3 things we learned from LCS Lock In: Kings return & rookies rise

The LCS Lock In reached on January 31 its climactic finale. Here’s what we learned from North America’s first tournament of 2022.

The LCS Lock was a muted affair, with many teams unable to field their full starting rosters due to visa concerns and logistical issues. Multiple organizations were forced to field full or partial academy rosters for the Lock In, with some swapping in star players mid-tournament after they were finally able to overcome bureaucratic hurdles to arrive in North America.

Despite these setbacks, the Lock In still saw its fair share of exciting matchups and unexpected victories. Ultimately, it was Team Liquid’s superteam that emerged victorious in a 3-0 sweep versus Evil Geniuses. They’re looking as unstoppable as was expected when the roster was first announced and will be the team to beat in the spring split.

A 3-0 final doesn’t quite do justice to some of the heroic upsets we saw throughout the tournament, a sign of good things to come for the start of the spring split on February 5. Here are some of the key takeaways from the Lock In, a taste of what’s to come for the start of spring and the race for MSI qualification.

Team Liquid are just as scary as everyone expected

With Liquid boasting one of the most star-studded lineups North America has ever seen, it’s probably not all that surprising that they only dropped two games over the course of the Lock In.

And we still haven’t gotten to see them at their full power. Support Jo ‘CoreJJ’ Yongin was unable to acquire residency status in time for the Lock In, which meant that Liquid were forced to start academy support Bill ‘Eyla’ Nguyen alongside Steven ‘Hans Sama’ Liv in the bot lane. Even with a substitute, they were still a cut above the rest.

Midlaner Soren ‘Bjergsen’ Bjerg looked as though he hadn’t missed a day despite having spent a year offstage as a coach. With a quadra kill in the finals and a tournament-high 15.6 KDA, he’s more than proven that he’s got what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Team Liquid’s playstyle in the Lock In revolved around Gabriel ‘Bwipo’ Rau drawing pressure in the top lane, bringing the attention away from the bottom lane and allowing Liquid to secure early dragon priority. Eyla’s potential weaknesses as an inexperienced player weren’t exploited because taking jungle attention away from the top lane would mean Bwipo snowballing the game out of control.

When CoreJJ is able to start for the roster, that advantage could well mean shoving the enemy lane under tower, roaming mid, and picking up a kill for Bjergsen in the time it takes for the enemy jungler to gank Bwipo.

If you think Liquid’s 11-2 record is scary now, then just wait until they can use their full roster. They’ve yet to play against a few LCS starting rosters due to the academy swaps in Lock In, but right now they’re unquestionably the team to beat heading into spring.

Evil Geniuses’ talent pipeline is the future of the LCS

Mid laner Joseph ‘Jojopyun’ Joonpyun and AD Carry Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki are two of the most exciting NA prospect of the past two years.

Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but at 17 and 18 years old, they’re already going toe to toe with some of the best players NA has to offer, and they look like they’re having a blast while doing it.

Jojopyun won almost every landing phase in the Lock In, and his stats reflect that. He has the highest average gold advantage, experience advantage, and CS differential at ten minutes of any player in the league. He was joint-third for total kills in the tournament, behind Bwipo and his AD Carry teammate.

It’s easy to forget that Danny is still a rookie. All the attention this year has been on EG’s Fortnite-playing, high-school age mid lane prodigy, but Danny is outperforming some of the league’s best AD Carries with only eight months of LCS experience.

There’s something in the water at the EG training facility, and whatever it is, it is turning out rookies the likes of which NA hasn’t seen since Robert ‘Blaber’ Huang’s debut in 2018. They’ve curated a talent pipeline from amateur to the LCS that’s working exactly as intended, and they might just be the rookie promotion route that NA’s been looking for.

Imported talent is not the enemy

NA’s rocky relationship with imports is a tale as old as time. From over-reliance to under-valuing, LCS fans have never quite been able to land on a clear stance on imports in the NA ecosystem.

Here’s the truth of it: North America would crumble without the influence of imports.

That doesn’t devalue the region’s homegrown talent or mean that teams should be looking to have the import rule abolished entirely. It means that ‘import’ has become a dirty word, when in reality the diversity of North America’s professional player base is something that should be celebrated.

• Read more: Liquid roll over undefeated Evil Geniuses in LCS Lock In final: results, placements

Team Liquid’s Lock In win isn’t devalued by the fact that none of their players was born in North America. CoreJJ has done more for North America’s amateur scene with his inhouse tournaments than can be said for a lot of NA residents.

Evil Geniuses have two of the most exciting rookies in NA right now and one of the region’s most successful veteran residents. They also have one former import who gained residency status through years of commitment to the league, and one brand-new import who was one of Europe’s most exciting talents.

The finalists of the 2022 Lock In are two perfect examples of how to correctly utilize talent from other regions. Liquid are the pinnacle of how long-standing imports can hugely benefit a league’s ecosystem, EG of how imports can be combined with rookies to create innovative gameplay and an exciting environment for young talent to grow.

More and more, we’re seeing import slots being used to meaningful effect rather than the band-aid solutions they’ve been in the past. The presence of imports aids in the development of rookies on a team with multiple ideas about how to play the game.

Jojopyun will learn more playing with Polish jungler Kacper ‘Inspired’ Słoma and Korean top laner Jeong ‘Impact’ Eonyoung than he would from teammates who had never experienced League outside of North America. Imports don’t only bring their gameplay, they bring an entire new culture and way of thinking about competitive League.