Gen.G, ‘4 consecutive LCK wins’, freshmen’s performance shined [Lee Joo-hyun’s Login e-Sports]
Gen.G Esports has achieved an unprecedented record.
Gen.G won the trophy by defeating T1 with a set score of 3 to 2 in the 2024 LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) spring finals held at the KSPO Dome in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 14th.
As a result, Gen.G became the first team to win four consecutive LCK championships since the 2022 Summer Split.
In the process of Gen.G achieving its 4th consecutive championship, the performance of the ‘freshmen’ newly recruited this season was dazzling.
Gen.G chose to make bigger roster changes than expected ahead of this season.
Except for mid laner Ji-hoon “Chovy” Jeong and long-distance dealer Soo-hwan “Phase” Kim, three players were replaced. 파워볼게임
Although they won both the 2023 LCK Spring and Summer Splits, they made a bold decision after failing to advance to the quarterfinals at the League of Legends World Championship.
First of all, Gen.G recruited top laner Kim “Giin” Ki-in and jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, completing a solid upper body lineup called “Gigaecho.”
Kim Ki-in is a player whose outstanding skills were recognized enough to be selected as a member of the national team for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
Kim Geon-bu is a top jungler who achieved the 2020 League of Legends World Championship (Worlds Cup) and LCK championship.
In addition, stability was added to the bottom line by bringing back Son Si-woo, a former member of Gen.G.
In addition, changes were made to the coaching staff by recruiting coach Kim Jeong-soo, Kwon Young-jae, and coach 'Mata' Jo Se-hyeong.
Gen.G's unprecedented recruitment resulted in a brilliant result: the 'LCK Championship Cup'.
First, jungler Kim Geon-bu saved Genji from a dead-end cliff.
Gen.G, who took the lead by winning the first set of the finals, dropped the second and third sets and gave T1 a match point.
At a desperate moment where they would lose the championship if they lost even one set, Kim Geon-bu surprisingly hired Kha'Zix, who had never been used this season.
This is to subdue T1 jungler ‘Owner’ Moon Hyun-jun’s Xin Zhao, who was an obstacle to Gen.G throughout the series.
Kha'Zix is strong in 1-on-1 combat, but has weaknesses in object teamfights, so it was a risky choice.
However, Canyon saved the team from the brink by playing a big role in the game with 5 kills, 1 death, and 5 assists.
Top laner Kim Ki-in performed steadily throughout the finals, suppressing the performance of T1's spear Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je.
In particular, in the final game, the 5th set, he secured Choi Woo-jae with two solo kills, solidifying the team's victory.
Based on his strong growth, he took the lead and led Gen.G to victory.
Thanks to this performance, Kim Ki-in was unanimously selected as the Finals MVP and achieved the LCK championship for the first time in 7 years since his debut, shaking off the ‘sorrow of being irrelevant’.
Meanwhile, Gen.G, who won the LCK spring championship, will participate in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), an international competition held in Chengdu, China, starting from the 1st of next month.
Together with T1, we embark on a journey to regain the MSI championship trophy that has not been lifted for the past 6 years.
The strongest rivals are Top Esports (TES) and Bilibili Gaming (BLG), which are Chinese LPL teams.
LPL has won the MSI championship for three consecutive years from 2021 to last year.
In particular, fans' expectations are focused on whether Gen.G, which has won the LCK four times in a row, will be able to win the international competition this year.
Even in seasons where Gen.G has shown good performances in domestic competitions, they have shown disappointing performances only in international competitions.
Last year, they won both the LCK Spring and Summer, but only placed 4th in MSI and advanced to the quarterfinals in Worlds.