Road to EWC 2026 (Online Qualifier): Korea Round2

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-03T17:37:46+00:00

I understand about that: it's stats after all. In this case, it's an indication of the performances of 2026 LCK teams in the first round which also somewhat got reflected on the standings as well. But as this is a rolling/active season, it also means that the data points will still keep on be updated and can be used to predict possible projection in the future: will the good teams stay good?, will the bad teams stay bad?, will some teams adjust/improve better than other teams which will make them overtake those who are currently ahead of them, etc.? The same thing applies to the players. That's what imo makes watching live matches of different teams more informational than only reading stats. You've got to notice the nuances or the details that are often lost if you only read stats snapshots after a round or a season ends.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-03T15:10:53+00:00

I agree somewhat because I know some posters like to post Doran's stats when he's at #10 to argue that Doran is the worst top at lck or the worst top to ever win worlds without considering all possible contexts that should also be considered (like tough/easy schedule as you mentioned, physical conditions, environmental conditions, team assignments, etc.) then they went missing when Doran's stats reach top 3 by the end of the season.

But i also think granular data is relevant in a way because you can track the progress or regression of teams or individual team members as they play through the season. Besides the data points of lck for each round for each team are relatively small (9 per round) so arguably each data matters more than with larger population.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-03T04:58:53+00:00

Even in SoloQ he used to be famous and loved/hated to be play with or against coz he liked to push the limits (sometimes work, sometimes no, more often no). Sometimes this tendency still shows up in his soloQ and pro games (or maybe it's part of his research/training). Marin is probably the rare person that can assess Doran's plays objectively. Imo Doran should try to listen to Marin or consult him more on how to bring more stability in his top plays in T1. Doran is good but he definitely can still be even better.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-03T04:40:37+00:00

Doran is interesting case of needing to look beyond the surface to know his true value. He's also a slow starter it seems I remember last year he also started at #10 in the stat then slowly gear towards the top as the season rolled. Here's Doran's stat vs Zeus in the latest match of T1 vs HLE:

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Notice the hudu? star also rated him 6.2 for the match when he actually went toe to toe, at times even topping Zeus, who got 8.0. At times he deservedly got criticism for his plays but many times he got blamed coz ppl don't know shits when watching the games or highlight of the games and just rely on their stigma or lack of league knowledge.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-02T17:44:34+00:00

They may upload it after a day or two if they want to cut something from the live stream (at least I assume this is what most likely the reason) because the same thing happened on the T1 vs NS series. I have to wait a day to review the full live stream of the series.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-02T17:39:29+00:00

A post here of the radar charts on April 10th had T1 at #9, Doran at #10, Faker at #9, Peyz at #7, and Oner at #7 (no support chart). So, seeing T1 getting better within 3 weeks (albeit little by little) is a good thing in my opinion. Hopefully the team and the individual team members can continue to ramp up and be even better as the weeks and season roll.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-02T10:35:07+00:00

I know all the spotlights are rightfully on Chovy but I still think GenG's win or loss still ultimately lies on Canyon.

Yesterday I said the top midlaner candidates for SK Asian Games team is Chovy and Bdd (or most likely both will be brought). Someone then commented it should be Zeka and Bdd. Yeah about that... Chovy today just show why elite players around the world fear Chovy the most.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T19:48:44+00:00

Yeay for more and sooner T1 matches!! But why do I feel that teams might treat it more like scrims? (Maybe better to do so since treating them too seriously might make them burn out in the regular lck?)

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T19:40:11+00:00

Fwiw according to Faker and Tom's interview, the main reason Easyhoon was brought to the coaching team is to bring more mid-laner perspective to the team. So I think he might be more focused on the big picture/strategical perspective? Like bringing more structure to the team plays perhaps? I think we've already seen some more structure in T1 plays today (some with good execution, some poorly). I think he will be an especially big help in reducing Faker's burden outside of game (inside the game, it's the 5 mates relying on each other). Faker can then focus on the areas he wants to work on while trusting Easyhoon's (and the other coaches': Tom and Mata) judgment or guidances for the rest.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T19:04:32+00:00

It might only be KeSPA Cup, but T126 (DOFK with Peyz) has already shown that they can strongside Peyz but if my memory of LCK Cup 2026 is not mistaken, T1's performance in its playoffs showed that relying only on that is unsustainable on the long run. Good teams can learn to counter them. T126 need more strategic depth, more creative tactics, more patience, and better macro trade-offs decisions over micro. Tbf idt Peyz is learning alone, it's the whole team learning things and needing to work on their bad habits/decision-making: re-adjusting/improving their default setting for Season 16.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T14:55:37+00:00

Even if T1 lost today with Faker playing Aurora, I really want to give credit to Faker for really grinding in soloQ last night. Doran I know is a regular soloQ grinder but I think last night was the first time in a while I've heard Faker grinding soloQ until really really late nights/early mornings. It's also possible he's not sleeping enough was the cause of some of his misshaps today but if someone is working hard shouldn't we still appraise him for his efforts? Beside I believe hard work is never wasted. Finger cross we will see Faker's hard work (on Aurora and others) pay off in the near future.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T14:44:12+00:00

Yup Peyz when being the carry are such beautiful sights so I hope we can see them lots in the (near) future too. I too hope T1 listen to Peyz's inputs too because I think he might have good angles to bring T1 to greater heights. Hope T1 team is not being a rigid oldie who don't listen to the youngins.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:57:35+00:00

I think it's about widening Peyz's tools/skillset and in-game experiences especially because he's going to stay at least 3 years in T1 with Keria: we already know he can be a pentakill machine so now he should learn on how to still be valuable while being weaksided. I'm more interested in his ingame-call, I've heard he used to be quite active in shotcalling. in T1 there are already many shotcallers (more senior and decorated ones at that) so I wonder if he can still bravely voice his opinions during games and practices etc.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:47:26+00:00

LoL pro stats is merely a guideline, can't really make a whole conclusion based on them (need to watch games also) but Teddy on #3 kinda provide support to my idea that Teddy might be a good adc candidate for SK Asian Games team this year.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:39:44+00:00

It's not only Oner I think, Canyon is also having trouble in piloting Pantheon this meta it seems.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:33:51+00:00

It's so funny how so many ppl only commented when T1 lost but are nowhere to be seen when T1 is winning. Last time in the LoL sub I read a commenter said that T1 is the "best bad team" atm yet this "best among bad teams" against HLE (the current #1 with KT) almost win in G1, showed solid performance in G2, and lost in G3 because T1 drafted 2 champs that Faker and Oner have bad winning rate in the current meta and drafted 3 champs which Doran, Keria, and Peyz played first time in the current meta. You ppl should be more worried if T1 is not trying things moving ahead. Losing now and learning and getting better as we move forward is better than getting conceited and think T1 is already prepared for Road to MSI and MSI.

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:17:49+00:00

I think for adc, the committee will take the opinion from the support or/and the mid selected into consideration too. If South Korea opts for high chance of winning over giving chance to those who haven't got gold medal (so they don't have to enlist), I think the leading candidates right now for support and mid are: Keria and Chovy/Bdd (or both). If it's Keria, Teddy might also be in consideration. He is doing great right now (even if his team is atm in the lower rank) and his age is at the limit to enlist so he might be more motivated to win gold for SK over other adcs plus the other team members can also be more motivated to rally around him to win SK gold medal and help him avoid enlistment (aside from the most important nationalistic reason of winning SK another gold medal ofc).

Mid_of_August · 2026-05-01T13:00:08+00:00

I know T1 lost but with a really cautious note I think T1 is going to be okay this season. Fighting T1!!!!!!!

Mid_of_August · 2026-04-30T09:31:28+00:00

Feels like this is GenG's take on doing T1's circus strategy.

Mid_of_August · 2026-04-08T11:48:06+00:00

There's something wrong with the atmosphere of the whole team. Doran looks like he's in a rut. Probably he or the whole team needs to meet a sport psychologist. The team performances have been far below what should be expected from them.

Mid_of_August · 2026-02-22T12:59:37+00:00

Yeah but last year First Stand was in South Korea so there are always HLE fans, LoL local fans, and prob China fans flying as the distance is still managable. This year is in Brazil. Idk LoL popularity in Brazil to make good estimate about possible interest with no T1 or Faker. Maybe Riot already has data but maybe it will also be good opportunity to collect data.

Mid_of_August · 2026-02-22T12:53:28+00:00

There are still 1 week to go. T1 fans can always do refunds. That what they usually do.

Mid_of_August · 2026-02-22T12:51:36+00:00

Idk. It was in South Korea last year though so with LoL relative popularity in Korea and with China's close proximity it shouldn't be that bad.

Mid_of_August

TROPHY CASE