Exactly one minute later, SK Telecom T1’s nexus would crumble as the members of Samsung Galaxy hugged each other in delight. They had defeated Goliath. They had defeated nearly three years of international dominance by SK Telecom T1 and the best player in the world, Faker. They were the winners of the 2017 World Championship and the first non-SKT players to win it since 2014. <\/p>\n
It was also the last international trophy the Korean region would win to this day. <\/p>\n
In 2018, the former world champions – now rebranded to Generation Gaming – would drop in the group stages of the Season 8 World Championship, while the deepest run a Korean would make in the tournament was to the quarter-finals. Most teams would consider finishing in the top 8 teams in the world a resounding victory. But for Korea, a region that had dominated League of Legends since League of Legends had dominated esports, it was the sign of diminishing power in the game.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A more chaotic meta disfavored the controlled, macro-based play that the LCK had relied on for so long. As China’s Invictus Gaming slaughtered Europe’s Fnatic in the finals, Korea was seemingly finished and public sentiment saw the region as obsolete. A year later, the three-time world champions SKT T1 were knocked out in the semi-finals by Europe’s G2, consolidating that opinion for the world to see. In the Mid-Season Cup 2020, the representative teams of China humiliated Korea, with the only Korean team to get out of the group stage being Gen. G. They’d get demolished in the first knockout round. <\/p>\n Something had to change. And on April 4, 2020, the LCK announced it would move to franchis<\/a>e<\/a> for teams, and tomorrow’s the application deadline. <\/p>\n \nThe move holds both financial and symbolic implications. On the financial side, “teams will be able to free themselves from their biggest impediment to fundraising and revenue generation: the possibility of relegation,†announced Riot Korea<\/a>. But the symbolism is perhaps what will linger in the minds of fans. As the LCK moves to a franchise, no longer will it have the narratives of new teams rising against competitors to take the league by storm. It marks an end to the possibility of teams like SKT T1 K, who would win the World Championship in their first year with the legendary Faker and Bengi, and it marks an end to stories like that of Team Griffin, which won the regular split three times in a row immediately upon entering the LCK. These narratives of the super-rookie teams coming out of nowhere and smashing their veteran counterparts will cease to exist. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s the end of an era. In September, when the franchised teams are announced, all those storylines and more will vanish. It’ll join the LCS, the LEC, and the LPL as the last major region to franchise. The Challengers Korea scene, the “minor league†version of the LCK where teams duke it out and the best get a chance at promotion to the LCK, will be gone. In its place will come the LCK Academy League, much like the one found in the LCS or the LPL. Already players like Lee “Wolf†Jae-wan have organized academy tournaments. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n .@LoL_Wooolf<\/a>‘s update regarding his plans for LCK Academy League:<\/p>\n – It’ll take place between the Mid-Season Cup and the LCK Summer Split, sometime in June. — Kevin Kim 🦆 (@KevinKimLoL) May 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n(Picture: Riot Games)<\/span><\/p>\n\nThe meaning of franchising <\/h2>\n
\n(Picture: Riot Games)<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n– Close to confirming date and time, still under discussion with other teams.
\n– Will give another update on June after MSC. pic.twitter.com\/LV0CyQx6hd<\/a><\/p>\n