Running from January until today -- the 2018 LCK Spring Split regular season has come to an end. It was a battle that lasted approximately 9 weeks, and as with any year, the tournament was fiercely competitive; every player was put under immense pressure. But this Split especially shocked fans and analysts alike, as, during the duration of the tournament, the standings changed dramatically.

It was a highly-anticipated season, as the lineup contained KZ, the team with the best of the best, KSV who proved themselves the strongest team in the world last year, and of course, the traditionally powerful teams, SKT and KT. In addition, BBQ had acquired two European players for their roster coming into this season. The outcome of this split was anyone’s guess.

And now, 9 weeks have passed since the start of the Split on the 16th of January. The results are out; let’s take a closer look at the first split of 2018.

1. A quick look - Summary of the LCK Spring Spring

During the Spring Split of 2018, there were changes to the lineup of the “top” teams. Compared to the other leagues throughout the world, the LCK usually has the lowest rate of roster changes. When a team is formed, they maintain their roster for a long time, unless some big issue comes up. Therefore, the playstyle of many teams doesn’t change much from season to season, but this year was different.

To start off, out of the four “top” teams that dominated the LCK last year, KZ, KT, SKT, and KSV, only KZ and KT seemed to retain their strength. As for SKT and KSV, they had a rough start, showing signs of weakness right at Round 1. They both finished the regular season with a score of 9-9; the two teams were in a three-way tie with ROX Tigers, but due to the difference in match points, ROX was disqualified. That sort of record is not one you’d expect from the 2017 World Championship finalists.

A new team is on the rise, and it’s Afreeca Freecs. Last year, AFs was a mid-tier team at best; playing well against bottom teams but struggling against the top teams. But during this season, AFs completely silenced the crowd, displaying top performance regardless of who they were facing. In this season, Kuro and TusiN acted as the engine of the team with their macromanagement, and the rest of the team played just as well. At the end of the season, they were placed 2nd in the LCK standings.

On the other hand, the bottom teams didn’t seem to change. The three lowest-ranking teams, KDM, BBQ, and MVP struggled throughout the split. In the case of MVP, they started showing some improvement in Round 2, and as for BBQ, although they acquired Trick and IgNar, the team failed to escape from the bottom half of the standings. KDM ended the split with a score of 2-16 and will have to play in the promotion matches.


2. Team Review - The Split History

■ 1st: KingZone Dragon X [16 Wins 2 Losses +26]

LZ was already strong, but they became even stronger after being rebranded to KZ. As individuals, there were no other players that could rival them in lane. And as a team, they displayed solid macro and quick meta adaptation throughout the split. It seemed like KZ was delivering a performance that was at the same level as SKT during their prime.

■ 2nd: Afreeca Freecs [13 Wins 5 Losses +15]

As requested by the head coach of the team, Choi, Afreeca Freecs recruited more players to complete their 10-man roster, and in addition, they also strengthened their coaching staff. As a result, the team showed big improvements. TusiN, who performed well throughout the entire split; Kiin, who displayed performance that exceeded the usual skills of a rookie; and Kuro, a veteran that played as well as ever. AFs had many highlights throughout Spring. However, it’s a bit unfortunate that there were some out-of-game issues within the organization.

■ 3rd: KT Rolster [13 Wins 5 Losses +13]

During the early phases of the Split, KT was not very impressive. But starting from Round 2, they began frequently utilizing their new midlaner, Ucal, and recovered the image they had as a strong team. In their final game of the split, KT utilized Rush’s skills and covered their weakness.

■ 4th: SKT T1 [9 Wins 9 Losses 0]

The team value of SKT fell this split, and it fell hard. But during the latter half of the split, they did show signs of getting back to form. While looking at their performance, I couldn’t help but wonder, “what did they do during the preseason?” In the earlier parts of the split, SKT struggled against the bottom teams, but after experimenting by  trying many different combinations of players (such as employing Wolf in the jungle), they found their perfect mix. But since the rest of the competition is currently so far ahead, most don’t expect SKT to make a full comeback.

■ 5th: KSV [9 Wins 9 Losses 0]

KSV was quite awkward to watch this split. Without any real consistency, KSV seemed to win and lose at random. They beat KZ during the split and even proved themselves as the best team in the world last year… but they lost to KDM. By a miracle, KSV somehow managed to advance to the playoffs, but their first opponent is SKT, and KSV hasn’t won a single game against them this split.

■ 6th: ROX Tigers [9 Wins 9 Losses -1]

Comparing their current performance to last year, ROX Tigers showed an immense amount of improvement. Both Lindarang and Lava, the two players who received a lot of criticism last year, played much better; Sangyoon and Key also played above expectations. The biggest issue, however, is the team’s drafts - as pointed out by many analysts. It’s true that picks and bans don’t decide the outcome of a match, but many people believe that ROX’s poor decision-making during picks and bans has cost them quite a few of their games. And unfortunately for them, ROX failed to advance to the playoffs due to their lack of match points.

■ 7th: Jin Air Greenwings [7 Wins 11 Losses -7 ]

We got a full taste of JAG’s “delayed” games this split. Head coach Han explained that the team had no choice but to depend on this playstyle, since the team still lacked a proper “shotcaller” -- but they’re definitely showing promise. Due to Teddy’s incredible carry potential, getting into the late game phase while playing against this team could prove to be quite dangerous. The new patches also heavily affected JAG. Starting from 8.4, JAG’s playstyle of drawing-out games almost stopped working completely. They struggled all throughout Round 2.

■ 8th: bbq OLIVERS [6 Wins 12 Losses -10 ]

BBQ is one of the two teams that defeated KZ this season. The players from EU delivered decent performance, but the general balance of the team was unstable. In some matches, IgNar was sealed off and sometimes Trick was inconsistent, leading to a loss of initiative. However, as the season went on, they gained stability as a team, so their future performance may be something to look forward to.

■ 9th: MVP [6 Wins 12 Losses -14]

MVP delivered an unsatisfying performance in Round 1 with only 2 wins, but in Round 2, they made a comeback, defeating several mid-ranked teams. However, their results from Round 1 were too heavy a weight to balance and they weren’t able to get out of the relegation match. On the bright side however, they have the most wins of the teams that had to go to the relegation match.

■ 10th: KONGDOO MONSTERS [2 Wins 16 Losses -23 ]

Early in the season, they defeated KSV and had many fans thinking they might be the dark horse of this season, but it didn’t take long for everyone to see that wasn’t the case. In the 2018 LCK Spring Split, KDM was a win generator. Especially in Round 2, they lost all nine matches. KDM has fallen to the relegation match and is waiting to play against MVP and two teams from Challengers to stay in the LCK.

3. Ace – The 7 players that shined brightly this season.

◆ Kim 'Khan' Dong-ha (KZ Top Laner)

“A player whose deaths are meaningless. Even so, a player whose growth must be prevented.”

Khan stood out the most, even within the strongest team of the season. KZ delivered a very sharp and clean performance, like a blade, and Khan was the edge of that blade. In matches that Khan wasn’t performing well, KZ also had a hard time.

The only strategy that seemed to work against Khan was to simply avoid him; the teams that managed to win against KZ came out on top thanks to this tactic. Since Khan recovered from death so fast, they gave up on that lane and focused on other lanes. If he was allowed to gain strength, Khan’s presence became too much. Currently, Khan is arguably the best top laner of Korea and the master of Jayce. Khan recorded 6 wins out of 6 matches with Jayce and made opponents ban him several times even when he wasn’t picked in any other games.

◆ Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng (AFs Mid Laner)

“The most underrated mid laner of the LCK. A player that can carry out any role.”

Kuro had a long career in the supporting role; he was never the main hero in the LCK. Even so, he was active in the LCK for 5 years, and he proved that his 5-year-career wasn’t for nothing. Kuro was able to overcome his weaknesses and proved himself worthy of being at the top,bringing his team to 2nd place in the regular season.

After transferring to AFs in 2017, Kuro became the captain of the team and demonstrated his experience and prowess during the season. With a wide pool of champions, he controlled the playstyle of AFs and selected champions that can alleviate the weaknesses of the team.

◆ Park 'TuSin' Jong-ik (AFs Support)

“The perfect playmaker that makes the hardest plays look easy.”

Just last season, TusiN wasn’t a very well-known player. The dull “Ardent Censor” meta was suppressing his style. His nickname, TusiN, means ‘the god of combat’; he proved he was worthy of his nickname this season.

TusiN’s strongest virtue is his explosive initiation. It can’t be fully described as just fast, it’s supersonic. Even the game observers tend to miss it now and then. In the middle of the unexpected advantages that AFs gain in the early-mid game, was TuisN, and he nearly became the first ever support to be named the season MVP in the LCK.

◆ Cho 'Mata' Se-hyeong (KT Support)

“Unless the game League of Legends becomes something entirely new, he is the player who would be the best manual for the game.”

Mata is a veteran who has been to the very top. He used to be a fancy player that led his team in an untidy manner, but now, his experience made him into a calm and collected player. Mata used to be eager to carry, to be the hero, but now he is more active than ever as the support player.

All other players said that his weakness was his laning, but the laning of KT bottom lane’s was dominant throughout this season. He made super plays in nearly all the matches through round 2, and proved that he still had the same prowess as always.

◆ Gwak 'BDD' Bo-seong (KZ Min Laner)

“Can’t be stopped by bans, the best candidate to make history.”

This 19-year-old is the player that is wanted the most by the coaching staff of the LCK. The reason is simple: ‘he’s good at games’. If Khan is like the face of KZ, Bdd is the heart and the final boss. After his debut in 2016, he has developed continuously, but this season is different from last season. There are no visible weaknesses.

Bdd’s strongest point is that he tests and proves theories through performance during competitions. Even when all the top-tier mid lane champions were banned, he picked Xerath and carried the game; when Sion was being experimentally used in the mid lane, he played Sion to 3 wins at a KDA of 9.6. KZ without Khan may seem unstable, but a Bdd-less KZ is unthinkable.

◆ Heo 'Lindarang' Man-heung (ROX Top Laner)

“The player who made the team change all their plans and macro.”

Lindarang is a player that’s quite ordinary compared to most players. His performance was below average at his debut, and he’s not a veteran that has accomplished much. However, Lindarang slipped into the spotlight thanks to his remarkable development. His only weapons are the talents needed for a top laner: boldness and the basics.

If Lindarang has been building himself up all this time, he is finally complete as a player. He got a solo-kill against Khan, dominated Smeb in the laning phase, and overwhelmed Untara. Although he’s not seen as one of the extremely ‘gifted’ players, more improvements can be expected in the next season.

◆ Bae 'Bang' Jun-sik (SKT AD Carry)

“Before and now, Bang is still the guardian of SKT T1.”

When kkOma was still a coach, he called Bang ‘the last bastion of SKT’. And while SKT had a severe slump, he stayed stable as the base of SKT, playing in all matches. Although his performance wasn’t that good last year, this year marks the return of his strength.

SKT’s end result for this season was 4th place, with a 9-9 record. Compared to the past when they were at the top of the world, this outcome isn’t satisfying. However, Bang is at the top of the leaderboard in KDA and is ranked near the top in all other stats like DPM, CSPM, kill participation rate, etc. Even though SKT lost many times, there were only two games where Bang died more than twice. In an interview, he said “In fights that seems like we’ll lose even if I’m there, I don’t get close at all.” This means that he has the calm mind that is required for an ADC. Bang is a sharp, stable, and solid ADC, and he’s proven that many times over.

4. 2018 LCK Spring Split by Numbers

Looking at the numbers of this season is quite interesting. World records have been broken this season, which is a rare thing in the LCK.

★ 94:40

Week 1, SKT vs JAG Game 3 duration, broke the record. 10 Dragons and 9 Barons were slain by the two teams and 15 inhibitors were destroyed in this match.

★ 1,465

Same match, Teddy recorded 1,465 CS. This is the only record that exceeded 1,000. In the same match, SKT’s ADC Bang recorded 975 CS and placed second after Teddy. The original world record and current 3rd record was Zven’s 946 CS against Origen during the 2016 EU LCS Summer Split.

★ 7

The number of Dragons slain by BBQ in Week 4, BBQ vs SKT Game 2. 2 Cloud, 1 Mountain, 1 Infernal, and 3 Elder Dragons were killed by BBQ.

★ 6

Then number of Barons killed by SKT in Week 1, SKT vs JAG Game 3. In this match, SKT attacked viciously from all directions many times, but lost to JAG, who endured every assault.

★ 9

KZ’s winning streak. KZ won all 9 matches of Round 2.

★ 23:08

Week 8, JAG vs AFs Game 3duration. JAG played the longest match ever in Round 1, and also played the shortest match ever in the LCK to defeat AFs.