LCK 2026 Regular Season Day Two: Another Day of Surprises and Comfortable Victories
After a four-game opening day of the LCK, fans hoped for a longer series. Dplus Kia Versus Nongshim Redforce and KRX Versus DN SOOPers promised more. However, that was not the case. Both series ended with 2-0 victories. NS stunned DK to dominate the series, while DNS punished an uncoordinated KRX. KRX had leads, but never capitalized on them in a significant way.
Dplus KIA Versus Nongshim Redforce
Game One – NS Struggles to Close Out
NS stormed to early leads in every lane. The Varus, Anivia lane dominated, leading by 2k gold and over 50 cs when the laning phase ended. Many expected them to close out the game. However, the mid-to-late game was shaky. They gave DK numerous shutdowns, and teamfights were close. Eventually, ShowMaker overplayed, and NS punished him to win game one.
Game Two – Playing Through Mid For Victory
Sponge and Lehends’ priority was on getting Scout ahead in the early game. The priority paid off as he carried the second game of the series. At no point did it seem like DK had a chance. They tried to send a play at Scout in the sidelane. However, he outplayed them and killed Smash before they could even touch him.
Champions Played
Dplus KIA
- Siwoo – Renekton, Jayce
- Lucid – Xin Zhao, Ambessa
- ShowMaker – Azir, Ryze
- Smash – Sivir, Corki
- Career – Alistar, Leona
Nongshim Redforce
- Kingen – Gnar, K’Sante
- Sponge – Vi, Jarvan IV
- Scout – LeBlanc, Orianna
- Taeyoon – Varus, Yunara
- Lehends – Anivia, Nautilus
KRX Versus DN SOOPers
Game One – A Game of Tennis
DuDu wins in isolation against Rich. That leaves KRX in a tricky situation, having their pushing lane lose. However, KRX crushes the next couple of teamfights to build a gold lead. DNS still has their Hextech Soul win condition. They win the pivotal fight over the Soul to win the game. Clozer carries the fight on Yone to ensure that DNS gets the objective and pushes for the end.
Game Two – Early Game Dominance Turns Sour
Andil helped Rich even out DuDu’s lane advantage with two ganks. That was short-lived as KRX’s gold lead evaporated in the blink of an eye. Every teamfight went in DNS’s favor, led by Pyosik’s Naafiri. He ended the game deathless with ten kills and six assists. Of those ten kills, four of them happened in one fight. It is the second time this year in the LCK that Pyosik has carried a game against KRX on Naafiri.
Champions Played
KRX
- Rich – Jayce, Gnar
- Willer – Xin Zhao, Ambessa
- Ucal – Azir, Ryze
- Jiwoo – Yunara, Varus
- Andil – Nautilus, Anivia
DN SOOPers
- DuDu – Yorick, Sylas
- Pyosik – Jarvan IV, Naafiri
- Clozer – Yone, Cassiopeia
- deokdam – Ziggs, Sivir
- Peter – Sivir, Bard
Dplus KIA Not Showing Up
DK is another team that has fallen victim to draft disadvantages. The only time they have outdrafted a team was during the LCK Cup, against T1. Much like the World Champions, they fell behind in the draft for their opening series. They went behind early in both games. They had recovery moments in the first game, but that was where it ended. Scout had his best performance since returning to Korea this year. DK will need to focus more on playing through ShowMaker to set up their success.
KRX Could Not Convert
At points in both games, KRX had advantages. The first game lead was because of DNS’s mistakes. Willer got Rich ahead with repeated ganks on DuDu. Pyosik took over game two with a dominant Naafiri performance. The series today was reminiscent of both teams’ LCK Cup. KRX could not convert leads, while DNs were inconsistent. They can not afford to give up another lead, as they did in the first game. Without Jiwoo’s mistake, they might have lost game one.
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We will cover all the LCK Regular Season, with daily summaries and weekly previews/reviews.
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