Week 8 of the 2021 LCK Summer split marked the start of the formation of the playoffs bracket. NS RedForce, Gen.G and DWG KIA have locked their spots in the playoffs, with three remaining spots still up for contention.

In this week’s ‘Quest’s Musings’, I’ll be talking about the six playoff teams, and my dark horse choice of the LCK.

Liiv SANDBOX: That one team that no one is talking about in the West

In week 8, NS, Gen.G and DWG KIA have locked their spots in for the playoffs. T1 and Liiv SANDBOX have a 99+% chance of making it in the playoffs, while Afreeca Freecs have a 91.598% chance of securing a spot in the playoffs. For all three teams, I’d say the chances are pretty damn high.

From the way things look at the moment, it’s unclear which team will be able to lift the LCK championship trophy. I think that while NS has looked pretty damn strong at the moment, they’re definitely a team with exploitable flaws. If you wish to read about my analysis on NS, please check out last week’s volume of ‘Quest’s Musings’.

With both T1 and DWG KIA making changes to their coaching staff line-up [for those that have been living under a rock, T1 fired both Daeny-Zefa; Daeny returned to DWG KIA as an analyst], both teams have looked as if they’re on track to being the best versions of themselves. Gen.G, however, have been looking quite shaky.

I do want to remind each and every one of our readers that playoffs are a whole different game. So many factors, such as players’ mental statuses, teams’ abilities to adapt in both draft and gameplay, plays out very differently in a best of fives. DWG KIA, Gen.G and T1 have all proven that they can stand their ground in a best of five, while I’m not as confident with the other three teams.

At the moment, the general consensus is that  DWG KIA or NS will most likely win the playoffs. However, I will say that the team to look out for has to be definitely Liiv SANDBOX. They did beat NS on week 8, and have looked consistently solid against the top teams of the league. The moment when the support player of LSB, Lee “Effort” Sang-ho stole Baron against T1 is, in my books, the most hype moment of this Summer split.

Original clip via LCK Global Youtube

Since the start of the split [especially when the league entered round 2], they’ve looked consistently good. I want to say that the biggest reason behind this team’s improvement has to be on the top laner becoming noticeably better. Park “Summit” Woo-tae finally looks like he’s living up to the hype as the next great LCK top laner. When combined with the powerhouse bot lane of the team, Prince-Effort, and the other two players acting as glue that keeps the team together, LSB definitely has a chance to make it far, if not win the whole playoffs. If I had to choose one team that will shake things up, my money’s on LSB.