The first week of LCK's third split group stage is over. DNS in the Rise group edged out BRO 2:1 for their first victory, while in the Legend group, KT beat HLE after three intense games. Following these results, the LCK rankings changed: the top three teams are all 15-5, but T1 is currently first due to a one-point tiebreaker advantage over HLE.

Although HLE dropped to second place, they still have room to catch up. GEN has fallen out of the top three and is now on par with DK. If Showmaker wins just one more match, his team's big-game record will tie GEN. The LCK's format is quite interesting; both GEN and HLE have seen a significant decline in form this split, but because they won many games in the second split, their rankings remain high. However, if this trend continues, things could become difficult.

Kanavi dies 12 times in a single game.

In the HLE vs KT BO3, Kanavi went crazy again. In the first game, after clearing his own F6, he ran to steal the enemy blue buff. Cuzz smited it away, but Kanavi didn't retreat, trying to go for the gromp instead. He got caught and still didn't run, giving first blood. Then he went to gank mid, but was counter-ganked by Cuzz. By 4 minutes, he was 0-2, and he completely lost it, openly feeding without any pretense.

The first game lasted 34 minutes, and Kanavi's Jarvan finished with a 1-12 record. In the LCK, this number of deaths ties the record set by ECJ in 2015, who also played Jarvan in a 55-minute game. Kanavi matched that record in just 34 minutes, an unprecedented feat.

TSW qualifies for the World Championship.

The LCP regular season adopted the Swiss system this year. TSW, coached by Warhorse, won two consecutive matches to start 2-0 in the qualification round. When facing CFO, TSW swept them 3-0, advancing to the playoffs. After that, TSW's World Championship points firmly held first place, with no team able to overtake them. Thus, TSW secured their spot in the Global Finals with the highest cumulative points of the year.

While we are still playing regular season matches, TSW has already secured a Worlds spot—that's really fast. The Vietnamese team has also qualified. I wonder if TES can make it to Worlds this year to avenge their MSI elimination. Among the five major regions, besides CFO, the team closest to Worlds is HLE, thanks to winning the MSI championship. As long as HLE makes it to the playoffs, they will earn a Worlds spot.

Rookie declines official interview.

After IG defeated LNG for their second consecutive win, Meiko represented the team in an on-stage interview. According to the rotation, the next should be Wei or Rookie. However, former IG legend Ning revealed in a live stream that Rookie will not do on-stage interviews before or even after the playoffs. In other words, Rookie has refused official interviews, and everyone can guess the reason.

After his breakup with Xiaoyu caused several waves of controversy, Rookie is indeed not in a convenient position to do on-stage interviews. When they beat WBG earlier, he was criticized by fans as he left. If he were to go on stage, the official stream's chat would likely be full of hate. But in esports, performance always speaks. As long as IG can fight their way out of the Knight's Path and achieve good results in the playoffs, they will soon be redeemed.

Conclusion:

The top teams in the LCK have all seen a clear decline in strength this split. GEN and HLE both started with two consecutive losses. In contrast, KT has won two in a row after swapping ADCs, and DK is also in good form, with Showmaker getting stronger. If this trend continues, the allocation of LCK Worlds spots will be highly uncertain.

So, do you think TES has a chance to take revenge on TSW?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!