LCK Looking To Introduce Live Audience For 2022 Season

The Korean League of Legends league could soon welcome its fans back to the LoL Park, as revealed by the League of Legends Korean Championship (LCK) secretary-general, Lee Jeong-hun.

The League of Legends spectators were banned from attending live games since the COVID outbreak began. But after a long period, which started in early 2020, the LoL fans could be back in the stands at LoL Park.

Since the ban was first introduced, some fans have been permitted to watch live LoL esports games. But only in a minimal capacity and only in the LCK Summer of the last split.

At the time, a total of only 40 fans were allowed per game. That is due to the strict government regulations, allowing only 10% of the venue’s full capacity to be occupied.

However, things seem to be changing for the better as we enter the 2022 season. This week, LCK secretary-general Lee Jeong-hun stated that the league is considering a live audience for the 2022 LCK Spring season.

As it stands now, there are no official confirmations about the return of the live audience. Nor is it known how many fans will be allowed to attend the games.

But based on the recent reports, there is a high likelihood that the league will open its doors to the public. However, it’s unlikely that the LoL park will allow for fans without limitations.

That is largely due to the COVID-19 rates in South Korea, which reported over 4,400 new cases on Wednesday. So until the situation improves, it’s doubtful that LoL Park will run at its full capacity of 500 people.

The 2022 LCK season is set to start with the LCK 2022 Spring on Wednesday, January 12, with the opening round of games. The spring split will run from January 12 to March 20, with the LCK 2022 Spring Playoffs set for March 23 – April 2.

Entering the LCK 2022 season are a new LoL esports team in Kwangdong Freecs, formerly Afreeca Freecs. The rebranding followed Afreeca Freecs’ partnership with Kwangdong Pharmaceutical on December 20.

Besides Afreeca Freecs’ name change, the LCK 2022 season will feature the same ten esports organizations as the previous year. However, the league will look much different due to many roster changes that happened during the offseason.

The 2020 League of Legends world champions, DWG KIA, enter the new season as the league’s top dogs. Despite making a few roster changes, DWG KIA managed to keep ahold of its star players in Heo “ShowMaker” Su and Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, forming a solid core the Korean esports organization hopes will bring them success.

However, while DWG KIA are the favorites, all the eyes will be on the new-look Gen.G. The Korean powerhouse went through a complete roster overhaul to form what many believe is the new Korean LoL superteam.

With the addition of Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joo, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, and Son “Lehends” Si-woo, Gen.G formed one of the strongest lineups the organization has ever had. And while we can be certain that Gen.G will give DWG KIA a run for their money, it remains to be seen whether they’ll live up to the expectations.

The third and only remaining team that can be considered a threat to the LCK title is the three-time world champions T1. However, unlike its LCK rivals, T1 did not change its LoL esports roster.

Whether that was the right call remains to be seen, but we should get a better idea of what T1 are capable of in a few weeks.

As for the remaining LCK squads, none are expected to compete for the title. Still, we shouldn’t ignore teams such as Nongshim RedForce and Kwangdong Freecs, who enter the 2022 season as live dark horses to cause some problems.