LCKSpringSplit

Category: LoL

LCK 2021 Spring Season – How to Watch: teams, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

If you haven’t realised yet, competitive League of Legends is on our radar. With many of the regions aimed to kick off later this month or in February, we couldn’t be more excited. Indeed, after covering the LPL, we’re now moving on to the LCK 2021 Spring Season. Read on for all of the necessary details you’ll need to know how to watch!

Event Background

While this isn’t the first year of LoL competition, 2021 is a massive step forward for the Korean region. Accordingly, the LCK has finally made the push towards franchising. By partnering with sponsors and establishing a stronger framework, the only way is up for the most popular esports league of 2020. Bearing this in mind, here are the 10 teams confirmed for the LCK 2021 Spring Season:

  • Afreeca Freecs
  • DMW KIA
  • DRX
  • Fredit BRION
  • Gen.G
  • Hanwha Life
  • KT Rolster
  • Liiv SANDBOX
  • NS RedForce
  • T1
Credits: LCK Global Twitter

For the Spring season, the entirety of the matches will be held online. However, it is quite likely that the Playoffs stage will be held offline. Until then, an exciting league stage should keep us more than entertained from the 13th January to the 28th of March.

Format

Due to lower number of teams compared to the LPL, for example, the format is slightly different. Accordingly, with less teams there’s the opening for more repeated match-ups – a double round robin will involve teams playing one another twice across the next two months. Such a format really helps build suspense and allows teams to adapt to one another.

Credits: LCK Global Twitter

Each match will be BO3, with two maps needed to win. What’s on the line? The main prize lies in the Spring Playoffs, where only the top 6 from the Spring season will qualify for the event. Furthermore, the top two teams from the league stage earn a direct pass to the semifinals.

Schedule for the LCK 2021 Spring Season (CET)

10 exciting weeks look to fill up the next two months. Across each week, an average of 10 games helps spread out the action nicely. We’ll be giving you a taster by providing the first week of the LCK 2020 Spring Season here:

Week 1

Wednesday 13th January

  • Gen.G vs KT Rolster (09:00)
  • T1 vs Hanwha Life (12:00)

Thursday 14th January

  • Nongshim RedForce vs Liiv SANDBOX (09:00)
  • DRX vs Afreeca Freecs (12:00)
Credits: LCK Global Twitter

Friday 15th January

  • Fredit BRION vs Gen.G (09:00)
  • DMW vs T1 (12:00)

Saturday 16th January

  • Liiv SANDBOX vs KT Rolster (09:00)
  • Hanhwa Life Esports vs DRX (12:00)

Sunday 17th January

  • Nongshin RedForce vs DMW (09:00)
  • Afreeca Freecs vs Fredit BRION (12:00)

Watch the LCK 2021 Spring stream on esportsguide.com

You can also watch the LCK 2021 Spring live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

LCK 2021 Spring

Predictions

At Worlds 2020 this year, the LCK region came back after years of falling short. Accordingly, by dominating the group stage and with Damwon Gaming coming out on top, expectations are high for the next season.

However, competitive League of Legends changes every year. Indeed, the LCK 2021 Spring teams have undergone multiple roster changes.

Worlds 2020 - Damwon Champions
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

Bearing this in mind – are DWG Kia still on top? Personally, yes, I would still consider them on top for now, though it’s unsure how patches after Worlds have shifted the meta of the game

Otherwise, it’s very difficult to call, especially with new names in the scene. What’s for certain is that we’ll be providing weekly updates to help our readers shape their understanding of the leaderboard. With a double round robin, adapting to teams’ playstyle will be critical to a strong placing.

New branding and a new league – this is the LCK’s year!

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

Rogue reveals new rebrand for 2021

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

With the New Year finally here, many tend to announce their new year resolutions. Rogue however, have decided to rebrand and convey a new look for 2021 and the years to come. Here is their rebrand:

Rogue rebrand

Rogue’s new look is a simplistic version of what they used to have, making it look modern and cleaner, while keeping the iconic hooded figure. As described by Anna Baumann, Executive Vice President of Esports for Rogue, this was the perfect opportunity for them to reimagine what Rogue is supposed to look like, in a visual update.

  • Screenshot e
    Old Logo Credits: Rogue
  • Screenshot e
    New Logo Credits: Rogue

Rogue had an excellent 2020, all things considered. Especially with their League of Legends team, they managed to place 5th in the Spring Split, and 3rd in the Summer Split. Resulting in them qualifying for Worlds, but ultimately getting eliminated due to the strength of teams in their group. Despite their early exit from the World Championship, this was still a huge achievement for an organization like Rogue.

Here are some comments from Rogue’s staff about the rebrand:

We’ve seen multiple rebrands in the past few months, and Rogue has surprisingly done it better than most, as we’ve seen from all their staff and fans. One can only hope that Rogue continues to do well, and has more success in 2021.

Be sure to keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

LPL 2021 Spring Season – How to Watch: teams, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

At Worlds 2020, a strong representation from the LPL showed promise for the region’s dominance and strength in the scene. Accordingly, heading into next season, high expectations are inevitable. Indeed, it all kicks off with the LPL 2021 Spring Season – don’t worry, we’ve got your covered with How to Watch!

Event Background

The LPL 2021 Spring Season will act as the beginning to the ninth year of competitive League of Legends in the Chinese regions. Just like last year, a total of 17 teams are back to compete, and here they are:

  • Bilibili Gaming
  • EDward Gaming
  • eStar
  • FunPlus Phoenix
  • Invictus Gaming
  • JD Gaming
  • LGD Gaming
  • LNG Esports
  • Oh My God
  • Rare Atom
  • Rogue Warriors
  • RNG
  • Suning
  • Team WE
  • Top Esports
  • TT
  • Victory Five

Like last year, the majority of competition aims to be offline though this is not fully clear so far. What is factual is that the Spring season will run from 9th January up to 28th March. This should be followed up by a Split which teams will seed for.

Credits: LPL Twitter

Format

The format is also remaining the same from last year. Accordingly, a single round robin will take place across three months, with BO3 matches. Basically, this means that each team will face every single other team once. With no second chances, you cannot afford to lose big match-ups.

Teams will be fighting for a top 8 spot in order to qualify for the next stage of competition.

Note that TieBreaker Rules are the same as follows: same number of wins will be broken by game differential and head to head record secondly. No extra matches will be hosted for tiebreakers.

Schedule for the LPL 2021 Spring Season (CET)

All games are spread out across 10 weeks of scheduled matches, providing an insane number of viewership to fans. Below find the first two weeks of the LPL 2021 Spring Season here:

Week 1

Saturday 9th January

  • Top Esports vs Suning (10:00)
  • OMG vs EDward Gaming (12:00)

Sunday 10th January

  • Team WE vs Rogue Warriors (10:00)
  • JD Gaming vs Invictus Gaming (12:00)
Credits: LPL Twitter

Week 2

Monday 11th January

  • Bilibili Gaming vs eStar Gaming (10:00)
  • TT vs Royal Never Give Up (12:00)

Tuesday 12th January

  • OMG vs FunPlus Phoenix (10:00)
  • Rogue Warriors vs Top Esports (12:00)

Wednesday 13th January

  • Team WE vs Victory Five (10:00)
  • LNG Esports vs Invictus Gaming (12:00)

Thursday 14th January

  • JD Gaming vs Bilibili Gaming (10:00)
  • Royal Never Give Up vs Suning (12:00)

Friday 15th January

  • Rogue Warrios vs eStar Gaming (10:00)
  • Top Esports vs Rare Atom (12:00)
Credits: FPX Twitter

Saturday 16th January

  • Victory Five vs LGD Gaming (10:00)
  • EDward Gaming vs FunPlus Phoenix (12:00)

Sunday 17th January

  • LNG Esports vs TT (10:00)
  • Team WE vs Invictus Gaming (12:00)

Watch the LPL 2021 Spring stream on esportsguide.com

You can also watch the LPL 2021 Spring live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

LPL 2021 Spring

Other streams:

Predictions

Wow, the LPL know how to kick off a season. Indeed, the LPL 2021 Spring stream will start through an absolutely massive match between Top Esports and Suning.

Naturally, yes, the top contenders are Top Esports and Suning following their performance at Worlds 2020. However, we shouldn’t overlook the competition within the LPL.

Worlds 2020 Day 9 Recap
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

Accordingly, I’d like to highlight JD Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix and Invictus Gaming as teams to watch out for that can make a mark. However, competitive League of Legends changes every year, and so have the rosters.

Do note that the best team from the region of last year, Suning, starting the year in the LPL 2020 Spring season with an 11th place finish.

LCK Spring Split 2021 – Starting on January 13th

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the next season of the LCK. Indeed, with last year being the most viewed esports league in the world, an inaugural franchising season has a lot of expectatinos to meet. Accordingly, Riot Games has already been working hard on things such as a complete rebranding and now, dates for us to enjoy. Accordingly, we finally have our date for the start of the LCK Spring Split 2021!

Starting later than the LPL, which kicks off on the 9th of January, the LCK will kick off on January 13th. Up until now, we have no official dates for the entire season, but the 10-team league stage will definitely be kicking off, and eventually concluding through a bracket event. What is known is that the season will extend up until 28th March of this year.

Credits: LCK Global Twitter

What about the connection – will the event be held offline? Here is where uncertainties also arise. Accordingly, the community is hoping that everything will be held in an offline contained environment. However, bearing in mind the length of the LCK Spring Split 2021, it’ll likely be an online ordeal.

Just in case you needed a refresher, here are the 10 teams heading towards this date:

  • Afreeca Freecs
  • DMW KIA
  • dR
  • Fredit BRION
  • Gen.G
  • Hanwha Life
  • KT Rolster
  • Liiv SANDBOX
  • NS RedForce
  • T1
lckstadium
Credits: Riot Games

Heading closer to the event, we’ll be sure to provide our readers with a detailed How to Watch for the LCK Spring Split 2021! Regardless if online or not, this is one massive step forward for competitive Korean League of Legends.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

DWG KIA – Damwon Gaming Partners Up

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Damwon Gaming claimed the Worlds 2020 championship. Indeed, they were the undisputed kings of competitive League of Legends this year. Apart from changing up their roster heading into next year, they’re also changing their name to DWG Kia. I think it’s quite evident as to why.

Accordingly, a new partnership is born. Naturally, the South Korean automobile company has joined forces with the LCK organization heading into the inaugural franchised year. From next year onward, due to this partnership, the intellectual property will now be referred to and listed as DWG KIA. As you can imagine, a new logo and a brand new uniform is on the way.

Worlds 2020 - Damwon Champions
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

And no, this is not KIA’s first entry in to the esports industry. As of 2019, the company stood as a proud sponsor and partner for the LEC on the European side of things. Here’s what LCK journalist Ashley Kang had to say:

“After a long consideration process, we are glad [DWG] has come to a sponsorship agreement. The fact our new sponsorship partner already has a track record of reaching out to international fans through esports sponsorship should fill the DWG KIA fans with excitement.”

Ashley Kang – Twitter

Joining BMW, Mercedes and Audi, KIA looks to be the leading car brand. Hence, it only makes sense to go with the leading team – DAMWON Gaming.

G2’s Successful 2020

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

2020 might have been a terrible year for many; however, G2 has arguably had its best year ever as a European esports organization, and here’s why.

League Of Legends

This year, the team managed to win both Spring and Summer Splits in the usual dominant fashion. Not only that, but they continued to show dominance throughout the World Championship Group Stage. Unfortunately for them, they were not able to replicate the success they had in 2019, reaching the Grand Finals, but losing in the Semifinals versus Damwon Gaming was still a solid achievement. That’s not all… With Perkz departing the roster and moving on to North America to represent Cloud9, G2 had an open slot in the ADC position. And guess who they got? The missing puzzle piece that has been itching to be fitted… Rekkles. If this year was good for G2, we cannot wait to see what they have in store for 2021.

dcca c e
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

G2’s Successful 2020 – CS:GO

G2’s CS:GO team didn’t have that bad of a year either, placing highly in most European tournaments. Most notably, 1st-3rd at the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 Regular Season, 2nd at IEM XIV – World Championship, and a 2nd placing at DreamHack Masters Spring 2020: Europe. These wins got the team to 1st place in the HLTV rankings, back in June 15th 2020. But unfortunately this didn’t last long as the notorious Natus Vincere seamlessly took their spot.

Screenshot
Credits: G2 Esports

In 2020, they also managed to pick up one of Europe’s best players and aimers, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač. So far they haven’t had the best results, but we’re sure that in time, the team will get back to its former glory.

VALORANT

Now onto their most dominant esport this year, VALORANT. The G2 roster was formed back in June with Mixwell as Captain. The team featured former CS:GO players which were either on the verge of retirement or on the verge of Tier 1 CS. So VALORANT’s release came at a perfect opportunity for these 5 individuals. Together, the team won 6 Ignition Series tournaments, and solidified itself as the best roster that Europe has to offer.

Screenshot e
Credits: Mixwell

Despite their dominance all throughout the year, they did not manage to win out the biggest event of the year, First Strike. Instead, they placed 3rd/4th after failing to secure a victory versus Team Heretics, the winner of First Strike.

G2’s Successful 2020 – Conclusion

To add on to G2’s successful 2020, they’ve also managed to grab something out of the 2020 Esports Awards. The organisation has been crowned with Esports team of the year for their LoL squad, Personality of the year for CEO Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez, and many other titles.

Overall, it is without a doubt that G2 has dominated for the most part in 2020, and we are super excited to see what they have lined up for 2021! Be sure to keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com to never miss out on any esports news!

Astralis reveal its talent rosters

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

A few weeks ago, we covered a topic regarding Astralis’ interest in developing young talent for the most popular esports games. Now, Astralis have opted to reveal its talent rosters for both League of Legends and CS:GO.

Astralis reveal its talent rosters – Who did they get?

League of Legends

For League of Legends, Astralis have acquired an extremely young roster which is hungry to improve and get to the highest level possible. Their roster is listed below:

Players:

  • Top – Carl ”Carlsen” Carlsen, age 15
  • Jungle – Mikkel “Mixsi” Bay-Schmidt, age 16
  • Mid – Mikkel “Rylle” Rylander Christiansen, age 19
  • ADC – Kasper ”Kadaver” Müller Nielsen, age 19
  • Support – Benjamin ”RotteBengi” Mahler Jørgensen, age 18

Coaches:

  • Head Coach – Mikkel Donby
  • Second Coach – Anders Schultz

CS:GO

For CS:GO, Astralis have managed to gather Danish players from different backgrounds. Vester was previously playing for Esimed Esports, whereas void was representing the AGF Esport Academy. The rest of the team, including their coach VNG were free agents at the time. Here is their roster:

Players:

  • IGL – Mathias “R0nic” Pinholt, age 19
  • AWP –  Andreas “void” Dietrichsen, age 17
  • Rifler – Rasmus “zyph0n” Nordfoss, age 16
  • Rifle – Mads “vester” Vestergaard, age 18
  • Rifle – Victor “vigg0” Bisgaard, age 21
  • Rifler – Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, age 16 (begins Summer 2021)

Coach:

  • Dennis ”VNG” Vang

This is what Director of Sports at Astralis Group, Kasper Hvidt, had to say about their Talent rosters.

We have prioritized hard based upon on criteria that, besides game sense and technical skills, also revolve around personality and the ability and desire to lean how to work as a professional in a culture like ours. Here we strive to progress every day, not just as individuals but as a team and as a part of the entire organization.

Source

Screenshot e
Credits: Astralis

This Astralis Talent program will certainly prove as a challenge for both the team and its new players. But knowing Astralis’ background, there is no doubt that they will manage to achieve this task.

Be sure to keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

LCS reveal its 2021 Format

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

The LCS (League of Legends Championship Series) has opted to reveal its 2021 format for the upcoming season. Here below is their announcement:

LCS 2021 Format – What does it consist of?

LCS Lock In

Firstly, heading into 2021, the LCS will be hosting a 3-week long event called the LCS Lock In. The top 2 North American teams from the 2020 season will draft the league in 2 groups of 5 teams each. TSM will be picking out the teams for group 1, whilst Flyquest will be picking teams for group 2. Each group will be going through a 4-day single round robin where the top 4 teams will advance through to a single elimination bracket. The LCS Lock In will be taking place between January 15th-31st, and the winner will be receiving a total of $150,000 in prize money.

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

Spring Split

The Spring Split will consist of a regular format, similar to what we had in previous years, but this time round, there will be 5 matches on Friday, Saturday, and on Sunday. Meaning that the Spring Split will only take 6 weeks, instead of the usual 9. The Spring Split will be kicking off on the 5th of February, and ending on the 14th of March. 

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

LCS 2021 Format – Mid Seasonal Showdown

The Spring Split Playoffs were renamed to the Mid-Seasonal Showdown. Here we’ll be having the top 6 teams in the regular season standings battle it out in a double elimination bracket. Here is an image of the bracket format below:

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

Summer Split

Then, in Summer, we’ll have the Summer Split which consists of a Triple round robin format which is meant to be played over the course of 9 weeks. The results of both Spring and Summer Split will sum up into records, and the top 8 teams will slot into the LCS Championship bracket. This will take place between August 7th-29th and naturally, the top 3 teams at this event will qualify for Worlds 2021.

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

If you want a full breakdown in terms of a video, Travis Gafford has got you covered:

If you would like to know more about the new LCS 2021 Format, kindly check out their blog post here.

This is definitely going to be an exciting season for North America heading into 2021. So be sure to keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

Clearlove exiting retirement

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Edward Gaming has just announced that they are moving Clearlove as their new Jungler as he is exiting retirement. Here is their announcement:

Clearlove exiting retirement – Why?

27-year-old Ming “Clearlove” Kai was previously coaching the EDG squad. He started coaching the team back in late 2019, but with the 2020 season coming to a close, he has chosen to return to League of Legends competition. With Clearlove as coach, the team didn’t really find much success. They placed 5th-6th in the 2020 LPL Spring Split and 10th in the Summer Split, definitely not their desired results. This must have motivated Clearlove to return back to the rift and aid Edward Gaming to another championship

aedefe c e
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

Here are some of Clearlove’s best achievements with EDG:

  • 5th-8th in the 2018 World Championship – 21st October 2018 – $258,000
  • 1st in the 2017 LPL Summer Split – 1st September 2017 – $228,688
  • 5th-8th in the 2016 World Championship – 29th October 2016 – $202,800
  • 2nd in the 2016 LPL Summer Split – 23rd April 2016 – $123,162

How will Clearlove impact EDG?

Obviously, with Clearlove’s experience and talent, the team will improve as a whole. This time however, instead of helping from an analytical and strategic perspective, he will be in the rift, alongside his teammates, Aodi, Xiaoxiang, Jiejie, Junjia, Scout, Hope and Meiko. This is an exciting time for League of Legends, especially in key regions like NA, EU, KR and CN.

aff c e
Credits: LoL Esports Flickr

Be sure to keep yourself updated with all the latest esports news by tuning in to www.esportsguide.com! 

LoL Rostermania – The recent updates

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

In the last LoL Rostermania we did we went over all the latest changes that have been implemented to each region’s rosters. In this article we’ll continue stating the LoL Rostermania recent updates made in the LEC, LCS, LCK, LPL.

LoL Rostermania Recent updates – Confirmed moves

LEC

  • Vitality: -Cabochard -Nji +Szygenda
  • G2 Esports: +P1noy(Contract renewal)
  • Excel Esports: +Unlimited(C)
  • Misfits: +HiRit +Vetheo +Vander +Agresivoo(Promotion) +Enatron(C) +Candyfloss(C)

LCS

  • Dignitas: +Neo(Promotion)
  • 100 Thieves: +Cozy +Goo +Young +Instinct +Busio
  • TSM: New additions to academy roster (+Hauntzer +Cody Sun +Yursan)

LCK

  • KT Rolster: -Kuro(Retired)
  • Sandbox Gaming: -Gorilla(Retired)
LoL Rostermania Recent updates
Credits: KT Rolster

LPL

  • LGD: -xiye

Highlighted moves

The biggest moves in this LoL rostermania are Misfits roster reveal, and 100 Thieves’ newest 100 Next team. The new Misfits roster welcomes Vander, which is one of the most legendary figures in European League of Legends. Whereas 100 Thieves will continue to develop some of North America’s best talents.

We are yet to see some more changes in the above regions (EU, NA, KR, CN), however, we are seeing many “old” players heading into retirement, or stepping into a different esports role, for example, coaching. This is not always a bad sign, but then again, it is still sad to see that some are retiring in such a dreadful year.

That’s it for this rostermania, be sure to keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!