The League of Legends S15 season is almost over. In December, both the LPL and LCK have minor tournaments scheduled. The LPL All-Star event is set for the 6th, and the official roster has been released. IG’s second split four-player group is on the same team, with Liu Qingsong stepping in for Meiko. Were it not for the three-player limit per team, TheShy’s squad would be made up solely of players who played for IG this year.

On the other side, there’s AL’s top and support, plus Xiaohu from Weibo. While the All-Star begins, the LCK kicks off the KesPa Cup. Later, the LPL transfer window closes on the 10th, and on the 26th, the LPL region starts the Demacia Cup. Both the Chinese and Korean regions will likely send a single team to these events, as the LCK has stated that teams wanting to compete in next year’s Asian Games must participate in the KesPa Cup. To boost excitement, the LPL will also require a team to participate.

T1 academy top laners promoted to the second team

Recently, T1 announced the promotion of two academy top laners to their second team. Guardian, who recently topped the Korean server rankings and still holds the second spot, shares the exact same score as the leader at 2014 points, effectively tying for first place. This player, Yahang, has high proficiency; since going live, he has played 15 games with a 12-3 record, boasting an 80% win rate. He is also skilled with champions like Volibear and Kha’Zix.

The newly promoted jungler, Painter, is a young talent born in 2007, just turned 18 this year, and ranks quite high on the Korean server. If these two perform well on the second team, it shouldn’t be long before they advance to the top-tier league. Undeniably, T1’s academy system is thriving, consistently producing young talent for major regions each transfer season. In a few years, the World Championship might as well be a T1 reunion.

Official reveals NIP’s new mid and support

With six days left in the LPL winter transfer window, many teams have finalized their rosters but have yet to announce them officially. This suspense has become too much even for the officials. Recently, during the new TFT season event, the organizers revealed some unannounced players directly. For example, WBG’s Jiejie appeared on official posters with the WBG tag before any announcement was made on Weibo. The same happened with NIP’s mid and support players.

A few days ago, NIP disbanded all coaches and players to rebuild the team. The official poster shows Care, formerly of Phoenix, as the new mid laner, and Zhuo Ge, who left JD Gaming, as the support. With Doinb gone and Care arriving, it seems the Phoenix legacy continues. Judging by the mid and jungle strength, NIP isn’t fully tanking. If their mid and support perform well, NIP has a chance to make the playoffs. Additionally, EDG’s Leave has also been revealed.

Deyunshi Time Cup withdrawal

With no major LOL tournaments recently, streaming platforms organized the third Time Cup to generate hype. After the draw, the two strongest teams from the H-Ya group ended up together, meaning one must be eliminated early. At 3 AM, while players were asleep, the organizers changed the rules: the first-place teams from both the Nirvana and Peak groups would now receive equal treatment, directly advancing to the second-round knockout stage.

This last-minute rule change sparked widespread outrage. During a livestream, KID openly criticized the decision and announced his withdrawal. Other teams also expressed intentions to quit during their streams. The tournament was about to start, yet the schedule and format were arbitrarily altered. Originally a BO1 format, it suddenly became BO3, and the Nirvana group leader being treated the same as the Peak group leader was unacceptable to everyone.

Conclusion:

In recent LCK seasons, many rookies have emerged. This transfer period, European and American regions have acquired numerous players from the LCK. In contrast, our region lacks fresh talent. Even LNG purchased rookies from the LCK. If this continues, the LPL will remain filled with veteran faces, weakening over time and widening the gap with the LCK.

So, do you think KID’s withdrawal was justified?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!