★ Game Horseshoe Original
Will the LCK finals usher in DK vs. T1?
In the first stage of the LCK season, DK won all 5-0 in the group stage and ranked first to advance to the playoffs. They have the power to choose their opponents in the second round of the playoffs, and the winner of the first round is likely to be T1 and the other team, and the specific outcome will also depend on whether HLE will play a do-or-die game with T1 or avoid playing KT. But what is certain is that DK will never choose T1 as their opponent, after all, they are not KT and will not actively pick T1 in the playoffs Bo5. Coupled with the overall good performance of DK's new lineup this year, they have a chance to re-enter the LCK finals after 4 years. In addition, if T1 is in the other half, if the rookie ADC plays so well, T1 also has a chance to advance to the finals. This is the best hope for the two teams to meet again in the final since the 2021 Summer Split.
T1 full of power again
The loss of Zeus made T1's performance at the beginning of the season not ideal, but soon the '06 ADC junior Smash successfully filled the position, showing his strong Carry ability, and the hero pool perfectly covered Gumayusi's advantage range while playing Zeri, a hero who was previously unplayable in T1. A C-position that can reduce the pressure on the rest of the team has appeared, making today's T1 full of power again. This also made Doran's position in T1 clear, and the impact of Zeus's departure was almost offset by the newcomer to the airborne.
T1 only lost to DK 5-0 in the group stage, and won all four of its other games, including defeating past rivals GenG. Smash even makes Ruler, who used to be able to crush Gumayusi, like a toy. If such a T1 wins in the first round, it is naturally impossible for DK to choose them as their opponents.
Whether you can win or not is not to talk about it, and whether you can fight or not is more important
Now it seems that all the problems are thrown to HLE, because T1 is confident that they will not be able to consider Oscar in order to avoid their opponents. According to South Korea's current format, T1 and HLE will inevitably meet in the first round of the playoffs if they win both of them. There are newcomers who have performed well, and the overall form has been good recently, so T1 is naturally not scared. What about HLE? With a lot of money spent during the transfer period, they probably don't want to meet T1 in the first game of the playoffs, which is a loss and go home to prepare for the next game. Now it seems that it is better to go and play KT with the No. 6 promotion spot.
Of course, if everyone thinks that they can fight anyone and go all out to win every game, then the audience will be blessed. In the first round of the LCK playoffs, you can see T1 vs. HLE's Bo5, or global BP. Zeus vs. T1, Smash vs. Ruler and then challenge Viper, Zeka vs. Faker, I believe no viewer will not want to watch it, right?
GenG in distress
Regardless of the choice between T1 and HLE, GenG should be the hardest to suffer. Due to their mediocre results in the group stage, they ended up in the playoffs passively accepting DK's choice of the other remaining opponent. In other words, GenG will most likely face T1 or HLE, the latter of which is okay, after all, they won the group stage. But if it's the former, and it's likely to be T1, then GenG may have a hard time advancing to the finals. The good news is that there is a double-elimination format, and there is still a chance to lose, and the bad news is that this year's GenG currently feels like they can't beat both T1 and DK. Even in Bo5 it is not always possible to win HLE.
The global BP double defeat is variable
There is a lot of uncertainty in the Bo5 of the global BP of the LCK playoffs, and DK also has a history of high and low starts, so it should be said that their performance in the playoffs has not been very satisfactory in recent years. In particular, there is an ADC that is prone to problems in the competition, that is, Aiming, and this DK may not be so simple if it wants to enter the finals.
Similar to G2 and Fnatic in Europe, in our opinion, the Bo5 of the Korean LCK playoffs, or T1 and GenG, are more stable. Especially after T1 has replaced a more Carry newcomer ADC this year, they may have more strength than DK to qualify for the finals. This year's matchup between South Korea's top teams is indeed more exciting than in previous years, and each has its own new highlights, which are worth looking forward to.
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★ The game Horseshoe is original, and commercial reproduction is prohibited without permission
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