Right before the matches of the LCK Summer 2021 on July 30 took place, a statistics table showing the playoff qualification rates of the 10 teams competing in the highest League of Legends tournament in Korea was released. Accordingly, the top 6 teams are highly rated to qualify for the playoffs, which include the names currently dominating the standings prior to the match on July 30: Nongshim RedForce, Gen.G Esports, T1, DWG KIA, Liiv SANDBOX, Afreeca Freecs. Among them, NS has the highest percentage at 99.999% to qualify for the playoffs.
Although T1 is currently ranked 5th in the standings, they have a 97.400% chance of making the playoffs, even higher than DK, LSB, or AF. The reason for this high percentage is that in the remaining matches, T1 will only face Fredit BRION, Gen.G, DragonX, and Hanwha Life Esports. Except for Gen.G, the other three teams are at the bottom of the standings and it’s nearly impossible for T1 to lose all four matches.
DK, despite having an impressive performance streak, is ranked below T1 because in 2 out of their last 4 matches, the reigning Spring champions will face Gen.G and LSB – two teams also in the playoff contention. Furthermore, DK recently suffered a defeat against AF, which is another reason they are ranked below T1.
As for the remaining 4 teams, theoretically, there are still chances for names like KT Rolster, HLE, or BRO to qualify for the playoffs. However, in practice, KT has 5 matches ahead, with 4 out of 5 against top 6 opponents and only DRX being the easiest matchup.
If we have to mention which name would be the most regrettable for missing the playoffs, it would probably be Chovy, as the mid-laner of HLE has been carrying a lot of weight, but unfortunately, the “golden spine” of HLE is too lonely as his teammates have shown to be far inferior to their competitors on this year’s LCK Summer journey. Even Deft – an experienced ADC has been inconsistent, leaving HLE with almost no chances to compete for a playoff spot when facing the four names in the top 6: NS, LSB, AF, T1.
While it’s known that in a match, when the Nexus hasn’t exploded yet, anything can happen, but perhaps at this moment, people can almost determine which names will compete for the LCK Summer 2021 championship as well as the tickets to the World Championship. Of course, many will still hope for a miracle, but perhaps, miracles will only happen for the extremely optimistic.