While four of the 10 LCK teams likely won’t find themselves in the playoffs this split, there are still six amazing teams that will be fighting for a chance to take their seat on the throne; these teams will represent Korea at the Mid-Season Invitational this year. So here’s a look at where the final six LCK teams stack up in the preseason power rankings.

Top Tier

SANDBOX Gaming

T1

DAMWON Gaming

The three teams featured on this list are all very strong teams that can be the best team at times; but due to various issues with the team’s play likely won’t be in major contention to win it all this split.

Despite their great showing at KeSPA Cup ending second behind Afreeca Freecs, SANDBOX does have some concerns going into the Split. With players that have struggled a lot in the past, consistency will be the key concern. Along with that, the pressure will be on for rookie ADC Han “Leo” Gyeo-re to keep up against some of the top ADCs of the league. Otherwise, SANDBOX will have another concern. Overall if SANDBOX can remain consistent, they may have a chance to become a contender.

For T1 the issue remains the same as always, only with a weaker roster on paper. While T1 are masters of the later stages of the game thanks to the leadership of mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, how well will they do during the early game? With the meta favoring a strong early game more and more, will T1 be able to keep up? At a certain point relying on late game simply won’t work as shown in their loss to SANDBOX at KeSPA Cup and it could be what ends up knocking T1 off the throne.

Similarly, DAMWON’s issues going into the new split will be the same as always. While the roster features some of the best players in Korea, the issue simply becomes a case of consistency once again. Will DAMWON be able to dominate or will they play as they did at KeSPA Cup? Luckily with top laner Lee “Flame” Ho-jong returning as a substitute, they do have an insurance policy to provide some stability if needed.

Contender Tier

DragonX

Afreeca Freecs

Gen.G

The final three teams that belong in this tier should be early favorites to win LCK Spring 2020 unless a huge collapse takes place.

Out of the three teams in the highest tier, DragonX may be the most surprising. While their performance at KeSPA Cup wasn’t amazing, it did show that their young roster has a lot of potential. As such, as long as the team continues to grow and improve, especially with the guidance of coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho, DragonX should be a contender to win LCK Spring. Until then, ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon should be more than enough to keep them near the top of the standings.

As for Afreeca, their performance at KeSPA Cup showed that despite early concerns around the team, they will be a threat this year and a major contender. With both top laner Kim “Kiin” Gi-in and ADC Jin “Mystic” Seong-jun in early contention for best players in their respective roles, the team has some pretty strong star players to play around. Along with great games from the likes of mid laner Song “Fly” Yong-jun, Afreeca has made a strong case for becoming the champions of LCK Spring.

Lastly, there’s Gen.G. Despite under-performing at KeSPA Cup, the team should still be a major contender to win LCK Spring. While the big concern initially was Mid laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong, he has shown that he is able to still keep up and compete at a high level despite a rough season on KT in 2019. Apart from that, as long as the team avoids any long stretches of under-performing like Kim “Clid” Tae-min against T1, the team should be in good shape.

To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/league-of-legends/.

Featured image courtesy of Inven Flickr.

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