It’s hard to believe it, but the League of Legends World Championship is only a few months away. Although, after a humbling at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), the LCS teams might wish they had even longer to prepare.
This week, the LCS Summer Split was supposed to start. However, after some controversial NACL changes that have essentially doomed North America’s Academy scene, players have voted to stage a walkout in protest, which has put the season opening in doubt.
In case an agreement with Riot Games is met swiftly, here is a preview of the 10 League of Legends teams that are supposed to compete in the LCS 2023 Summer Season.
100 Thieves
Predicted finish: Fourth place
100 Thieves needed a new Mid Laner after Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg’s surprise retirement, and they may have found a fantastic solution in Lim "Quid" Hyeon-seung.
It is fair to say that “Bjergsen”’s return to pro play was rather lacklustre, so there will be high hopes that 18-year-old Korean prodigy “Quid” will be able to take this promising roster to the next level.
However, the former Gen.G talent will need help settling in this new region, and with Worlds on the horizon, time is of the essence. It’s not surprising to see that 100 Thieves have taken advantage of the Evil Geniuses (EG) purge - more on that later - to re-sign Korean Top Laner Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho for his third stint with the organisation.
Still, it’s bitterly disappointing to see such a promising domestic talent like Milan "Tenacity" Oleksij retire early to focus on content creation.
Cloud9
Predicted finish: First place
The reigning LCS champions have to be favourites heading into Summer, but as we’ve seen throughout the years, there can often be a metaphorical hangover that looms over teams after competing at MSI.
The international competition did not go Cloud9’s way. In fact, no tournament may have ever demonstrated a wider gap between the Western and Eastern teams than MSI 2023. After being massacred by Bilibili Gaming and Gen.G, it must be hard for Cloud9’s players to not have their confidence dented.
However, you can only learn from these experiences. Ultimately, those defeats should make this roster stronger in the long run.
Dignitas
Predicted finish: Sixth place
With quite the star-studded roster, it was shocking to see Dignitas finish dead last back in Spring. However, once the team’s playoff elimination was confirmed, the squad started to show some promise.
Now that the majority of the roster has gelled, Dignitas should be pushing for a spot in the playoffs.
However, it all depends on their new Top Laner, Lee "Rich" Jae-won. “Rich” actually made his name as the “Faker” of another MOBA game, Heroes of the Storm, and he has successfully transitioned to competing in LoL, even landing himself in the LPL 2022 Spring All-Pro team.
It is no secret that İrfan Berk "Armut" Tükek was the weak link on the team, so this roster change is a huge upgrade on paper. It just depends on how the roster meshes.
Evil Geniuses
Predicted finish: Eighth place
As we alluded to earlier, Evil Geniuses have made severe budget cuts and scrapped the majority of their roster. Mid Laner Joseph Joon "jojopyun" Pyun is the only survivor.
There is no other way to put it. The loss of Kacper "Inspired" Słoma and Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme makes EG significantly weaker.
I think that William "UNF0RGIVEN" Nieminen is criminally underrated, and was a rare bright spark in an otherwise struggling MAD Lions line-up - he could even be an upgrade over Ian Victor "FBI" Huang.
However, Bill "Eyla" Nguyen showed on FlyQuest that he isn’t ready to compete at the top, and Jonathan "Armao" Armao’s career history suggests he just isn’t good enough for the LCS, let alone filling in for “Inspired”. Though Mohamed "Revenge" Kaddoura is a very promising talent that didn’t have a roster in Immortals that allowed him to shine, I do worry about his consistency.
There’s some potential here, but I think given the circumstances, it’s going to be extremely difficult for this iteration of EG to find success.
FlyQuest
Predicted finish: Second place
Getting “Vulcan” for “Eyla” in a trade is a tremendous deal that should make FlyQuest title contenders again this Summer.
After dominating the regular season, the Spring Playoffs were a total disaster, as FlyQuest failed to even make the final.
There will be questions asked about Lee "VicLa" Dae-kwang after the talented Korean had a very volatile end to the season. However, when you have AD Carry Lee "Prince" Chae-hwan on your team, you always have a chance of winning, especially now he has “Vulcan” supporting him.
If those two gel, this team should be unstoppable in the LCS.
Golden Guardians
Predicted finish: Third place
Golden Guardians have exceeded all expectations this year, and while they failed to have an impact at MSI, you have to commend how much the squad have improved this year.
Special mention has to go to Top Laner Eric "Licorice" Ritchie, who had a fantastic showing on the international stage, and finally appears to be living up to the potential we all saw from him a long ago during his rookie years on Cloud9.
At this point, it would be foolish to expect anything but another title bid from this team. But like Cloud9, it’s crucial they mentally get over their MSI disappointment.
Immortals
Predicted finish: Ninth place
Immortals struggled last season, and it is probably going to be the same story for them in Summer, especially after losing “Revenge”.
Colin “Solo” Earnest is a solid Top Laner, but he is not going to be the carry this team needs. I do think Erik “Treatz” Wessén is a great signing, he’s a fantastic Support and leader. However, I am just not sure he has enough talent around him to make a difference.
NRG
Predicted finish: Fifth place
Another new organisation enters the fray, as NRG have bought out Counter Logic Gaming’s (CLG) spot and adopted their roster. However, they have made one addition with the signing of “FBI”, who put out consistent numbers for Evil Geniuses in the last split.
It may come as a surprise seeing as Fatih "Luger" Güven was one of CLG’s main win conditions. However, he completely collapsed during the playoffs, and let down a side that should have moved further along the bracket.
Team Liquid
Predicted finish: Seventh place
There is no way to sugar-coat it, Spring was a total disaster for Team Liquid. A squad of their calibre should not be finishing outside of the playoff spots.
However, the squad did show some quality towards the end of the regular season, and having now built synergy, they should come into the Summer much stronger.
Really, it’s all going to come down to their preseason prep. For now, Team Liquid are very difficult to predict.
TSM
Predicted finish: Tenth place
After just announcing that they are planning on selling their spot and moving to another region, it’s safe to say the overall mood in the TSM squad probably isn’t the best right now.
In addition, the signing of Lee "Ruby" Sol-min, who had a torrid time in the LEC with Team Heretics, certainly isn’t going to help. Things have never looked worse for TSM fans.
