Photo: LoL Esports
We don't know if the Asian Games taking place in September make you want to turn on your television, but there will still be a good reason to follow the competition. Several esports disciplines are on the program and on our side we are closely following the games of League of Legends, where we should find the Chinese team and the South Korean team in the final. Already finalists in 2018, the two countries are a scarecrow. They are full of talent and it's hard to see who could resist these two giants.
Speaking of South Korea, a shortlist of 10 players has been announced. We find very heavy with players like Faker , Chovy and Canyon . But while the Kespa had decided to put down only 10 names (10 players per position), we notice that there are still a lot of big absentees . For fun, we have listed the players who, in our opinion, could also have been called up without making a mark on the list.
ShowMaker, victim of competition
Heo " ShowMaker " Su is a real machine. World champion in 2020 and finalist of the Worlds last year, his absence may shock. For many it is the present and the future of League of Legends and in the West, we would dream of having a player of his ilk in his team. But the DWG KIA midlaner didn't pull off a big Spring Split. Even if he wasn't catastrophic, he had gotten us used to better and he had a little slack... We imagine that's why he wasn't selected in this first list... Especially since in front of him, we still found Faker the GOAT and Chovy , another particularly talented midlaner. After a lackluster segment, it's therefore not so surprising to see ShowMaker dismissed.
Viper and Scout, two frustrated world champions
On paper we can also be surprised to see that the last two world champions of Korean nationality have not been called up in the list... While they won the Worlds in 2021, they could claim by their status to a place in the list. But there were still two big obstacles that weighed down Lee " Scout " Ye-chan and Park " Viper " Do-hyeon. On the one hand, the two friends play in China (LPL)... The selection committee had cited among the important criteria the attachment to the country and its values. Playing in a foreign league doesn't really help. In addition, while it is planned to carry out test phases, players who are not on site have surely been put aside automatically. Finally, it should also be noted that EDG has not been particularly brilliant this year. The team finished in 7th place in the regular season before being knocked out in round 2 of the playoffs. It is therefore not really a scandal to see the two players sidelined.
Rookie, too complicated to think of him
Song " Rookie " Eui-jin is a monument and for some, he should be among the top 5 League of Legends players in history. Moreover, he is in very good form at the moment and he is still in contention to obtain a new title of champion of China ... But like the players previously quoted, that is perhaps that is the problem. Rookie has spent most of his career in LPL and we imagine that the kespa did not necessarily want to call on him. When we add that he had to face competition from Faker, Chovy and even ShowMaker... It was really too complicated to call on him.
The Asian Games keep getting closer and the KeSPA has formalized a prelist of 10 players. They will soon be only 6 after a tryout phase. Faker is obviously very present and well accompanied!
