Photo: LoL Esports
We do not know if the Asian Games which will take place in September make you want to turn on your television, but there will still be a good reason to follow the competition. Several esports disciplines are on the program and on our side we are closely following the League of Legends games, where we should find the Chinese team and the South Korean team in the final. Already finalists in 2018, the two countries are a scarecrow. They are full of talent and it’s hard to see who could resist these two giants.
Speaking of South Korea, a shortlist of 10 players has been announced. We find very heavy with players like Faker, Chovy and Canyon. But while the Kespa had decided to sleep only 10 names (10 players per position), we notice that there are still a lot of great absentees. For fun, we have listed the players who, in our opinion, could also have been called up without making a mark on the list.
ShowMaker, victim of competition
Hey”showmaker” Su is a real machine. World champion in 2020 and finalist of the Worlds last year, his absence may shock. For many it is the present and the future of League of Legends and in the West, we would dream of having a player of his ilk in his team. But the midlaner of DWG KIA did not manage a great Spring Split. Even if it was not catastrophic, he had accustomed us to better and he experienced a little slack … We imagine that it is for this reason that he was not selected in this first list… Especially since facing him, we still found Faker the GOAT and Chovy, another particularly talented mid laner. After a lackluster segment, it’s therefore not so surprising to see ShowMaker dismissed.
Viper and Scout, two frustrated world champions
On paper we can also be surprised to see that the last two world champions of Korean nationality have not been called up in the list… While they won the Worlds in 2021, they could claim by their status to a place in the list. But there were still two big hurdles that weighed on Lee.”Scout“Ye-chan and Park”Viper” Do-hyeon. On the one hand, the two friends play in China (LPL)… The selection committee had cited among the important criteria the attachment to the country and its values. Playing in a foreign championship does not help so not really. In addition, while it is planned to carry out test phases, players who are not on site have surely been put aside automatically. Finally, it should also be noted that EDG hasn’t been particularly bright this year. The team finished in 7th place in the regular season before being knocked out in round 2 of the playoffs. It is therefore not really a scandal to see the two players sidelined.
Rookie, too complicated to think of him
Song”rookie“Eui-jin is a monument and for some he should be among the top 5 League of Legends players in history. Also he is in very good shape right now and he is still in the running to get a new one. title of champion of China… But like the previously mentioned players, maybe that’s the problem. Rookie has spent the majority of his career in LPL and we imagine that the kespa did not necessarily want to call on him. When we add that he had to face competition from Faker, Chovy and even ShowMaker… It was really too complicated to call on him.
Burdol or Doran, two not ridiculous alternatives?
Korea can count on many talents and when you look at the positions of midlaner or ADC, we have a ton of quality candidates. On the other hand, the list is a little less provided at the top… The two players who were taken from the list are not heavyweights. Zeus has been excellent with T1, but he still lacks experience and it’s unclear how he will perform on an international stage. Kiin is a veteran and was already there during the 2018 Asian Games. However, the collective performances of Kwangdong Freecs were not particularly reassuring. Both players have qualities, but other top laners could have entered the discussions. We think in particular of burdol (DWG KIA) and Doran (Gen.G), two players who have already played in the Worlds and who know the pressure of a very high level. Obviously, their stats are slightly lower than Zeus and Kiin. But T1 rolled over everyone and the Freecs like to pamper their toplaner. This skews the figures a bit and the two alternative solutions deserved at least to be mentioned.
esport-lol
Nisqy hasn’t really disappeared from League of Legends radars, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen him compete in Europe. Blocked on the Fnatic bench, some would like to see him have fun in ERL. But the Belgian has his reasons for refusing such offers.