LCK Region Suddenly Changes! All Four Top Teams Suffer Upsets, Ruler Faces Justice, KT Consecutively Defeats Strong Opponents

Hello to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is World Game Hub.

After the global Pioneer Tournament ended, the LCK region initiated the second stage ahead of the LPL region, leading to a series of unexpected results in the past few days. Initially, T1 was swept by KT, followed by DK losing to NS.

Yesterday, GEN played their first match of the second stage and was also defeated by KT.

GEN's First Match After Return, Their Form Still Not Right

After GEN's disappointing performance in the Pioneer Tournament, news emerged outside the game about Ruler's tax evasion issues. Riot Games and LCK are preparing penalties, but the results haven't been finalized, so Ruler continues to compete normally. The main focus here is GEN's condition upon returning to the league, and indeed, the players' form seems off.

In the first game, both junglers repeatedly targeted the top lane. Kiin's K'Sante made a huge mistake by diving into the tower and giving away his life. Chovy's Ahri had low presence and missed many key skills in crucial fights. Conversely, BDD's Zoe dominated throughout, securing a mid-lane play that helped teammates eliminate GEN's bot lane duo.

GEN then launched a counterattack, won a team fight, and started the Baron. Yet, BDD once again stole the Baron with a long-range skill shot, allowing KT to take the first game.

In the second game, GEN stepped up. Top laner Kiin picked Varus and completely dominated, while mid and bot lanes also reported frequent successes. All five players performed well, executing a typical GEN-style crushing victory, reminiscent of GEN's league performances.

However, in the third game, GEN started faltering again. They selected a Fire Monkey mid-jungle combo but showed almost no coordination throughout. The bot lane chose Caitlyn but failed to establish a fast-push rhythm, being thoroughly countered by the opponent's Jarvan IV and Akali engages.

Ruler Faces Justice, LCK Suddenly Changes

In this game, whenever team fights occurred, Ruler's Caitlyn had no survival space. GEN also attempted to dive the backline, but the effectiveness was far inferior to KT's efforts. Ruler's Caitlyn died repeatedly, Kiin's Wolf Mother form was poor, and Chovy, even after picking Annie, remained notably low in presence. Ultimately, KT secured a team fight victory and closed out the match.

After the match, viewers widely commented that KT's actions represented justice enforcement. They even changed KT's full name to Korean National Tax Service, a team specializing in tackling tax evasion. BDD specifically targeted Ruler on the field.

Following this round of matches, the LCK region has completely transformed. Within just a few days since the start, the top four teams from the first stage have all suffered defeats. Among them, GEN and T1 were both beaten by KT. KT, having consecutively defeated strong opponents, has become one of the best-performing teams in LCK currently.

Then, BFX, facing the bottom-ranked BRO, was unexpectedly swept as well. After participating in the Pioneer Tournament, the entire team seems to have lost their gameplay understanding, no longer focusing on the bot lane, exposing clear configuration issues.

The third-ranked DK lost to NS, where the "Little Student" is playing. This shows that the Pioneer Tournament's failure indeed significantly impacted LCK. Of course, it could also be said that version changes reshaped the LCK region's landscape.

LCK Faces Regional Crisis, Yet Still Not to Be Underestimated

After this year's major version direction shift, the importance of lane phase greatly increased. However, viewers didn't anticipate LCK being affected. Actually, aside from version factors, personally, I believe the main reason is the declining form of key players within those top-ranked LCK strong teams.

Taking GEN as an example, the team actually faces an aging issue. Kiin and Ruler are veterans; continuous years of competition inevitably lead to potential performance dips. Ruler is additionally affected by off-field factors. Moreover, GEN has underperformed in world tournaments for several consecutive years, possibly dampening players' morale.

The principle of "one burst of energy, then decline, then exhaustion" applies similarly here.

Regarding T1, after changes in both top and bot lanes, they confront reduced configuration and fewer tactical options. The top and bot lanes' laning isn't top-tier, and Peyz's playstyle also restricts Keria, plunging the team into new difficulties.

These problems are indeed challenging to resolve. But on the other hand, LCK's foundational strength remains unmatched by LPL. You should never underestimate LCK teams' adjustment capabilities. Even if T1 and GEN falter, teams like KT can still reach extremely high ceilings. LPL must still approach LCK strong teams with a challenger's mindset.