The LCK EWC qualifiers concluded after a week of play, determining the two participating teams. T1 swept DK in the winners' bracket final to claim their place. DK then fell to the losers' bracket, where they encountered HLE, a team with overall superior strength compared to T1. The match was a foregone conclusion before it even began. DK's performance fluctuated, while HLE maintained consistent dominance. The contest was wrapped up in just three games.

DK's mid laner, ShowMaker, was thoroughly outplayed by Zeka. In the first game, Viktor versus Orianna—both farming mages—ShowMaker trailed in CS during the laning phase. His teammates fed him a few kills, but he either wandered into danger or failed to flash and died in team fights. After nearly 30 minutes, DK's base was destroyed. Zeka's Orianna was impeccable, giving no openings, finishing with a 1-0-11 KDA.

In the second game, ShowMaker continued to struggle. Anivia versus Ryze: within three minutes, Zeka killed him solo right in front of the jungler. A subsequent gank led to another death for ShowMaker. However, DK's bot lane gained an advantage, with the jungler ganking three times to feed kills to the AD carry. With a 3-1 start, Aria should have been able to carry, but the top and mid lanes fed two monsters. Zeus' Jayce was too much for DK to handle.

After securing match point, Zeka saw how weak his opponent was. When ShowMaker picked Twisted Fate, Zeka locked in Fizz as a direct counter. As it turned out, Zeka's intuition was correct. Under a four-man tower dive, ShowMaker, right in front of the enemy, tossed a gold card to a minion. The warning was ignored, and the enemy charged in to kill him. ShowMaker ended the game with a 3-7-4 record.

With the mid lane consistently falling behind in CS and performing worse in team fights, Zeka claimed the series MVP for the BO5 with a combined 15-3-33 KDA. Against T1, ShowMaker was outclassed by Faker for MVP; against Zeka, the same happened. Is ShowMaker truly struggling? Thankfully, HLE and DK only played three games. If DK had won even one, Zeka might have pulled out champions like Yasuo just for fun.

Although ShowMaker is underperforming, the LCK made the right call to select Zeka for the Asian Games. His current form is nearing its peak. Against any opponent, he gains an advantage in the mid lane. As long as the team isn't in an insurmountable deficit, Zeka can carry. He now feels reminiscent of the "Chovy of the league" from a couple of years ago. Crucially, his form has remained stable all year without fluctuations.

Losing to T1 gave away one ticket, losing to HLE gave away another. ShowMaker has handed out two spots in these qualifiers—truly the "ticket-selling king." However, DK hasn't lost all hope. As long as KT doesn't win the championship, DK can still make it to the Petroleum Cup. The LCK has four slots this year: last year's EWC champion GEN is directly invited, T1 and HLE qualified through the qualifiers, and the final slot goes to the winner of the second split.

If any of the three teams already qualified for EWC wins the championship, DK will also go to the Petroleum Cup. Alternatively, if DK themselves win, they will go as well. Overall, DK's probability of attending the Petroleum Cup exceeds 80%. The only complication is if KT suddenly catches fire in the playoffs and defeats teams like HLE, GEN, and T1 to claim the title. Given KT's current form, winning the championship is extremely difficult—it's hard to get past GEN, T1, and HLE.

Conclusion:

Could it be that ShowMaker already calculated he could coast into the Petroleum Cup? Perhaps he deliberately played poorly in these two BO5s, planning to catch KT off guard in the playoffs? Of course, that's just a joke. ShowMaker's current form is genuinely poor. He wants to carry but lacks the strength to do so.

So, what do you think—does KT have what it takes to win the championship?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!