Riot Korea is set to debut a new show on the LCK Twitch channel next week. Called LoL THE NEXT, the series will document the audition and training process of 100 hopeful amateur League of Legends players looking for a shot in the professional scene. They will be competing for a “career-launching” prize and a share of a $50,000 prize pool.
All Star Lineup
The 100 contestants are all Diamond rank and above in Korean Soloq Queue. They will go through a series of challenges and matches to test their skill in various areas of competitive League of Legends. If you’ve watched any reality TV of the past 20 years, you know the drill.
The four special judges and mentors confirmed for Riot Korea’s new show so far are all popular LCK champions and World Championship winners. They are:
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Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan, Support player formerly of SKT T1 and three time World Champion
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Heo “PawN” Won-seok, Mid laner, Worlds 2014 winner with Samsung Blue
- Kim “PraY” Jong-in, ADC, three times LCK Winner and Worlds semi finalist with KOO Tigers
- Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-hwan, Top, twice LCK winner and World’s winner with SKT T1
All the hosts should be well familiar to each other. They have either played on the same teams or against each other regularly over their many years in the LCK and international tournaments.
“지금 멤버도 좋지만 정글 라인 쪽에도 한명 더 있으면 더 좋았을 것 같네요” said one YouTube commenter, which roughly translates as “the lineup looks good for now, but it would have been better with a jungler too.”
Riot Korea’s “huge opportunity”
The 100 players will selected down to just 10, who will form two 5v5 teams for the final showdown. PawN and Wolf will coach one team. PraY and Marin will look after the other. Funnily enough, Marin helped SKT beat PraY’s Tigers in the World Championship final in 2015. So that could provide some interesting banter.
The final 5v5 match in Riot Korea’s new show, will be played at Seoul’s custom-built LoL Park stadium. The winning team will share a $50,000 prize and a unique opportunity—exact details of which are yet to be revealed. Although, we’re sure standout players on the losing team might also be in line for some kind of work afterwards.
If you want to catch the show, “LoL The Next” will debut on the LCK Twitch channel on Sunday August 2 at 1:30 AM. So be prepared to stay up late (or get up early) if you want to watch it live from the US.
