League of Legends action kicks off all around the world in January and League of Legends Champions Korea is ready to bring us another amazing spring season.
Kicking off on January 12, Korea will bring us over two months of LoL action featuring some of the best names in the game. As is tradition, we’ll see the biggest teams in the region battle it out in best-of-three matches, and once again the league has been shaken up by a flurry of offseason moves.
If you’re looking to catch up on all things LoL following the offseason break, make sure to check out our guide on League of Legends betting, and let’s take a look at the LCK in more detail.
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The Biggest LCK Changes In 2022
The LCK has seen a plethora of roster moves in the offseason, possibly even surpassing all other regions. If you were a fan of any Korean team in 2021, you’re more than likely looking at a new squad this year.
We saw the biggest changes happen, surprisingly, at the top. DWG Kia made three key moves, despite once again winning the LCK and finishing as runners-up at Worlds. Khan, Ghost and Beryl were removed from the team, with youngsters Burdol and Hoya earning a shot at the top alongside bot lane duo Kellin and Deokdam. These moves were somewhat unexpected, with DWG still clearly being the best Korean team in 2021 – it seems that the organization has big goals for this year and have built this team with the aim of once again winning the world championship.
Another key set of moves comes from Gen.G, who completely restructured their team. Only Ruler remained in the squad, while Doran, Peanut, Chovy and Lehends were signed in the offseason. Gen.G has put together a very scary squad, with each player being one of the absolute best in their role. You could even call this roster a Korean superteam, and if they can make it work, they’ll definitely be one of the best in the world.
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Other than that, we saw Nongshim RedForce have to rebuild, after their impressive squad was picked apart by the league’s top teams. They’ve once again picked up a few youngsters to go alongside experienced players. Meanwhile, we saw fan favorites T1 being the only team to retain a whole roster, with their entire starting lineup continuing into 2022.
The bookmakers have already pegged DWK Kia and Gen.G as the two favorites and that’s tough to disagree with. We saw these teams pick up the standout players of 2021 to form two very strong rosters, while the rest of the league had to rebuild with young talent or “leftover” experienced stars. It’s always difficult to judge how a league might go before the first game, but at least for now, the LCK is looking like the least competitive of the major leagues.
Odds To Win LCK Spring Season 2022
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| DWG Kia | EVEN |
| Gen.G | +137 |
| T1 | +550 |
| Nongshim RedForce | +2000 |
| Kwangdong Freece | +2200 |
| KT Rolster | +3000 |
| DRX | +4500 |
| Liiv Sandbox | +10000 |
| Fredit Brion | +15000 |
| Hanwa Life Esports | +20000 |
Odds as of January 11 at Sportsbook
DWG Kia Rebuilds To Continue LCK Dominance
The best Korean team made some somewhat unexpected moves over the offseason, bringing in Burdol and Hoya to battle for the top lane, joining bot lane duo Deokdam and Kellin. The move saw star top laner Khan retire, while two strong players, Ghost and Beryl, were forced to find a home elsewhere.
With the team ending the year as LCK champions and runners-up at Worlds, it wouldn’t have been too surprising to see the squad stick together for another year and try to bring it to the next level. However, instead we see four new youngsters facing the weight of the world as they’ll be charged with helping DWG achieve its goals of once again being the best team in the world.
The signing of Deokdam and Kellin aims to patch up a hole we saw in DWG Kia’s play in 2021, when their bot lane was definitely the weakest point of the team. With that being said, when every single player on the team was among the world’s best, it’s going to be difficult to replace them.
When it comes to Deokdam and Kellin, they both lack experience, having only played one year in the top league and never at international competition. This will be their biggest test so far, but if they can perform as they did last year, then DWG will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.
Has Gen.G Built a Korean Superteam?
Gen.G has managed to build what is arguably the most impressive roster in the LCK. They’ve brought together five legendary players, Doran, Peanut, Chovy, Ruler and Lehends, creating a team with every single position filled to the brim with talent.
It’s difficult to find any players better than these anywhere in the world and for them to have all come together under one banner is almost unheard of. On paper, they make up what could be considered a Korean superteam – a squad featuring only the best of the best of the region.
However, we always have to take a step back when looking at teams like these. On paper, they’re unstoppable, but in reality, these kinds of squads rarely work out. There’s much more to League of Legends than just having five good players – there needs to be proper tactics, strategies and, most importantly, team synergy.
Like so many teams with incredible potential who have gone before them, Gen.G needs to jell and put the pieces together. If they do so, they can easily breeze through the league, but if not, we may just see another failed experiment.
Can Anyone Overcome The Two Favorites?
With the two favorites having massive potential to simply dominate the LCK, we have to ask: Can anyone stop them? The league does look like a two-horse race at the moment, but things rarely go as they should in League of Legends. We’ve seen superteams crash and burn, underdogs rise up, and rookies turn the game upside down in their debut year.
T1 is the obvious team to look at. They’ve retained a roster that convincingly took second at last year’s summer playoffs and features LoL’s greatest of all time, Faker. If the team has managed to build on their strong year, they could be a serious rival for Gen.G and DWG this season.
Another squad to keep your eyes on is DRX. The team is spearheaded by legendary jungler Pyosik, who has been considered one of the best in the world for years. They bolstered their squad with two experienced stars in Deft and Beryl, as well as signing youngster Zeka to run the show from the mid lane. The roster itself isn’t quite as scary as the favorites, but they definitely have the potential to make a few upsets happen if they’re able to work around Pyosik and Zeka effectively.
Last but not least, we should also note Liiv Sandbox. The team is a wild card more than anything, bringing a whole squad of rookies into the LCK this season. Their move to completely reinvent themselves was unexpected and honestly it’s impossible to know how it will go. Obviously, their rookies have huge potential, but whether they can realize it this season is a whole other question. We’ll just have to wait and see, but Liiv Sandbox could well be hiding some future superstars in their lineup.
