League of Legends Quick Thoughts from LCK Pro Play – 1/16
By Josh Tyler
The LCK began its first day of matches today, with an old dynasty looking to make a resurgence and a new, upstart team looking to confirm the hype is real. What questions were answered in the first two matches?
There’s nothing like seeing Faker back on the rift after his longest offseason ever. Not only is the unkillable Daemon King looking to restore his spot at the top of the LCK, but a young, anticipated team has finally arrived.
Yes, today we got to see the first of DAMWON Gaming, the rookie sensation squad that made waves in the challenger series last year. So good they were ranked fifth in our preseason rankings, how did they perform under the big lights for the first time?
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Is SKT back? (SKT vs. Jin Air Greenwing)
Jin Air was the team ranked last in our preseason power rankings, but they certainly held their own against SKT. In Game 2, they actually led SKT in kills up until their own nexus exploded. Does that mean this new iteration of SKT is doomed like last year’s squad?
Well, unfortunately, the two solo laners – top Kim “Khan” Dong-ha and mid Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok – did not look great. Khan in particular had a terrible day, going 1/2/6 on Viktor in Game 1 and 0/2/1 on Ryze in Game 2. Faker also had a quiet Game 2 on Urgot, going 1/2/0.
However, the rest of the SKT roster shone during this series, particularly the bottom lane. ADC Park “Teddy” Jin-seong and support Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong went a combined 8/2/18 on the day, and Teddy was named MVP of Game 2 for his performance on Varus. Jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min took those honors in Game 1 for his dominant Lee Sin play, which netted him an overall 4/1/7 scoreline.
It’s certainly too early to say SKT is back. But this roster definitely has more firepower than last year’s, which leaned on Faker until he cracked.
DAMWON could be the new Griffin (DAMWON vs. Gen.G)
The newest team to the LCK, DAMWON was hyped up like no other team since Griffin entered the scene last summer. After one series vs. Gen.G, that hype appears to be warranted.
This Gen.G team was no slouch, still holding two-fifths of the former 2017 World Champion Samsung Galaxy roster (Cuvee and Ruler) along with the addition of veterans Fly and Peanut. But the veteran squad was completely outclassed by the young roster.
Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, the much-hyped jungler, proved himself in his first professional LCK game, going 6/1/5 on Kha’Zix, doing the second-most damage in the game (behind only Gen.G’s ADC Ruler), and earning himself MVP honors in the process. In Game 2, it was AD Carry Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon’s turn to carry, with a 5/0/4 performance on Xayah where he turned some critical fights late.
The rest of the roster also performed admirably. Top Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon went 7/1/7 over both games on Gangplank and Vladimir, Heo “ShowMaker” Su was deathless all series, and Ryu “Hoit” Ho-seong, the support, had 87.5% kill participation over the series. This team honestly has no weak points, and it’s going to be fascinating to see the young group continue to evolve this season.
Next. What to expect for the start of the LCK. dark
What did you think of the first LPL matches of the day? Who impressed you the most? Let us know in the comments?