Korea has long been the home of the most talented League of Legends players in the world, and that led to a team from the region winning each World Championship from 2013 to 2017. However, LCK teams moved away from the academy scene in 2018, instead putting their faith in veterans rather than continuing to develop young players. That large-scale decision had tremendous ramifications. The LCK went from dominating the international stage to falling behind both China and Europe, leading to some soul searching. The shocking rise of teams like Griffin, SANDBOX Gaming, and DAMWON Gaming proved that established teams like SK Telecom T1, Gen. G, and others had erred in moving away from young amateurs.
DAMWON Gaming’s dominant run on its way to a world championship in the fall put an exclamation point on that premise, as four of the five players were home-grown talents developed from their time as amateurs by the organization.
There is a lot more attention being paid to amateurs and academy players as a result of DAMWON’s success. That has led to increased buzz about the LCK Academy Series Championship this year and the four teams that can win it.
2020 LCK Academy Series Championship Semifinals Betting Odds
Team Dynamics Academy +120
Afreeca Freecs Academy -164
Dynamics are still relative newcomers to the LCK. This team was only founded in May 2019, and they didn’t make it to the top tier of Korean League of Legends until earlier this year. However, they have largely looked at improving through their academy team. Chelly is the coach of the whole organization while former jungler Beyond has taken over as the team’s direct coach and imparts his expertise. AD and SUP were recently added to the roster as a bottom lane duo, but this team will likely go with the players that got them to this point.
DnDn, Sylvie, FIESTA, HongA, and Blessing are likely to be the starters. FIESTA, HongA, and Blessing have been with this team throughout the academy series, but DnDn and Sylvie are newcomers that have helped take this team to new heights.
Another former jungler is the current head coach for Afreeca Freecs Academy. Spirit retired last month in order to coach this team alongside Alvingo. That makes sense given the jungler heavy meta we saw over the second half of 2020, and it’s likely to lead to more playmaking from Burry.
The key for Afreeca Freecs Academy in this series will be top laner YoneKing. That position has been a revolving door of sorts for this team, but they found some stability with him starting up top for this squad in October.
DRX Rookie -1429
SANDBOX Gaming Academy +596
The most dominant team all year has been DRX Rookie. DRX were the only organization to put two teams into this competition, an academy team and a rookie team. That led to DRX experimenting with all sorts of players, but the real reason they are such heavy favorites is due to their relative experience. While many academy players are pretty new to the scene, most of DRX’s players have spent the last year working together. DRX developed Pyosik and Keria last year, and it’s only a matter of time before the new wave of youngsters enters the LCK.
It’s a tall task for SANDBOX to pull off the upset, but they have to be the choice at this price. Anything can happen in a best of five series, and DRX Rookie looked beatable after a hot start on the first day of the Group Stage two weeks ago.
At BookMaker Sportsbook, our team of writers breaks down every betting matchup on the wagering board. Esports are exploding in popularity and BookMaker has you covered for all of your betting needs. From League of Legends to CS:GO, BookMaker has all the Esports betting lines you can hope for. Open an account and get in on the action today!
