Following the end of the LCK regular season, the qualifiers have kicked off. On the last game day, legendary squad NS clashed with the emerging BRO. After a hard-fought five-game series, NS triumphed 3-2 over BRO, moving on to the second round of the winners' bracket. Should NS defeat either DK or BFX next, they will qualify for the playoffs. BRO’s loss sent them to the losers' bracket, where another best-of-five defeat would eliminate them from playoff contention.

Next up is the match between DK and BFX. There’s actually a noticeable gap in their overall strength. DK has recently been performing well, so BFX is likely to lose. Before the second round of the qualifiers began, LCK officially announced the regular season All-Pro teams. Let’s take a look at which familiar faces made the list. First off, the regular season MVP went unsurprisingly to GEN’s mid laner Chovy.

The Coach of the Year award also went to GEN’sKim Jeong-soo. The Best Rookie was somewhat unexpected—not Duro, but BFX’s AD carry Diable. Both of these young players performed quite well. Duro has been playing for a year now, so he might not qualify as a rookie anymore. However, Diable’s performance this season was solid, and if a top-tier team invests in him, he could potentially reach the level of Peyz.

The first All-Pro team is composed entirely of GEN players, which was anticipated. In terms of results and in-game performance, these five players dominated their respective positions. Except for Faker occasionally having off moments, the rest are nearly flawless.Duro’s growth this season has been remarkable. Previously, there were concerns he might hold back Chovy, but now it’s clear he has strong individual skills and has fully integrated into the team.

The second All-Pro team includes T1’s top, jungle, and support players. It’s a bit surprising that Doran ranked ahead of Zeus, though Zeus performed slightly better in the third split. Mid laner BDD made the list without controversy—the third split saw him play with incredible intensity. If BDD were to join HLE, their strength would rise to a new level. The second team’s AD carry spot went to Viper.

The third team’s top, jungle, and support all come from HLE, while the bot lane and mid lane are T1’s dual carries. Xiaolübu ranked behind Viper mainly because of his poor performance against KT in the final match. In terms of laning phases, Xiaolübu actually outperformed Viper in several games. Without those last two problematic matches, Xiaolübu might have made the second team. Faker dropping to the third team is quite reasonable, as both Daehyun and BDD outperformed him.

Among the top three teams in the regular season, all players except HLE’s mid laner made the list. This ranking really puts Zeka in an awkward position—after playing the entire season, he didn’t even make the third team. It’s obvious who the weak link on HLE is. His absence from the list is justified since HLE lost most games due to mid lane being breached, very similar to Scout’s situation in our region.

This All-Pro selection is quite reasonable. KT’s direct qualification to the playoffs is largely thanks to BDD’s outstanding plays, so his second team placement makes sense. GEN’s entire first team lineup leaves little room for dispute. However, Viper’s placement on the second team is somewhat controversial. Many fans believe the second team AD carry should be Xiaolübu, who consistently dominated the bottom lane against HLE and showed stronger matchups.

In conclusion:

If Zeka wants to redeem his reputation, he really needs to perform well in the playoffs. His recent form has been disappointingly poor, but he still shows promise in international matches. Although HLE’s current strength doesn’t match GEN’s, they should have no trouble making it to Worlds. Maybe Zeka will find his form again by then.

So, what do you think—was Viper’s second team placement justified?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!