KeSPA Cup Rundown (Day 2) 

12-22-20

Day 1 of the KeSPA Cup delivered to us some interesting storylines. We saw the dominance that was expected from Damwon Gaming, but the middle of the pack teams really split the rest of the matches setting up an exciting second day of group play for Wednesday. Before we get to see those teams again, we have the beginning of Group B round robin play set for Tuesday and it is bringing in some of the biggest names of esports to take the stage. Much like my rundown from Sunday, let's take a dive into each of these teams before we look at possible line ups for the 22nd. 

Group B

Fredit BRION (BRO) - Not much is known about this organization in the League of Legends space. The LCK is the last region not to adopt franchising and instead uses the old system of promotions between the upper and lower leagues (think about the Premier League for reference) and Fredit BRION bought a challenger spot from hyFresh Blade (Or rebranded) and worked into the upper league. The biggest name on this team is probably Lava (ADC) who has been part of organizations like SK Telecom T1, ROX Tigers and Hanwha Life before moving to hyFresh Blade. While largely untested, he will bring experience that will be needed to make a splash in this tournament. I think this is a likely 5th in groups outcome from BRO, they could easily be the surprise team much like a Griffin from 2018. 

Gen. G (GEN) - I would say Gen. G looks like a likely 3rd or 4th place finisher from this group. They made it to the World Championship in October as the third seed from the LCK and they show up year after year with a strong team identity. The biggest question here will they be able to rise to the standards the organization has set before. They are working with a new coaching staff but they have a strong core of players. Look for Bdd (mid lane) and Ruler (ADC) to be shining stars in this tournament and in the upcoming LCK season. Unfortunately for all of us, the majority of the lineup for this tournament will be from the GEN academy team. There is a lof of talent on the roster, but not the same firepower from the main roster. 

Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) - This team had a very disappointing 2019 season. They made it to the quarterfinals in the 2019 KeSPA Cup and started strong in the LCK Spring Split but quickly fell into disrepair. They free fell after treading water for most of the Spring Split to barely avoid relegation at the end of Summer Split. HLE has undergone a massive overhaul on their roster including landing of the biggest LCK stars in Chovy (mid lane). Along with Chovy, look for Deft (ADC) to be another anchor throughout the tournament. In terms of playing this team, be careful because this team has a DEEP roster and likes to swap players out in the other three roles. 

KT Rolster (KT) - This is one of the more volatile teams in the LCK. Having abysmal weeks followed by stretches of dominant performances which put the entire league on notice. I think there is a lot of risk versus reward with this lineup. The constant would definitely be the firepower that is brought to the table with their mid laner, Ucal. They will need to overcome the loss of one of the strongest top laners in League of Legends history in Smeb, who retired this past offseason. One concern about this team is that they are much like HLE and have a huge roster with limited dedication to any one roster. 

T1 (T1) - T1 has had a rough few months. As the winningest organizations in ALL of esports, there are high expectations on this team. Sometimes the pressure is too much, and we saw that with this team last year. Even with the most talented player of all time, the Demon King… Faker, T1 could not put it together to make it to the World Championship. With the release of three subs and an offseason to figure out their roster identities, I expect more from this team. This team had distractions of community reactions to initial coaching hirings, the T1 Academy team is taking over the spot in this tournament. I think they can definitely still get out of groups, it looks less likely now. A splashy player to watch would be the jungler Mowgli. Mowgli won second in LCK Spring and Spring playoffs with AF in 2018 so his experience will be important to have a good showing in this tournament. 

Lineup Breakdown

Cann’s Possible Lineup for 12/22 - The lineup is based off players recommended below, this is not meant to be plugged and played

(DK Classic: $50,000 Cap)

Captain:Chovy ($11,400)

Alternate: Deft ($12,000)

Top: Morgan ($6,600)

Alternate: Roach ($6,000)

Jungler: Mowgli ($6,400)

Mid: Ucal ($7,200)

ADC: Deft ($8,000)
Support: Kheal ($4,800)

Team: Hanwha Life Esports ($5,600)

Positional Breakdown

Top: The most decorated top laner is most likely Morgan ($6,600) from HLE. The problem with this pick? DuDu. It looks like HLE is going to want to cycle some players into the matches, especially academy players like DuDu. With this in mind, there could be some risk to picking him up for such a high price tag. Players like Hoya ($5,400) and Lonely ($5,600) look appealing because of their price tags but I am guessing that they will struggle both in lane and across the map. My best guess for value? Pick up T1’s top laner in Roach ($6,000). There are no other top laners to compete with on the T1 roster and Roach has played as a starter on actual LCK rosters in the past. Look for his leadership to shine through in this tournament. 

Top Pick: Morgan ($6,600)

Value: Lonely ($5,600)

Jungler: I love the experience Mowgli ($6,400) brings to the table here. As a World’s competitor, KeSPA Cup should feel like practice to him. Admittedly his stint in Europe wasn’t as successful but there are few players who can seamlessly make the transfer between regions successfully. Now whoever HLE decides to land on for their jungler (CaD ($7,000) or Arthur ($6,800)) will have a strong showing in the tournament. My only hesitation is the fact that they very realistically could be splitting time and it is hard to get a sense of how they will do so. I give the nod to CaD seeing as he is coming from their academy roster versus the weaker OPL region like Arthur, but KeSPA has always been used to refine rosters and test people out. 

Top Pick: CaD ($7,000)

Value: Mowgli ($6,400)

Mid: Mid is really a two horse race. I would say choose yourself Chovy ($7,600) for guaranteed points at this position, though he is a great candidate for the Captain spot, due to his flashy plays and consistent play in lane. Ucal ($7,200) would be another pretty solid pickup if you used Chovy as your Captain for this slate. There seems to be a pretty big drop off after these two but Lava ($6,800) is the only mid listed for BRO and has a lot of experience on better teams. 

Top Pick: Chovy ($7,600)

Value: Lava ($6,800)

ADC: I really do not like this slate for ADCs but you have to pick one. Deft ($8,000) is by far the best talent wise, but he is extremely expensive. Possibly with the shift in how the game is played this may be a better pay off, but it is hard to tell for now. HyBriD ($7,800) and Noah ($7,600) look to be splitting the time for KT which pushes me away from liking them so that means you probably fall to Berserker ($7,400) since he has had more documented success as compared to the other ADCs.

Top Pick: Deft ($8,000)

Value: Berserker ($7,400)

Support: I like picking my ADCs based on who they are laning with a lot of the time and that leads me to pick up Vsta ($5,800). The bot lane for HLE is going to cost you a pretty penny but it could pay off big in the points. The middle of the pack teams are all fielding multiple ADCs so there is risk there, so this may be a time to pick up someone from GEN in Khael ($4,800). More risks can be taken with support since they can rack up so many assists so saving money here isn’t terrible. 

Top Pick: Vsta ($5,600)

Value: Khael ($4,800)

Team: I think the only clear answer here is to lean with DraftKings and pick Hanwha Life Esports ($5,600). I think they are appropriately picked as top in their group, especially since they will be facing two academy teams in this group. I think the second possible option is KT Rolster ($5,200) and that is because with their deep roster, they should have plenty of adaptability in feilding strong, yet versatile lineups but at no risk to you picking the wrong starter.

Top Pick: Hanwha Life Esports ($5,600)

Value: Gen.G ($4,600)