Knight – Top Esports
Zhuo “Knight” Ding is one of the rare young talents who has established his position on a top team like Top Esports, despite the influx of Korean players. Trained rigorously under the banner of Young Miracle, the cradle of future world champions like Ning and Tian, Knight has gradually made a name for himself under Suning Gaming and is currently with Top Esports.
The Spring Split 2020 tournament was probably the peak of Knight’s career as he performed exceptionally well with Syndra. His crucial plays with Syndra significantly contributed to TES’s victory over Invictus Gaming to reach the finals. Unfortunately, he lost to JD Gaming and was left with the runner-up position; perhaps the upcoming China-Korea Grand Battle will be Knight’s opportunity to seek his first major title in his career.
Kanavi – JD Gaming
Alongside the scandal between Griffin and coach cvMax, the “slave” contract of Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok with this team shook the Korean League of Legends scene at that time. In such circumstances, it was indeed challenging for any team to focus on competing when their future was so uncertain. However, Kanavi transformed that difficulty into motivation and led JD Gaming to a convincing championship in the LPL Spring 2020.
“Versatile” may be the best word to describe Kanavi as he handles every champion in the meta exceptionally well and plays in accordance with their characteristics, making the basics done perfectly already outstanding. Going into the upcoming China-Korea Grand Battle, Kanavi and JD Gaming, as the defending LPL champions, are definitely the top contenders for the championship title.
Canna – T1
Kim “Canna” Chang-dong is incredibly fortunate to be guided by coach Kim, who has an exceptional track record in training top laners. With a wide champion pool and the ability to play many different styles, Canna can adapt very well to any opponent in the top lane and helps T1 remain strong in the mid-game. Therefore, fans of T1 no longer lament Khan’s departure to FunPlus Phoenix; instead, there’s immense reassurance regarding Canna’s top lane position.
And initial success has come to T1’s “Rising Star of 2k” as the team continues to uphold its tradition of outstanding performance in playoffs and crowned champion of LCK Spring 2020. The China-Korea Grand Battle is Canna’s first major international tournament in his career, and we hope that this young player will maintain his high form as he did in LCK Spring, and who knows, T1 might add another title to their collection?
Showmaker – Damwon Gaming
The young and somewhat shy player from Damwon Gaming is being regarded as the next mid-lane talent of LCK with superior skills and an extensive champion pool. In fact, in the past few days, Heo “Showmaker” Su even expanded his champion pool further by challenging himself to climb to Challenger without playing any champion more than twice, achieving the highest rank on the Korean server after just 87 matches with 87 different champions.
Although he had the opportunity to compete at Worlds 2019, Showmaker last year was viewed as too “inexperienced” when facing incredibly strong players from other regions. Hopefully, his training efforts leading up to the tournament will help him shine at the upcoming China-Korea Grand Battle, rather than facing a disappointing elimination like at the last Worlds.