The biggest failure in LCK has emerged; since Faker's departure, their performance has significantly declined, and the national team is no longer competitive.

Greetings to all LPL fans and League of Legends summoners, this is World Game Report.

This year, the mid-year competition between China and Korea has presented a new landscape; LPL still does not have a genuinely strong team, whereas LCK has become so brutal that HLE ranked last and was knocked out.

Following HLE's elimination, the greatest failure has now been born.

The biggest loser in LCK: a champion player collapses.

HLE’s roster of five players plus coach Homme had a tough time in the first split this year; each faced their own hardships. But if we had to pick the most unfortunate player, it would definitely be the bottom laner Gumayusi, who just last year won the World Championship and earned the Finals MVP, but this year was eliminated dead last.

Such a dramatic fall is something other players can hardly relate to, and the main reason for this outcome is that this year is the Asian Games year, and LCK is selecting its national team roster.

Other issues might be tolerable, but missing out on the national team selection is a huge loss for Gumayusi.

In contrast, teammate Zeus was already selected for the national team last cycle, won a gold medal, and secured exemption from military service. So even if his league results are poor, it doesn’t matter much since he has a high salary and has achieved what matters.

Jungler Kanavi also made the national team last time. Although Kanavi’s reputation outside the game is poor and he’s the most vulnerable player on the team, after years competing in LPL, he’s probably adapted to the pressure and experienced the intensity of LCK, which is not easy to adjust to.

T1 raises its standards, gives up on Gumayusi early.

As for mid laner Zeka, also a champion player, he’s the kind of player who finds it hard to get into the Asian Games team, with Faker and Chovy ahead of him. Even ignoring those two, BDD is rated higher within the industry than Zeka. Losing is just part of it. Support Delight performed relatively poorly on the team and ranks last in honors among the five, but still not as unacceptable as Gumayusi’s situation.

Given the current situation, Gumayusi’s chance at the national team spot is basically gone. The bottom lane candidates most likely to be selected are Ruler and Peyz. It will depend on which team, T1 or GEN, performs better.

Of course, if the Asian Games selection happens after MSI, Gumayusi still has a slim chance — HLE would need to explode in the second split, qualify for MSI, and win the championship. That’s the only path left.

Many lament Gumayusi’s departure from T1, but at the same time, they must admire T1’s decisiveness. His exit was predetermined; Korean media revealed that T1 planned to replace their bottom laner after the season, even before Worlds began.

Even if they won the championship, Gumayusi had to leave. During the transfer window, T1 had a very good option in Peyz, who, after a year in LPL, was eager to regain a winning feeling and thus joined T1 on a minimum salary.

Players leaving T1 rarely prove themselves elsewhere.

Looking at history, players who left T1 after playing for them rarely managed to prove their worth. Big names like Impact, Piglet, Easyhoon, Marin, Bang, Wolf, Zeus, and Gumayusi all reached their peak during their time with SKT or T1, but most experienced a steep decline after leaving.

If anything, Zeus’s performance after leaving T1 was relatively good, and Easyhoon also did well, once becoming VG’s savior. But most others collapsed after departing.

I believe this fact strongly demonstrates the depth and system quality of the T1 club. T1 can fully unlock a player’s potential to reach their peak. Within T1’s system, players maximize their skills, and with team support and direction, they can fulfill their roles and win championships.

Another great example is Doran. His growth this year has been evident to all; he now leads the top lane solo kill rankings and performs excellently in laning and team fights, a stark contrast to the Doran everyone remembered before.