Written by Gosickboy

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Disclaimer: LCK is my favourite league and I want Korean teams to do well internationally but, when you get right down to it, I'm simply a NaJin e-mFire fan and a SK Telecom T1 and CJ Entus hater. Good games come and go but the joy of watching CJ and SKT lose can last a lifetime.

An issue that plagues the Korean scene is how the talent is spread. Because the vast majority of Korean rosters have 12 or more players on their rosters (especially if you count all the training partners), you end up with the almost inevitable issue of amazing players being unable to get a game because they're fighting with another amazing player. These large rosters worked great in an era where the talent in Korea was as deep and as large as the ocean but that time has ended.

Top, jungle, mid, ADC and support -- Korea is struggling for A or even B tier players in all 5 roles. This is exacerbated by the very real possibility that the stars of tomorrow might just get bought by foreign teams. The scene is bleeding. It's still in a state of healing but it'll never truly be out of the danger zone. This is especially true when you consider that LMS and the EU LCS are likely to stock up on Koreans in Season 6 like the NA LCS and LPL in Season 5.

This is the time for smart roster changes, for clever decisions, and the scene to pull together and help each other out. Unless the scene, as a whole continues to step up, they will lose Season 5 Worlds, and trust me when I say that's not an option.  

      1. Easyhoon to Samsung

In the early stages of LCK Summer Samsung were actually a team receiving a fair amount of hype from fans and experts alike. Through innovative compositions and solid team play they took games off of SK Telecom T1, Jin Air Greenwings and the KOO Tigers (objectively the top 3 teams in Korea right now).

Samsung achieved these impressive wins through innovative champion compositions and strong preparation. In their win over KOO Tigers they used a hyper mobile Twisted Fate, Sivir, Bard and Rek'Sai composition which allowed them to create picks from ridiciulous scenarios and siege well.

Samsung's win over SKT was particularly brilliant as they baited Easyhoon and MaRin into picking Rumble and Cassiopia. Eve's Gragas pounced on the low mobility laners alongside Fizz and Hecarim for some strong CC and damage to set up the ganks. Once they obtained this large deficit they crushed SKT in team fights as Easyhoon was never able to get a strong Petrifying Gaze off due to the sheer number of vectors that Samsung would come in from.

In Samsung's win over Jin Air they ran a long range point and shoot composition. Either Ryze or LeBlanc would lock a single target in place and then Sivir, Ryze, LeBlanc and Nidalee would channel long range damage into them until they fell. With Alistar crowd control and Sivir’s On the Hunt as disengage, Jin Air found themselves unable to ever get a strong engage off and slowly bled out.

What stopped Samsung claiming anything beyond a single game win was that the playbook ran out, and, when forced to play standard, the other team beat them through individual outplay and superior coordination. Samsung aren't bad tactically, their talent is just too thin to properly compete with the top teams.

In week 4, Samsung played a pivotal match against NaJin e-mFire. Many Samsung fans thought this would be a win in favour of Samsung that would allow them to establish themselves as a serious playoff contender. What happened? They got their heads caved in by one of the most talented teams in the world. In a one sided stomp, NaJin exposed the weaknesses of Samsung for the rest of Korea to see.

I believe that Samsung acquiring Easyhoon would be fantastic for all parties involved (including SK Telecom T1 fans). First off, Samsung would turn their most problematic position (which is weird to say with CuVee still on the roster) into their strongest and gain a serious carry threat   that would free up Fury. Fury can carry games, but teams have realized that he's the only one capable. As a result, they simply starve him out and let the other Samsung players roll over.

Easyhoon, despite being the most overrated player in Korea right now, is a strong midlaner who brings a lot to a team. The Korean equivalent of Froggen, Easyhoon is a strong Vladimir, Cassiopia and Azir player who might be the best Ziggs player in the World. Not only would he increase Samsung's win conditions drastically but it’d give Easyhoon the starting position he deserves. Samsung Easyhoon wouldn't fix all of Samsung’s issues but it'd be a damn good start.

As for SK Telecom T1: They'd be forced to play Faker, the undisputed best player in the world, every game. SK Telecom T1 is weaker without Faker and the coaches’ decision to play Easyhoon deprives us, the fans, a chance to see Faker more. That in itself is a crime (let's not even remember the loss at MSI.)  

      2. GankZero to KT Rolster

Let me just start off by saying this: Korean challenger is dire. Not only does it receive close to no attention, but the rosters are so turbulent that it's impossible to keep up with. Dark Wolves are currently number one in the league and they're, by their own admission, more of a social collective than a serious team. Kyle, the guy who wasn't good enough for NACS, is their midlaner. That should say all you need to know about the Korean Challenger scene right now.

While it's true that KT Rolster did just beat NaJin e-mFire and the recent addition of Piccaboo to the starting roster does have them on something of an upswing, I'm still not sold. The team still relies on Ssumday to carry and Arrow still looks weak on everything that's not Sivir. Yes I know that Arrow and Piccaboo used to play together on Xenics Storm, but I believe bot lane synergy is overrated and this series was more Piccaboo carrying Arrow than the player just stepping up.

GankZero is the brightest light in the Korea Challenger Scene and, while his team is beyond saving, deserves top tier play. The slow phasing out of Arrow for an ADC with more upsides is something that could push KT to the top and a decision with almost no risk. With the recent usage of Edge over Nagne KT Rolster's coaches have demonstrated their desire to bring in new players, why stop there?  

      3. Watch to KOO Tigers

'Excuse me, Watch is trash and KOO Tigers are a top 3 team in Korea. Plus Wisdom is playing well at the moment. I mean, double MVP awards don't lie… do they?'

When trying to understand Watch we first have to understand top laners. Korean top laners are always a disciple of MakNooN, Shy or Impact.

‘MakNooNites’ are generally respectable laners, but their true strength lies in their ability to absolutely take over a game if they acquire a decent advantage. Generally they'll look to either spread their advantage to another lane through ganks, splitpush their way to victory, or absolutely take over a critical teamfight. Famous MakNooNites include Flame, Save, Ssumday, and now Smeb.

‘Shystians’ are reliable guys who believe the lane is everything. They'll play big tanks or utility champions, get a lot of solo kills, and generally be a consistent force. They'll rarely outright win a game that their team should've lost but they'll never be the primary reason you lost either. Their main priority is the lane. These are the guys who'll turn around ganks and punish poor decisions in lane. They sacrifice team play for laning prowess. Prominent Shystians include Duke, Expession, TrAce and MaRin.

‘Impactafarians’ came around in Season 3 as they played not to win the game but to drag the enemy toplaner down with them and provide as much utility as possible. Thanks to intelligent lane swaps and solid teleports, they'll end up being the least starved of the two toplaners. They pride themselves on their ability to do more with less thanks to smart item builds and utility champions. Notorious Impactafarians include Acorn, Looper, and Limit.

Watch is most comfortable when he's ganking top. His impeccable top lane ganks and pressure is what's allowed him to attend 3 World Championships.  Looking his best when he was giving MakNooN advantages (that MakNooN would then use to go on and body the entire game), he managed to sporadically recreate the synergy with Save. While both Save and MakNooN weren't the best laner, they were massive playmakers who could totally take over a game if given enough advantage.

The reason that Watch wasn't and isn't able to shine with Expession and Duke in the same way is because both Expession and Duke are top laners who don't thrive with constant ganks and map pressure. It's a stylistic mismatch and it hurts NaJin e-mFire every time they play Watch with Duke. Now, NaJin can't just go benching Duke because he's a top 2 toplaner in Korea and one of their best players. However, NaJin can bring in young talent Peanut instead.

Peanut is a true carry jungler. Taking inspiration from Spirit and KaKAO, Peanut demolished his debut match against SK Telecom T1. What amazed me about this player is that in his debut match he played with so much confidence and conviction. Mechanically immaculate (didn't miss a single skillshot all game), he played with such presence and weight. If not for Faker being Faker, then NaJin e-mFire would've grinded out a 2–0 win over the future LCK Spring Champions.

Watching Peanut closely in the LCK Sub League has been a real pleasure. He's still aggressive and confident, but he's refined his technique and adapted more to competitive play. No longer getting caught in the enemy jungle excessively, he single-handedly demolished SBENU and IM's rosters (remember those teams basically field their main rosters and he's stuck with Zefa and an ADC main as a toplaner).

But why would KOO Watch be a good idea? Because of whom Smeb is as a player. Smeb is, in my opinion, the best top laner in the World and the reincarnation of MakNooN. I believe that Smeb would thrive with Watch's top lane ganks and, in return, give Watch a clear priority and purpose.

It's no secret that jungle has always been the KOO Tiger's weakest position and, while Wisdom has become a clear upgrade over HoJin/Lee, he still seems like the weakest jungler of the junglers on the top 6 Korean teams. Low kill participation and mediocre vision control, the only thing that Wisdom has going for him is how KOO's early shot calling has come on a lot.

Not only would Watch give KOO Tigers a stronger early game identity, but he'd also provide a more veteran voice for shot calling and vision control. Combine that with the fact that both Gorilla and Pray are former team mates of his and you have the start of something.

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