The first stage qualifiers of LCK have concluded. On the last match day, DRX and NS faced off in a BO5 series for the final playoff spot. Before the match, everyone assumed NS, with three international FNVP players, had a clear advantage on paper and would easily defeat DRX to advance. However, the outcome shocked everyone as DRX swept NS 3-0, securing the last playoff berth.

Top laner Kingen was consistently outplayed, the rookie jungler was timid and weak, and the bottom lane duo was completely dominated in lane and ineffective in team fights. Among NS players, Scout in mid lane performed the best, but only compared to his teammates; against opponents, Scout still struggled. Let’s briefly review this BO5 to understand how NS lost: in the first game, top, mid, and bot lanes all collapsed, and the jungler fell behind in tempo throughout.

In the bottom lane, they were killed in lane, losing every small skirmish. Scout was crushed with a 0-5 score at 20 minutes and was over 10k gold behind. DRX pushed NS’s base in just 27 minutes. In the second game, top and mid stabilized, but bottom lane was broken again. Taiyong’s Ezreal was aggressive in lane, poking with E, but got caught by DRX’s jungler and support combo, giving the enemy AD carry two kills and putting Taiyong at an instant disadvantage.

During the subsequent dragon fight, NS showed no coordination; the top laner hadn’t even arrived when the other four started fighting. They failed to secure the dragon and lost their jungle and support players. Falling far behind early and mid-game, NS had no chance in team fights. At 32 minutes, after the main base fight ended in a wipe, DRX secured match point. In the final deciding game, Scout scored a solo kill at 2 minutes, but bottom lane soon delivered bad news: Taiyong was killed at 3 minutes in lane.

Just back on the lane, the bottom duo clashed again, and Taiyong died once more. The AD carry started 0-2 at 4 minutes, and the game’s outcome was essentially sealed. NS’s Rift Herald fight ended in a 0-for-3 exchange, and bottom lane Varus’s score was 1-4. At 15 minutes, they were 5k gold behind. NS lost every team fight they entered afterward. Finally, at 31 minutes, DRX pushed through the base to win the match. Across all three games, NS lasted only 90 minutes total — clearly like playing against bots.

Interestingly, DRX’s current AD player Jiwoo used to play for NS last year. During the transfer period, Nongshim dropped him for being weak and signed Taiyong, who returned from abroad. In this qualifier’s do-or-die match, Jiwoo dominated and earned MVP honors, personally knocking out his former team. Previously, players underestimated by their old teams, like Ddo and Taiyong, have eliminated their former squads. This season’s LCK is truly fascinating.

Kingen is really strange — he was energetic when playing Zeus but completely shut down against other top laners. Even the aggressive Rich from Storm Jordan could lane against him, which is hard to watch. This year, LCK’s strength gap is quite large: GEN and T1 stand alone at the top, while the rest are roughly equal. Before the qualifiers ended, no one expected HLE, KT, and NS to all miss playoffs.

In the upcoming playoffs, GEN and T1 will anchor the upper and lower brackets respectively. In the first round, BFX faces DNS in the upper bracket, and DK faces DRX in the lower bracket. If nothing unexpected happens, BFX and DK should advance. In the second round, GEN has the privilege to choose their opponent, and they will likely pick BFX. That will set up a big showdown between Xu and Lee. DK showed strong form early in the season, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain it through playoffs.

Conclusion:

After NS was swept by DRX, HLE’s reputation worsened. Everyone wonders just how bad HLE is, as they were 0-2 swept by Nongshim in the group stage. Keep in mind, DK beat DRX 2-0 in the qualifiers, with Xu dominating the game and leading his team to victory. NS can’t even beat such teams, showing serious problems within their squad.

So, who do you think GEN will choose as their opponent?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!