With the first split of the LPL drawing to a close, the organizers have recently published two fun leaderboards. First is the tally of lane solo kills. Prior to his match against JDG, Brother Bin led the pack with 10 solo kills. Xiangkes and Hoya were close behind with just one fewer kill, placing them jointly in second. Knight secured third place with eight solo kills. The others—Cube, Saint Gun, Hope Brother, Jiaqi, and Xiao Xu—all recorded 6 solo kills each, putting five players in a tie for fourth position.

IG's top lane seems to have a tradition of getting solo killed. Throughout the entire split, Soboro was solo killed 14 times, successfully claiming the title of the most solo kills conceded in the first split. However, Xiaohu still has a chance to surpass him. General Xiaohu has been solo killed 10 times. If he gets solo killed five more times in the remaining matches, he will overtake IG's top laner. Besides the top lane, IG's mid laner Rookie has also been solo killed 11 times, tying with About for second place.

Uzi reveals the format of the Uzi Cup.

The first split of the LPL ends on the 8th, followed by the Vanguard Cup starting on the 16th. Before the second split begins, there is a break period. The officials have granted Uzi the authority to organize the Uzi Cup, scheduled just before the second split. According to Uzi himself, the specific timeframe is from late March to early April, with the tournament lasting 6-7 days. During a recent livestream, Uzi disclosed the format of the Uzi Cup, noting that besides streamers, ordinary players can also participate this time.

Before the main event begins, the Uzi Cup will have qualifiers open to all players. Those who advance from the qualifiers will enter a player pool. Each participating team must select one player from this pool to form their squad. This means skilled players have a chance to compete on the same team as Uzi. This format is quite interesting; if an ordinary player performs well, they could even have an opportunity to become an LPL professional player.

Liu Qing Song criticizes the current state of tournaments.

LPL player Liu Qing Song, currently during the break, recently received an official invitation to serve as a draw guest alongside his former teammate Tian for the Vanguard Cup group stage. During a recent livestream, Liu Qing Song extensively discussed the current state of league tournaments. He complained: "You can lose all your matches, as long as you win the World Championship." The implication is that audiences only care about Worlds. This statement isn't wrong—performing well in the domestic league but failing internationally still leads to criticism.

Objectively speaking, this tournament atmosphere is largely shaped by Riot Games. Only the World Championship offers champion skins. Winning the Vanguard Cup or MSI merely brings some prize money, with nothing else. It's less about prioritizing the World Championship and more about prioritizing skins. Having a skin immortalizes a player in history, while lacking one makes recognition difficult. However, this seems to be the case for most esports tournaments, and changing it is no easy task.

LCK plans to host matches globally.

The LCK region recently held a special discussion conference regarding league development. The LCK Secretary-General stated during the meeting: "The LCK will no longer be confined to Korea but will be consumed as a global industry content. The league's current goal is to evolve beyond being merely watched." In short, the LCK intends to expand globally, extending its competition venues to multiple regions worldwide with the aim of increasing revenue.

If this proposal is adopted, future LCK matches could be held in Europe, the Americas, or other locations. Honestly, T1's matches could really pull this off, as Faker has fans worldwide. For other teams, the effect might not be as ideal. Even a team like GEN doesn't have many overseas fans. It seems the LCK is genuinely short on funds now, as the officials are planning to increase the frequency of roadshows.

Conclusion:

As the top region, the LCK is now also struggling. Apart from T1 making a profit, the remaining teams and even the officials are consistently operating at a loss. Riot recently canceled prize money for all regions except the LPL. To sustain league development, they indeed need to find solutions. However, the revenue from LCK roadshows seems like a drop in the bucket.

So, do you think prioritizing the World Championship is correct?

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