This article is part of our LoL Season Splits series.
LPL/China
In stark contrast to Europe, China was a region where most expected more of the same. LGD made a high profile acquisition in SKT's Mar1n, but as they were already the champions of the league few thought of the acquisition as relevant. The biggest news from the offseason in the LPL was OMG's seeming implosion, leading to a roster of five full new players, and the formation of a new 10 man Royal Never Give Up roster that seemed to have more talent on it than humanly possible. EDG saw few changes, but arguably needed none in order to remain a strong team.
Yet, it's likely that the current LPL standing are the most unexpected of any league, but not because of who's leading. To the surprise of few, last splits finalist Qiao Gu Reapers have grown into a team whose dominance is terrifying to behold. They not only haven't dropped a match, they have yet to even drop a game, despite subbing out Peco for Uzi seemingly at random. Their utter dismantling of LGD left many stunned, as Qiao Gu looked nothing like themselves from last year, seizing initiative and taking early leads rather than surviving early losses, which was their signature style last year. Their unmatched team fighting wasn't lost in the transition, however, with the result being a team that's used to winning team fights while down 10k gold now being able to fight while in the lead, rather than chasing one. Their record indicates exactly how well that's worked out for them. The other side of the bracket is a bit more in contention, with RNG taking a huge early lead and looking to 5-0 in their own right. EDG, however, would have none of that and shut them down when they were matched up, exposing both the flaws in RNG as well as giving EDG fans hope after a, if we're being generous, suboptimal Week One performance.
Finally, there's the elephant in the room: LGD. Until their very last series, LGD had failed to win a series, and had only taken one game off any other team in their league. Even worse, their one victory comes from beating Energy Pacemaker, a team nearly everyone rates as about even with Hyper Youth Gaming in competition for the vaunted "worst team in the league" title. Fans of LGD are likely as distraught as those of Star Horn Royal Club last year as LGD also faces the really real fear of fighting to stay out of relegation if they don't manage to pickup more wins, even if those wins are only from the weaker teams in their bracket. It's no longer a question of playoffs for LGD, it's a question of survival.
LCK/Korea
Similar to Europe, Korea has seen a curious development in the standings. History has favored Korean as the powerhouse of League of Legends, but the Round Robin format has seen a shuffle in results from previous splits. The biggest surprise that has arose during the split is SK Telecom's inability to remain dominant after their recent World Championship victory. While the loss of Marin to LGD has hurt, the signing of Duke, formerly of Najin e-mFire, has helped ease the issues somewhat. SK Telecom started off the split by winning their first series against CJ, but quickly stumbled in their next series to Jin Air. In their following series against fellow World finalists ROX Tigers, a remarkable comeback in Game One followed by a disappointing loss in Game Two set up a rather confusing move in Game Three, as the team started rookie Blank in the final game - quickly falling in the World Finals rematch. While they did win their fourth series of the season against Najin e-mFire, their sloppy play ultimately gave away a game, despite the fact they were considered heavy favorites heading into the series. This prolonged slump has pushed the reigning champions to fourth in the standings, an uncomfortable position given their presumed dominance heading into the season.
The rest of the upper echelon remains similar to the final standings of the last split. The ROX Tigers (12-3) currently remain atop the standings, particularly impressing analysts after their dominant showing against SKT. Joining them is Jin Air Green Wings, currently in second place with a similar record of 11-5. Closely following behind is the seemingly immortal kt Rolster, who is currently 9-2 and threatening to take over second place. Their last split was rather unremarkable, as they finished in 6th place with an overall 22-20 record. This split seems to be their chance to make it out of the Group Stage and into Playoffs, so long as they are able to keep to their current form.
The final development of this split is the performance of the teams at the bottom of the standing in the league. Currently holding last place with an overall record of 2-12 is SBENU Sonicboom. After a disgraceful Summer Split, the team has yet to make improvements, even after narrowly avoiding losing their 2016 spot in LCK to Challenger Team, Ever. Even worse, their future doesn't appear to look any better as they face two teams hellbent on trying to work their way back into contention, Longzhu and Samsung, in consecutive weeks. While SBENU Sonicboom has struggled, the newest team to join the LCK, Afreeca Freeks, hasn't fared much better. The Freeks, formerly known as the Rebels Anarchy, received their birth into the league after their second place finish in their group during the 2015 LCK Summer Promotion Tournament. After defeating NaJin at the KeSPA Cup, they have had lackluster performances this split. Their star mid laner Mickey seems to be the only one capable of competing at this level, drawing three bans against him almost every game. Despite this freeing up multiple picks for his team, they have been unable to impress yet again, with their only victory being against bottom of the league team, SBENU.
