League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) starts this week, and the full schedule of the games have been released. For LCK’s opening week, fans and critics alike are excited to see the fruits of the teams’ offseason moves. Week 1 comprises of 10 best of threes, and it’s completely understandable to not have the time to watch all games.
All LCK games are livestreamed on the official LCK Twitch channel.
Here’s our list of Games to Watch for Week 1 of LCK.
LCK Spring 2022: Week 1 – T1 vs Kwangdong Freecs
T1 was quite active last offseason restructuring their team. They parted ways with one of their bot laners, Park “Teddy” Jin-seong and jungler Choi “Ellim” El-lim, both of whom went to Kwangdong Freecs. Fans of last year’s T1 roster will surely be on the edge of their seats for this series. T1’s roster looks strong on paper, with superstar mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok at the helm. This might be the case, but the Freecs’ roster is nothing to scoff at. Big names populate this squad, such as Kim “Kiin” Gi-in on top lane and Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok in mid.
LCK color commentator Wolf “Wolf” Schröder is also interested in this series, stating: “How will T1’s strong roster face off against former players Teddy and Ellim?” Both T1 and KDF look like top 5 teams, and this early matchup will give us a great idea of each team’s power rankings. A bot lane centric series is to be expected in this matchup, with ex-teammates Gumayusi and Teddy facing off.
T1 vs KDF is scheduled for January 12, 11am GMT.
LCK Spring 2022: Week 1 – KT Rolster vs Damwon KIA
Fresh out of Worlds 2021 Finals, Damwon Gaming were also active last offseason. With top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha’s retirement and Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee’s departure, DK had to find new talent. They found their new top laners in Noh “Burdol” Tae-yoon and Yoon “Hoya” Yong-ho. Support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu is also added to the roster.
In this series against previous World Champions and 2021 LCK Champions, KT Rolster has their work cut out for them. The KT Rolster squad had to fully restructure their team, with notable additions like mid laner Lee “Aria” Ga-eul from Japan’s LJL. Aside from Aria, jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan also joined KT. With a brand new roster, fans are interested to see how KT will perform. What better way to demonstrate your team synergy than beating previous World Champions?
New rosters aside, a game from DK’s mid-jungle duo is always exciting to see. Will Heo “ShowMaker” Su dominate the rift once again as he did in Worlds 2021?
ShowMaker ROARS into the camera #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/PNNxNj8Sju
— Ashley Kang (@AshleyKang) October 30, 2021
KT vs DK is scheduled for January 13, 11am GMT.
LCK Spring 2022: Week 1 – Damwon KIA vs Gen.G
Damwon KIA gets another must watch series in LCK Week 1, this time against Gen.G. Gen.G sports big names in their roster, such as mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and bot laner Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk. Seeing Gen.G squad attempt to take down LCK’s defending champions will surely be a sight to see. Ex-pro and analyst Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon is also eager to find out which team has adapted better to their new rosters.
This might just be a series that focuses on bot lane. Ruler is known for his prowess as a bot laner and has been shown to carry games single handedly. Would Ruler’s mechanical skills be enough to take down the LCK defending champions?
DK vs Gen.G is scheduled for January 16, 11am GMT.
LCK Spring 2022: Week 1 – Should you watch the rest?
These games aside, if you enjoy watching textbook League of Legends, all of these games will be nice to watch. LCK players are not only known for their mechanical skill, but also their macro plays and seemingly “safe” calls. These often result into slower games, with games often concluding after a couple of team fights. Some might call it boring, and some might call it calculated. Whichever side of the coin you’re on, LCK is still worth watching.
LCK sports great talent and, as of now, the power rankings seem really close for the most part. Each roster possess great talent, and we’ll have to wait for more games to get a good picture of the power rankings. While big names like Faker and ShowMaker are still on the Rift, there’s no saying what will happen this season. The Demon King may no longer be Unkillable, and ShowMaker’s ferociousness may be shut down.
LCK teams are also hungry for victory, as in last year’s Worlds Championship, LCK’s Damwon KIA reached finals but fell short after losing a series to LPL’s EDward Gaming.
