The T1 – KT match showed that LCK really needs Fearless Draft mode.
Since MSI 2024, the Mid Lane Marksman meta has been on the rise, forcing teams, especially on the LCK side, to develop champions that can become the main source of damage in the late game (Tristana, Corki…) instead of playmaking champions like before (Azir, Orianna, Ahri…).
In particular, teams like Gen.G or Hanwha Life Esports, who have Mid laners and main damage dealers, are especially strong in this meta. Meanwhile, T1 seems to be extremely confused when Faker cannot compete in that meta like before, when he is old, his skills are no longer max ping and his hands are full of injuries.
The meta from MSI 2024 and especially LCK Summer 2024 is very suitable for players like Chovy
But not only that, this gameplay also contributes to raising another problem: the meta will only revolve around a few champions that are really strong, or have the ability to push towers quickly, typically names that often appear like Ziggs, Vi, Maokai… And in the T1 – KT Rolster match alone, whichever team is on the Blue team, with bans and picks aimed directly at the meta, all won.
More broadly, counting the entire 2024 LCK Summer Regional Qualifiers, the Blue side's win rate is up to 76.9%. As for the champion Ziggs, in the playoffs he has a 72.2% win rate, while in the regional qualifiers it is 50%.
The champion Ziggs has a pretty high win rate, from the playoffs to the regional qualifiers of the LCK Summer 2024, and is also used a lot, otherwise he will almost certainly be banned.
The Blue side's winning rate is also very impressive at over 72%.
Will Fearless Draft solve the LCK's situation?
In fact, the LPL has shown a new face, when many champions were brought back to use after a long time. But in general, because it is only experimental, Fearless Draft has not been widely applied to the group stages or playoffs of the LPL in recent times. Moreover, the failure of the LPL at the 2024 Esports World Cup can also be a proof that the application of Fearless Draft is not necessarily successful.
LPL has adopted Fearless Draft and it has clearly made the matches more interesting and forced teams to be more tactically flexible.
However, for many viewers, constantly having to watch LCK compete around a certain number of champions is quite boring. Even throughout the LCK Summer playoffs until the end of the regional qualifiers, only in the first game of the T1 – KT match in the regional qualifiers was Faker allowed to use Azir, the rest were all banned. Or when teams faced HLE, they automatically banned Peanut's Vi – Maokai. Or whichever team used Ziggs, they would almost always switch lanes to gain the advantage of the Void. These factors were repeated and viewers did not need to be too knowledgeable to notice.
Almost any team that has Ziggs will roam and take objectives like Void Worm, Herald and be willing to give up Dragon if needed.
Fearless Draft may not solve the LCK's problems immediately, or be truly effective. But it can certainly bring a breath of fresh air, when the audience is probably too bored with the predicted picks and bans, and the gameplay where you can know who wins and who loses before even entering the match.
