Following the LPL, LCK Summer 2023 is the second major tournament that has officially kicked off. Similar to the LPL, LCK players will face a tighter and more grueling schedule than in previous years. They must compete on time to prepare for the ASIAD and then the 2023 World Championship. Particularly, players selected for ASIAD must also find time to practice together.
Just in the first two days of competition, there have been some quite surprising results. Specifically, the “star-studded” roster of Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) lost right in their opening match against KT Rolster (KT). Meanwhile, DRX continued their downward spiral by being swept by Kwangdong Freecs, a team from the lower tier of the Spring Split.
However, what stands out is the ban-pick phase of the teams that have played in LCK Summer 2023. Accordingly, just after the first 10 matches of LCK Summer 2023, Neeko has achieved a 100% ban rate. This is a significant number compared to other strong picks at the moment such as Lucian and Maokai. Both of these champions have also been banned multiple times but each had one chance to play.
According to Canyon, Neeko will likely appear in all LCK Summer 2023 group stage matches. Specifically, Canyon evaluated: “If playing Jungle, Neeko can transform into a minion and learn the W skill. But if Neeko uses the Q skill to hit jungle monsters, her jungle speed will be faster. Moreover, Neeko can transform into any entity appearing on the map, including minions. Therefore, the element of surprise is even higher, and Neeko will become incredibly dangerous. Furthermore, it will be very difficult to deal with Neeko in team fights.”
It can be seen that the LCK teams have thoroughly researched and are very concerned about Neeko’s unpredictable power along with her strong skill set. But with the absolute ban rate and Canyon’s evaluation, it can be said that Neeko has become the latest name to join Riot’s “200 years of experience” list with unstoppable power.