. The only problem is that, as of now, Nuguri’s return date remains uncertain.