In recent days, the global League of Legends community, especially LCK fans, has been extremely anxious and frustrated. This is because KeSPA (Korean eSports Association) has been continuously making baffling decisions regarding the selection of the roster for the upcoming Asiad 2022. Although the list of 10 players for the final selection round was confirmed long ago, as of now, KeSPA has not provided any indication that they have found a suitable lineup.
It can be said that in the selection of the lineup for the upcoming Asiad 2022, as well as the events that occurred during this Spring Split, LCK is showing cumbersome moves, and in fact, they are even falling behind LPL – a region known for its extremely strict and rigid rules.
Operating the tournament during the pandemic: LPL 1-0 LCK
In both China and South Korea, as of now, COVID-19 is still rampant. Because of this, the Spring Split of these two regions is certainly affected. A notable example is that, up until now, only DWG KIA seems to have no information regarding their players being infected with COVID-19. The seemingly solid “fortress” of T1 has also been hit, except for Gumayusi.
This raises questions about the disease control measures of the teams in particular and the entire tournament in general. However, LCK, due to its rigid rules, did not immediately switch the tournament to an offline format. The consequences are already evident. Perhaps there has never been a season since LCK officially adopted its current format where teams had to use players from the academy and Challengers more than this. Even Fredit BRION at one point had both their first and second teams infected.
Looking at LPL, this tournament also used to hold offline events like LCK. But as soon as there were signs of the pandemic returning, LPL immediately switched all matches to an online format. In fact, there were rumors that this region was ready to skip MSI 2022 to prioritize pandemic prevention efforts, as well as not put themselves in a passive position with the Summer Split 2022 and Asiad followed by the World Championship 2022.
Moreover, there has been no information regarding players in LPL testing positive despite this being a region heavily affected by the pandemic. Thus, in terms of managing the tournament during the pandemic, LCK has lost to LPL 1 point.
Team selection for Asiad 2022: LPL 2-0 LCK
In recent days, the selection of the roster for Asiad 2022 by LCK has caused much controversy. KeSPA has continuously exposed cumbersome moves and schedules that have frustrated both players and Korean audiences. In fact, KeSPA has had to revise its plans repeatedly.
Recently, according to information from South Korean media, the plan to gather 10 players in Gwangju has failed, and KeSPA has had to apologize to these players, especially to Faker. This is because just a few days ago, Faker stated that he and his T1 teammates were overwhelmed with their schedule at T1 while also having to “chase after” KeSPA.
Once again, LCK finds itself at a disadvantage compared to LPL in this selection process. In Asiad 2018, LPL made it very simple: they chose the entire Royal Never Give Up team to represent the national League of Legends team at this event, along with player Xiye from Team WE and Meiko from EDward Gaming. The selection method of LPL was straightforward: take the strongest team from the domestic tournament that year, and everything was resolved rationally.
KeSPA may argue that they want to create opportunities for all the most talented players to represent the national team. But the reality is: In LCK Spring 2022, T1 is simply too strong. They are a collective approaching perfection, and surely, if KeSPA had chosen the entire T1 team, very few would have objected. Alternatively, KeSPA could have added Canyon – the only player who appears to be superior to Oner. And that would have been a lineup that would surely be well-supported.
But KeSPA did not do that. Now, as the situation has unfolded, it is the players who bear the consequences as they have to deal with a packed work schedule without any effectiveness. Not to mention, if in the upcoming tournaments, the T1 players or other names perform poorly, the repercussions from the cumbersome handling of those in charge of LCK will be even more severe. And on this matter alone, LCK has fallen far behind LPL.