The League of Legends Champions Korea season has finally reached its final week now that Week 8 of the LCK 2022 spring split just wrapped up. There were some exciting matches, but most ended with more of the same. Still there were a few lessons learned from Week 8 of the LCK 2022 spring split, so let’s explore.
T1 likely to go undefeated
The only real storyline in the LCK at this point in the LCK 2022 spring split is whether or not T1 will make history. Heading into Week 8, all of T1’s hardest opponents seemed to be behind them. Their two matches against the second-place Gen.G were in the rear view mirror, and so were their matches against the defending LCK champion, DWG KIA.
Week 8 looked like a walk in the park in comparison for T1 as they went up against middle-of-the-pack Kwangdong Freecs and Fredit BRION. Ironically, their match against KDF did go to three games before Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok busted out the Kai’Sa mid as T1 put KDF away. T1’s second series against Fredit BRION was disgusting as T1 beat BRO in back-to-back sub-20 minute stomps. It wasn’t pretty for BRO but looked amazing on T1’s resume.
The wins put T1 at 16-0, which is just two series away from perfection.
DRX are the last hope to end the streak
That doesn’t necessarily mean T1 will get there easily. T1 might have sailed past DK and Gen.G, but there is one top-four team that T1 has left on their schedule — the upstart DRX squad.
DRX came into Week 8 riding a 2-0 week in Week 7 after losing to Gen.G the week before. Like T1, DRX played against KDF and the match did go to Game 3 before DRX put them away. In DRX’s other match of the week, against Nonghsim RedForce, DRX won decisively in a 2-0 sweep.
DRX now enters the last week of the season with a four series win streak, which actually puts them one game above DK in the standings, in third. DRX have a chance to secure that third-place spot in Week 9 during their match against DK. Then, in the very last series of the season, DRX goes up against T1.
KT finally stepping up
Early on in the LCK 2022 spring split, things were looking up for KT Rolster. In Week 3, KT peaked as high as fourth in the standings, but it all started to go downhill after.
Since Week 3, KT have been on a terrible 1-7 slide, which put them outside of the playoff picture heading into Week 8. With their playoff hopes on the line, KT needed a good showing to keep their hopes alive. With some help from their schedule, they managed.
KT played against the two bottom dwellers in the LCK in Week 8: Hanwha Life Esports and LiiV SANDBOX. Considering these were the easiest possible matchups for KT on the schedule, if there was ever going to be a rebound, this was it. And as expected, KT capitalized on the easy lay-up opportunity, breaking their six-series loss streak and in the process and producing two quality 2-0 series.
As a result, KT are back into a tie for the last playoff spot heading into the most important games of their season in Week 9.
Published: Mar 15, 2022 08:30 pm