Broadcasting
The LCK was broadcast at the following platforms: [6]
-
Korean: Naver, Afreeca TV, Twitch -
English: Twitch -
Chinese: HuyaTV -
French: OTP
| 2021 LCK season | |
|---|---|
| League | LCK |
| Sport | League of Legends |
| Duration | 13 January – 10 April (Spring) |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Spring | |
| Season champions | DWG KIA |
| Runners-up | Gen.G |
| Season MVP | Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu [1] (DWG KIA) |
| Summer | |
| Season champions | DWG KIA |
| Runners-up | T1 |
| Season MVP | Han "Peanut" Wang-ho [2] (Nongshim RedForce) |
The 2021 LCK season was the tenth season of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends .
2021 was also the first season LCK implemented their long-term partnership model. [3] On 1 November 2020, Riot Korea announced the ten organizations that successfully signed the contract for LCK franchising model. [4]
The regular season format was double round robin. During the first round of the split, games were played five days per week, and for the second round, games took place four days a week. [5]
The spring split began on 13 January 2021 and concluded with the spring finals on 10 April 2021.
The LCK was broadcast at the following platforms: [6]
Korean: Naver, Afreeca TV, Twitch
English: Twitch
Chinese: HuyaTV
French: OTP| Pos | Team | SW | SL | GW | GL | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DWG KIA | 16 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 23 | Advance to Semifinals |
| 2 | Gen.G | 13 | 5 | 29 | 15 | 14 | |
| 3 | Hanwha Life Esports | 12 | 6 | 26 | 18 | 8 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | T1 | 11 | 7 | 27 | 17 | 10 | |
| 5 | DRX | 9 | 9 | 21 | 26 | −5 | |
| 6 | Nongshim RedForce | 7 | 11 | 18 | 24 | −6 | |
| 7 | KT Rolster | 6 | 12 | 18 | 27 | −9 | |
| 8 | Liiv SANDBOX | 6 | 12 | 15 | 25 | −10 | |
| 9 | Afreeca Freecs | 5 | 13 | 16 | 26 | −10 | |
| 10 | Fredit BRION | 5 | 13 | 12 | 27 | −15 |
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||
| DWG KIA | 3 | ||||||||||
| Hanwha Life Esports | 3 | Hanwha Life Esports | 0 | ||||||||
| Nongshim RedForce | 2 | DWG KIA | 3 | ||||||||
| Gen.G | 0 | ||||||||||
| Gen.G | 3 | ||||||||||
| T1 | 3 | T1 | 0 | ||||||||
| DRX | 1 | ||||||||||
| Pos | Team | SW | SL | GW | GL | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DWG KIA | 12 | 6 | 29 | 14 | 15 | Advance to Semifinals |
| 2 | Gen.G | 12 | 6 | 27 | 19 | 8 | |
| 3 | Nongshim RedForce | 12 | 6 | 27 | 19 | 8 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | T1 | 11 | 7 | 25 | 19 | 6 | |
| 5 | Liiv SANDBOX | 11 | 7 | 26 | 21 | 5 | |
| 6 | Afreeca Freecs | 11 | 7 | 25 | 21 | 4 | |
| 7 | KT Rolster | 7 | 11 | 21 | 25 | −4 | |
| 8 | Hanwha Life Esports | 7 | 11 | 17 | 26 | −9 | |
| 9 | Fredit BRION | 5 | 13 | 20 | 28 | −8 | |
| 10 | DRX | 2 | 16 | 9 | 34 | −25 |
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||
| DWG KIA | 3 | ||||||||||
| Nongshim RedForce | 3 | Nongshim Redforce | 0 | ||||||||
| Afreeca Freecs | 1 | DWG KIA | 3 | ||||||||
| T1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Gen.G | 1 | ||||||||||
| T1 | 3 | T1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Liiv Sandbox | 0 | ||||||||||
T1 is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.
Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for T1. He gained prominence after joining SK Telecom T1 in 2013, where he has since played as the team's mid laner. Often hailed as the "Michael Jordan of esports", Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history. Throughout his career, he has secured a record of 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, two Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and a record four World Championship titles.
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for League of Legends esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LCK is administered in cooperation between Riot Games and KeSPA.
100 Thieves, LLC is an American lifestyle brand and gaming organization based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2017 by Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag. The organization competes in several video games, including Apex Legends, Call of Duty, League of Legends and Valorant. They currently operate three franchise teams, in the League Championship Series (LCS), Valorant Americas League and Call of Duty League.
Kim Hyuk-kyu, better known as Deft, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Dplus KIA. In 2018, he was selected as one of the torch relay runners for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, alongside his fellow kt Rolster teammates.
Griffin is a South Korean esports organization owned by esports entertainment company STILL8. It has a team competing in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and previously had teams competing in League of Legends and Overwatch. Griffin's League of Legends team competed in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the top level of professional League of Legends in South Korea.
Gen.G, previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Forbes, Gen.G is the sixth most valuable esports organization in the world as of December 2020, worth US$185 million.
The 2020 LCS season was the eighth season of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), a professional esports league for the video game League of Legends. The season was divided into two splits: Spring and Summer. The Spring Split began on January 25 and culminated playoff finals on April 19, 2020. The Summer Split began on June 12 and culminated with the Spring Split finals on September 6, 2020. Most matches were played online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 LEC season was the second year of the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends, following its rebranding in late 2018. The spring regular season began on 24 January and was originally scheduled to conclude on 21 March; however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was temporarily suspended on 13 March. Four days later, it was announced that all remaining LEC matches for the spring regular season would be played online, beginning on 20 March.
Kim Chang-dong, better known as Canna, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Dplus KIA. He made his debut during KeSPA Cup 2019.
The 2020 LCK season was the ninth year of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends.
Dplus KIA (DK), formerly known as DWG KIA and DAMWON Gaming, is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its League of Legends team competes in the LCK, the top-level league for the game in South Korea.
Nongshim RedForce is a South Korean professional League of Legends team owned by food and beverage company Nongshim. The team's name and logo are a reference to Nongshim's popular instant noodle brand Shin Ramyun.
The League of Legends division of Cloud9 (C9) is a gaming team based in Los Angeles, California, and competes in the League Championship Series (LCS), the top-level professional league for video game League of Legends in the United States and Canada.
The 2022 LCK season was the eleventh season of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends.
Kim Chan-ho better known as Ssumday, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player. Ssumday began his professional career in Korea on KT Rolster as their toplaner, before moving to North America where he spent a year with Team Dignitas, after which he signed with 100 Thieves in 2018. Ssumday won his first domestic championship in 2021 after eight splits with the team.
The 2023 LCK season was the twelfth season of South Korea's LCK, a professional esports league for the MOBA PC game League of Legends.
Park Jae-hyuk, better known as Ruler, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for JD Gaming. Throughout his career, he has won one League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) title, two League of Legends Pro League (LPL) titles, one Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) title, and one World Championship title.
Jung Ji-hoon, better known as Chovy, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Gen.G. Throughout his career, he has won three League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles and one KeSPA Cup title.
Han Wang-ho, better known as Peanut, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Hanwha Life Esports. Throughout his career, he has one Mid-Season Invitational title, six League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles and one KeSPA Cup title. He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2018 Asian Games, earning a silver medal.