LCK Spring 2024 Pre-Season Power Rankings

LCK Spring 2024 Power Rankings

10. Nongshim RedForce

The bottom of the LCK in 2023 was fairly congested in Summer, with four teams all hovering in the four to five wins range. Of those four teams, only Nongshim RedForce has kept the same roster that they ended the year with. Nongshim had the least games won and most games lost in 2023 with this lineup, placing 10th in Spring and 9th in Summer.

While their form did improve from Spring to Summer thanks to a new rookie bot laner in Jung “Jiwoo” Ji-woo, they haven’t shown the ability to consistently get into winning positions. The one upside that Nongshim has going into LCK Spring 2024 is that their team synergy should be ahead of the curve compared to the other bottom squads. That said, it will only carry them so far if their ceiling hasn’t improved.

9. OK BRION

While BRION was not impressive at any point in 2023, there was still notable improvement within their ranks. Their roster had of a bunch of solid known entities, such as veteran jungler Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon and Lee “Effort” Sang-ho. However, the real highlights of the team were their top and bottom laners. Park “Morgan” Ru-han and Park “Hena” Jeung-hwan played well towards the end of the season.

Now, Hena and UmTi are gone. They’ve both been replaced by players who have been around for a couple years, but have yet to prove themselves at a high level. Lord Morgan is the sole notable carry threat that BRION still has, and while he’s definitely a bright spot, it’s hard to believe that this team can accomplish a lot until we see it firsthand.

8. DRX

Admittedly, we’re ranking DRX much lower than most would. DRX is entering 2024 with a completely rebuilt roster. Only Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee remains from the team that went 6-12 and barely snuck into the Summer Playoffs. The rest of the team now consists of 19 and 20-year-old rookies, as well as Park “Teddy” Jin-seong coming in at ADC.

Although we’ve seen multiple teams in the past come in and immediately contest the top half of the league with rookies, the issue comes with DRX’s development and leadership. Their coaching staff has a long yet fairly underwhelming resume. Veterancy from an ADC player matters arguably the least out of any role. Rascal, despite having been an LCK staple for years, has never been the driving voice in a team.

Of course, theres always the potential that the DRX rookies could fly out of the gate. It’s much more likely that they take some time to get situated first though.

7. FearX

Formerly known as Liiv Sandbox, this FearX core has been a middle-of-the-pack LCK team for the past year. Their topside core of Song “Clear” Hyeon-min, Kim “Willer” Jeong-hyeon, and Lee “Clozer” Ju-hyeon is as serviceable as they come. The only changes that FearX has made during the off-season come in the bottom lane.

While Teddy is certainly a much bigger name than Hena, the difference between their output given identical circumstances shouldn’t be huge. The much bigger question mark is with support Lee “Execute” Jeong-hoon. Execute is returning to Korea from a year in Europe on Astralis and is now making his first LCK start. The goal for FearX this year should be to keep improving their core and make their return to the LCK playoffs.

6. Kwangdong Freecs

Potentially the most controversial ranking on this list, we have Kwangdong Freecs at sixth. This team just went 10th place in Summer 2023, regressing from their 7th place finish in Spring. The roster on paper is nearly identical as well. They’ve only made one change, bringing in high level jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan to help lead the team. While this is certainly an upgrade, it’s surely not enough to move from 10th place to playoffs, right?

During Worlds, a big storyline came out of T1 only being able to scrim KDF leading up to the Finals, as other teams were not playing that far into their off-seasons. Word on the street is that Kwangdong has made massive strides in a short period of time. With an experienced and respected coach behind them in Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho, and plenty of existing synergy that rebuilt teams don’t have yet, it’s possible that KDF is able to jump up the LCK ladder early in Spring.

5. Dplus KIA

Dplus KIA is a difficult team to rank out the gate. The team has gone through it’s biggest shakeup ever, ending the long time duo of Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu and Heo “ShowMaker” Su. In fact, ShowMaker and support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyuis are only returning players from the roster that qualified for Worlds last Summer. That said, Dplus have gotten solid replacements at ADC and top lane. The big question was, who could they get to replace Canyon?

In the end, Dplus KIA promoted their Academy jungler. The 18-year-old Choi “Lucid” Yong-hyeok will be making his first LCK start. Lucid is a very hyped rookie, having won the LCK CL MVP award in Summer. Canyon’s shoes are definitely big to fill, but Lucid could be the type of rookie breakout that Dplus KIA have needed for a while. And coming into a team surrounded by four veterans, he’ll be able to play how he wants.

4. KT Rolster

KT Rolster had a roller coaster of a year in 2023. Despite a near-perfect 17-1 record in the Summer regular season, the team sputtered in the playoffs and finished third. They did make Worlds, but fell short in the first round of the Knockout Stage. Even though their results were good overall, KT decided to pull the plug and rebuild.

The result is a lineup consisting of the core from DRX’s World Championship in 2022. Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, and Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee are joining Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong to make a KT Rolster squad with a very high floor. The main variable is rookie top laner Lee “PerfecT” Seung-min, replacing veteran Kim “Kiin” Gi-in. If PerfecT finds his footing quickly, this team should be a top contender.

3. Hanwha Life Esports

This off-season, Hanwha Life Esports took out their pocket books. Not only did they retain star ADC Park “Viper” Do-hyeon, they also purchased the core of the three-time LCK Champion Gen.G squad. Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon and Han “Peanut” Wang-ho are coming off their best years to date, and support Yoo “Delight” Hwan-joong is a stable playmaker.

The main concern with Hanwha will be how quickly the Gen.G trio can slot in. Viper is more resource demanding than their previous rookie ADC Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan was, and Kim “Zeka” Geon-Woo isn’t the lane controller that Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon was. Still, Hanwha is incredibly solid across the board and they definitely have the org’s first LCK Finals berth in their crosshairs.

2. Gen.G

Gen.G lost three of the players that facilitated their back-to-back LCK titles in 2023. This team was special for several reasons, many stemming from their inherent teamwork and how well their roles meshed. With all that Hanwha money, Gen.G pulled out all the stops. They resigned Chovy and Peyz, two of the most mechanically gifted players in their roles in the world. As for new acquisitions, Gen.G bought Canyon from Dplus, as well as Kiin and Son “Lehends” Si-woo from KT Rolster.

Yes, Gen.G has assembled a super team on paper. Disclaimer: super teams in League of Legends don’t always work out. There are issues that must be addressed. Things like communication, synergy, personalities, and much more can all cause a team with this much raw talent to be less than the sum of its parts. However, it’s hard to imagine that this many top tier players at or near their prime can be bad. Although, simply being “good” isn’t enough for Gen.G. They’re looking for even more titles, and if not for the final team on this list, they would be the overwhelming favorites.

1. T1

The 2024 World Champions have done the impossible. Every single player from T1’s championship run has been successfully re-signed. Of course, no one had any idea that this would actually be a blessing half a year ago. When T1 was struggling without Lee “Faker” Seong-hyuk after his injury in Summer, many saw it as a sign that this T1 roster had reached it’s expiration date. Instead, Faker came back, led the team to the LCK Finals, and eventually his fourth Summoners’ Cup.

It’s hard to call T1 a true “super team,” as most of their pieces came up from their own Academy system years ago. They’ve simply all matured and improved as players, and it has brought them the greatest achievement League of Legends has to offer. Now, the goal is to put even more silverware in the cabinet. This team knows that they can do it, and anything less will not do. Of course, winning when the top half of LCK is this stacked is no easy task.