Buzz
Compared to LPL, LCK currently lacks many truly comprehensive Top Laners.
In recent years, when it comes to Top Lane in LCK, the names that come to mind for many fans are Zeus of T1 and next is Doran of Gen.G. Among all Top Laners in LCK at present, these could be considered the two most noteworthy names. Except for Nuguri who has retired, the remaining players all have quite a few issues. Additionally, T1 (Zeus) and Gen.G (Doran) also frequently appear on the list of championship contenders for international tournaments they participate in.
While Doran has been around for a long time and is one of the seasoned Top Laners, building his reputation since his time with the Griffins, Zeus is a new factor. He's only in his second official season with T1. Nevertheless, Zeus has been with T1 for 5 finals appearances, including both domestic and international tournaments. However, Zeus has only secured the LCK Spring 2022 championship title. For a highly anticipated Top Laner, this is too little.
This isn't the first time LCK's Top Lane issue has been brought up for discussion. Previously, this region was always famous for producing many quality Top Laners (MaRin, Duke, CuVee, Impact...), but currently, they hardly have anyone reliable. Kiin is getting older, Canna and Doran seem to have peaked, and their performance fluctuates regularly.
As for Zeus, he's often compared to MaRin when T1 had a winning streak. However, Zeus's biggest weakness lies in his mentality and competitive spirit. This is undoubtedly the point that currently makes him perhaps not as good as MaRin. The legendary captain of T1 even served as a pillar, leading his teammates to the 2015 World Championship title.
Furthermore, mention must be made of Kingen - the reigning champion of Worlds 2022. However, last year's tournament was perhaps the epitome of Kingen's prowess. He has yet to showcase much in his new Hanwha Life Esports jersey. Kingen has also shown that he has a rather narrow champion pool, and when his 'pocket pick' Aatrox was weakened, Kingen's performance declined.
Looking towards LPL, many LCK fans can't help but feel envious. In the current LPL, the Top Lane is not lacking in excellence or potential. Bin and 369 have proven themselves in both international and domestic tournaments. Ale is always ready to surprise, while LPL also has the highly promising YSKM. Not to mention, on a day when TheShy or Wayward are in good form, they can completely make their opponents 'regretful'.
Previously, the Top Lane equation never posed a challenge to LCK as they had many famous names. However, at present, perhaps fans here can only hope that their players maintain stable performance as well as truly strong mentality. Because, LPL is very strong and ready to punish any mistakes, no matter how small, from opponents from the land of kimchi.
