The LOL national team controversy has reignited! Faker's triple-championship teammate is overlooked, and LCK's inexplicable confidence draws criticism

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Yesterday, the ENC National Cup unveiled the participating national teams' rosters, which naturally included the closely watched Chinese and Korean squads. China sent a seven-player list, while South Korea only had six.

Controversy arose shortly after the roster reveal, with Oner's omission from the Korean team becoming the hottest topic of discussion.

National team controversy resurfaces: Oner undervalued

Team China's lineup is undoubtedly well-balanced. Due to ENC rules allowing a maximum of three players per club on the national team, Xun was left out after careful consideration—a reasonable decision. If Xun could have joined, this would have been the ideal national team in everyone's eyes.

However, the Korean side directly reused the six-player roster from the Asian Games without any changes.

The Asian Games national team already stirred significant debate. Canyon being the sole jungler was seen as a result of LCK clubs dividing the "spoils." Since China did not participate, South Korea was virtually guaranteed the gold medal, leading to this situation.

Now, for the National Cup, the LCK has stubbornly stuck with the same lineup, effectively reducing South Korea's chances of winning. What's even more baffling is that the ENC allows teams to bring seven players, yet the LCK refused to add an extra one. This leaves fans bewildered: why is Oner so unappreciated?

After all, if the Korean team had included Oner, the ZOFGK roster could have reunited for the National Cup. Yet the LCK officials simply chose to leave him out.

National team disagreement: the reasons behind it revealed

It's also worth mentioning the earlier rift between the LCK and ENC officials. At one point, the LCK even declared they would not participate in the National Cup. The ENC then tried to contact the clubs directly but failed. Ultimately, both sides reached an agreement, with the ENC accepting the LCK's selection plan.

Back then, most fans sided with the LCK, arguing that the ENC, as the organizer, had no right to demand which players the LCK must send—each regional league should decide its own national team roster.

But now, the LCK officials seem to be the more questionable party. The Asian Games lineup was already questionable, yet they doubled down for the National Cup, again excluding Oner. Meanwhile, the ENC's idea of bringing the ZOFGK group together was clearly a better option—having an extra player would have maximized South Korea's strength.

The likely reason behind this is still the power struggle among clubs. Let's analyze South Korea's roster: Zeus, Canyon, Zeka, Faker, Gumayusi, and Keria. Three of them are from HLE, two from T1, and only one from GEN.

The GEN manager has repeatedly argued for Kiin's inclusion. With only one player selected, they insisted on Canyon as the sole starting jungler and refused to accept a substitute.

If they lose the championship, the public backlash will be explosive

Chovy's absence from the national team was actually meant to give his GEN teammates an opportunity. GEN only secured one spot for Canyon, which was already frustrating for them. If another player were to be added, GEN would not accept Oner but would rather see a GEN player like Kiin, whom the manager has been pushing for.

Thus, for the National Cup, the LCK might have chosen simply not to add anyone. This is one theory about why Oner was left out.

Another speculation is that T1 may not want the ZOFGK roster to compete together as a unit again. While this is possible, there's no clear reason why T1 would prevent their own players from participating—it certainly seems unfair to Oner.

In short, Oner's exclusion from the national team is difficult to justify from any perspective. Personally, I think the LCK will have to hope that their chosen lineup wins the championship; otherwise, they will face severe public backlash.

Because if they lose to Team China or another team in the National Cup, the value of their Asian Games gold medal will be significantly diminished.