Summoning Insight

This week marks Faker's 10th anniversary as a professional player, with Monte reminiscing about casting his debut game and Thorin contextualizing his career in the context of the greater esports ecosystem. The discussion turns to GenG's surprising victory over T1 and how Chovy's squad was able to conquer their rivals to win back-to-back titles. Cloud9 wins as expected in LCS, but how much did FlyQuest underperform compared to Golden Guardians' overperformance to make the finals? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CLG gets sold and TSM is on the auction block: is this the true start of esports winter and what does it mean for the LCS and the broader industry? T1 defeats GenG to set up a titillating match between GenG and KT, which is the true gift of LCK's first double-elimination playoffs. The discussion continues around the LCS playoffs and the surprising upset of Evil Geniuses by Golden Guardians, as well as FlyQuest's chances in a rematch against Cloud9. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan "Aux" Harrison, LCK analyst, joins the show this week to discuss his recent move to Korea and the exciting start to the playoffs, including the thrilling duel between T1 and KT. They preview each of the remaining teams, focusing on the promising performance of rookie ADC Peyz and the rest of GenG while also lamenting the early exit of Dplus KIA. After a chat about LCS playoffs and the resurgence of Evil Geniuses, attention turns to the surprising Spring Split performance of BDS and Astralis who enter the group stage as the top two seeds. Can either team be relied upon to raise Europe's Spring Split trophy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LCS playoffs are looming, but first an MVP must be crowned and the decision is a difficult one: should it be Berserker or Prince? 100 Thieves are ramping up before playoffs, but their specific playstyle causes concerns when they have to play FlyQuest in the first round. Excel finally announce that they will swap Vetheo for Abbedagge, but it might be too late to save their Spring Split already. The surprising issues with KOI are dissected, while Fnatic and G2 close the LEC conversation. Finally, T1's historic dominance with their current roster, which has gone 50-4 in bo3's since the start of 2022, is put in context. Is this version of T1 the best LoL team of all-time? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The LEC ramps back up with the start of the Spring Split, but fnatic somehow looks even worse than before! Thorin and MonteCristo discuss the cascading series of decisions about fnatic's roster that led them to this moment and the little hope the team should have moving forward in 2023. KT Rolster has dramatically improved over the past couple of weeks by adding more pick compositions and stellar performances from Bdd. Over in the LPL, LNG have proved they should be considered among the world's best while questions begin to arise for Top Esports due to their recent losses. The upcoming LCK and LPL playoffs are previewed with an overview of which teams our hosts want to see attending MSI in May. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New information on the Danny situation with EG emerges and Thorin and Monte add their final thoughts to the situation until Riot makes further announcements. The LCS continues with C9 and FlyQuest convincingly leading the league, while 100 Thieves struggles to find an identity. Dplus KIA rises through the ranks in Korea as KT has a bounce-back week, but T1 continues to dominate the world meta and the eye-test. Over in LPL, EDG and LNG appear to be shocking upstarts among the super teams of JDG, TOP,  and WBG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summoning Insight kicks off with discussing the complex issue surrounding Danny's treatment on EG and the possible unethical actions of team management in handling him as a player. The news of Upset to Vitality breaks as the show is happening, so Monte and Thorin discuss if this is finally the roster move that sends Vitality to the top. They recap G2's dominant victory in the LEC Winter Split and then discuss the recent results from the best teams in the LPL and LCK, including JDG, TOP, T1, and GenG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The LEC playoffs begin with G2's victory victory over KOI, which Monte argues was more one-sided than many believe. Vitality's elimination receives further scrutiny, with discussion focusing on whether or not the bot lane of Neon and Kaiser needs to be changed before the LEC Spring Split. A quick chat about the LPL's best teams such as JDG and TOP moves into conversation about the issues with Dplus KIA and the big match between T1 and GenG. Monte and Thorin finish the show with a conversation on LCS, particularly focusing on Team Liquid and their struggles with their Korean-speaking roster before moving onto Discord questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first weekend of the LEC Winter Split groups is complete, with G2 moving on to the playoff bracket and Vitality unexpectedly upset by KOI. The European LoL discussion focuses around each of the remaining teams and the overall strength of the region alongside the options that Excel have as they await their next shot in the Spring split. The conversation turns to Asia as Thorin and Monte highlight the strengths and weaknesses of some of the world's best teams: T1, GenG, JDG, Top, and Weibo. How did KT pull off the upset against GenG this week and will Dplus return to their early split dominance? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris "PapaSmithy" Smith, President of FlyQuest, joins the show to discuss his new role with the team, the process of building the LCS roster, the organization's plans for content, and the team's hot start to the Spring Split. Monte and Thorin dive into the drama with the LCS's segment on TSM vs 100 Thieves, the production's responsibility for the tone of the segment, DoubleLift and Leena's inappropriate responses to LeTigress, and more. They also chat about the current state of the LCK and whether too many control wards are being purchased by professional players. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices