LCK heading back to offline play for the 2021 Summer Split
According to reporting from Korizon, the LCK is set to return to in-person play just in time for the 2021 Summer Split.
The event details
According to the report, all the matches in this split will take place at the LoL Park in Seoul, South Korea. Fans won’t have long to wait, if you are interested in checking out some of the best LCK teams duke it out, the event starts on June 9th. Most fans will only be able to watch the game online. According to South Korean government policy, LoL Park will only be able to host fans up to 10% of their capacity, this maxes out at around 40 fans per event.
This makes LCK the last League of Legends region to return to live and in-person play. The LCS, LEC, and LPL had already returned to in-person play for the domestic finals of the Spring Split.
Safety
Since the event is being held in-person, they will have to follow South Korean government policy. They can only operate at 10% capacity, there will be screens in between the players’ seats, no food or drink will be allowed in the arena, and every attendee will have to wear a mask and have their temperatures measured.
The Summer Split
We are bound to see some shake-ups in the LCK tournament when they return to in-person play. The first match when the event kicks off will be between Fredit BRION and Liiv SANDBOX but most eyes will be on the second match of the event, T1 against Hanwha Life Esports.
The event will be similar to the previous Spring Split, the main event will have each team playing 18 matches/90 sets over the course of 10 weeks. Each match will be a best out of three. Round one of the event will have five match days per week from Wednesday to Sunday. Round two of the event will only have four match days from Thursday to Sunday.
The teams to watch
This event represents some of the best teams on the international level. Will DWG KIA maintain their lead as one of the best teams in the world? They may be the defending world champions but their performance at the most recent Mid-Season Invitational does not hint at a very positive future for the team. They should have easily beaten the Mad Lions but it seemed like a major effort to finish the game. I expect some major change ups and upsets when it comes to the odds for League of Legends betting.
Keep an eye out for teams like Gen.G, T1, or even Hanwha Life. The second match of the first day of the event could be the decider of the next big team in the Korean region. If Hanwa manages to beat out T1, and move on to face a diminished DWG KIA, we could see the creation of the next big world dominating team.
