LCK: The Full 2021 Preview for All Teams and Players
By Josh Tyler
With the LCK season just starting, we give our breakdown of the best teams and players.
Already, we have seen a few of the first games of the 2021 LCK season. But the region that is home to the defending world champions, DWG KIA (formerly DAMWON Gaming) is now beginning a new era of franchising and a lot of young, talented players.
So, before the new season is too old, we are here to rank each team and give all of the best players to watch on these teams. Coverage of the LCK begins at 3 AM EST on January 12.
More from Blog of Legends
- Bee’koz Vel’koz Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- King Beegar Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- EMENES retires following leave from Cloud9, cites military service
- EMENES Donezo Manifesto: Former Cloud9 Midlaner airs out grievances
- Team Heretics Perkz: European legend reportedly playing for TH
10. NS RedForce
Roster
Lee “Rich” Jae-won
Han “Peanut” ( listen) Wang-ho
Park “Bay” Jun-byeong
Hwang “Wayne” Seo-hyeon
Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu
Star Player
Jungler Peanut, who is making his triumphant return to Korea after a few up-and-down years in China.
Preview
NS RedForce is built around two young players in the mid and bot lane in Bay and Wayne. Peanut should be the veteran and leader, but Rich and Kellin are veterans who have never really shown a whole lot. Unless Bay and Wayne turn out to be prodigies, NS RedForce is going to end up towards the bottom of the table.
9. Fredit BRION
Roster
Yoon “Hoya” Yong-ho
Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon
Kim “Lava” Tae-hoon
Park “Hena” Jeung-hwan
Yoo “Delight” Hwan-joong
Star Player
Once again, it’s the veteran jungler who stands out as UmTi had a quietly strong year in 2020.
Preview
A similar story to NS RedForce, while I think this team’s ceiling is lower their floor is undeniably higher. The two veterans in the mid/jungle duo should help to try and lead a group of young, raw players around them.
8. DRX
Roster
Yoon “Destroy” Jeong-min
Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon
Song “SOLKA” Su-hyeong
Jeong “BAO” Hyeon-woo
Son “Becca” Min-woo
Star Player
Three for three in the junglers dominating the stars of the team. With another group of unproven players around him, it’s the returning Pyosik to watch for.
Preview
Unlike the other two teams behind them, DRX doubled down on the youth movement, jettisoning everyone but their jungler. This isn’t going to be the same, strong team that had Chovy last year, but they’re young and could be a true wildcard in the LCK.
7. Liiv SANDBOX
Roster
Park “Summit” Woo-tae
Kim “OnFleek” Jang-gyeom
Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok
Moon “Route” Geom-su
Lee “Effort” Sang-ho
Star Player
Route is one of the more promising AD Carries entering this year. Freed from the prison of Jin Air Green Wings and after a solid 2020 on a weaker team, he’ll be looking to improve on an upgraded roster.
Preview
This is not a team that is particularly young, but they have players who have shown talent in flashes in the past. They also have a ton of chemistry, as Summit, OnFleek, and FATE have all played together for years now. I don’t see this team being a bottom feeder, but they’ll have a tough time being a contender.
6. KT Rolster
Roster
Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon
Lee “Bonnie” Gwang-su
Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon
Lee “HyBriD” Woo-jin
Jang “Zzus” Joon-soo
Star Player
Mid laner Ucal would be my pick for the star of this team. He’s still ridiculously young at 19 and has shown the ability to be an elite player with Afreeca Freecs in 2018.
Preview
This team has a good mix of young (Bonnie and Zzus) and older (Doran and Ucal) players. The team is going to have to play around their mid and ADCs to be successful, but I think they could finish anywhere from fourth to eighth. They’re a major wildcard.
5. Afreeca Freecs
Roster
Kim “Kiin” Gi-in
Lee “Dread” Jin-hyeok
Song “Fly” Yong-jun
Bae “Bang” Jun-sik
Son “Lehends” Si-woo
Star Player
While Kiin is one of the best top laners in the LCK, I think Bang is going to find a return to LCK glory. He was very good in the LCS with pretty weak laning partners and now that he’s paired with a legit world-class support in Lehends he could be poised for a massive rebound.
Preview
I think this team has a massive ceiling on their talent, and it’s entirely due to their mid and jungle positions. Both Fly and Dread have been unimpressive during their careers and they are both liable to get massively outpaced by their LCK contemporaries.
4. Hanwha Life
Roster
Park “Morgan” Gi-tae
Park “Arthur” Mi-reu
Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon
Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu
Oh “Vsta” Hyo-seong
Star Player
Chovy, by a mile. Even though he was undoubtedly disappointed by his performance as a part of DRX, he was one of the best players in the LCK by a mile.
Preview
Like KT Rolster, this team has a lot of volatility. They could finish top two or miss the playoffs. It’s really all going to depend on two players: Chovy and Deft. The team will go as far as those two carry it.
3. T1
Roster
Kim “Canna” Chang-dong
Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
Lee “Clozer” Ju-hyeon
Park “Teddy” Jin-seong
Ryu “Keria” Min-seok
Star Player
There’s still going to be a lot of debate as to whether Clozer fully deserves to take over the starting mid role from Faker, so I’ll give the honor to T1’s consistent ADC, Teddy.
Preview
From top to bottom, this team has no real weaknesses. Talent-wise, they stack up with just about every other LCK team. The problem is that it’s unsure as to whether some of these players are on their last legs and whether the team will be able to move on to their younger talent.
2. Gen.G
Roster
Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee
Kim “Clid” Tae-min
Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong
Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk
Kim “Life” Jeong-min
Star Player
Ruler, who is easily a top-five ADC in the world, is their best player, but it’s not as though he has no competition.
Preview
This team was the finalist in the Spring Split and semifinalists in the Summer Split. They made it to the quarterfinals at Worlds 2020. Their roster is completely unchanged. There is no reason to expect that this team is not contending for the LCK title.
1. DWG KIA
Roster
Kim “Khan” Dong-ha
Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu
Heo “ShowMaker” Su
Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun
Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee
Next. How to Play Nunu Mid Like Faker. dark
Star Player
ShowMaker or Canyon could easily make the case for being the best player in the world at their position. By a hair, I’ll name Canyon as the MVP of the team.
Preview
The defending world champions, DWG KIA are the best team in Korea and the world until someone unseats them. With their talent and four of the five players from that championship team returning, that is a very tall task.