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Esports: LCK Friday match previews

South Korea's LCK Spring 2023 is approaching the halfway point in the regular season with Week Five already underway.

The nation's elite League of Legends division is in full swing for another Spring Split, with ten teams battling it out for a place in the top six and, subsequently, the LCK Spring playoffs.

At the end of the playoffs, the LCK Spring champions and runners-up will both automatically qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational - one of the most prestigious events on the League of Legends calendar.

It is an important year for the LCK division with the end-of-season World Championship set to take place in Seoul in South Korea and none of the division's big hitters will want to miss out.

On Friday, there are two more matches in the LCK Spring regular season, with big guns T1 firstly taking on a tricky Liiv SANDBOX side before Hanwha Life Esports look to maintain their good form against strugglers DRX.

High-flying pair can put on a show

WhatT1 vs Liiv SANDBOX
WhereSouth Korea
When3am ET, Friday February 17th 2023
How to watchLCK Twitch & Youtube channels
OddsT1 -450, Liiv SANDBOX +300

Since their shock defeat to Hanwha Life Esports in week three, South Korean juggernauts T1 have stabilised in the LCK Spring Split, having bounced back with wins over Nongshim RedForce, BRION and DRX.

That has put the team back on top of the LCK Spring Split standings with a 7-1 win-loss record and they are still the team to beat in South Korea.

T1 have once again impressed with their understanding of the meta, especially in the bot lane, while support player Ryu "Keria" Min-seok has been particularly influential with an 81 percentage for kills across 20 games played.

T1 fell at the final hurdles in both the LCK Summer 2022 and last year's League of Legends World Championship but they are usually a pretty reliable bet during the regular season and it is easy to see why they are 2/9 to win this one.

That said, Liiv SANDBOX are going well too with a 6-2 win-loss record and they won both of their matches in week four against Kwangdong Freecs and DRX.

It would be a bold move to put them up as a win given T1 seem to have their mojo back now but that does not mean it will not be competitive and over 2.5 maps is appealing at +125.

T1 have slipped up against Hanwha Life Esports already and have dropped five maps in the LCK Spring Split, so they are by no means impenetrable.

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Esports: Weekly preview

Hanwha Life Esports can heap misery on DRX

WhatHanwha Life Esports vs DRX
WhereSouth Korea
When05:30am ET, Friday February 17th 2023
How to watchLCK Twitch & Youtube channels
OddsHanwha Life Esports -275, DRX +200

Things are not going to plan for defending world champions DRX, who are on course to miss out on a place in the playoffs at this year's LCK Spring Split.

DRX defied expectations to take the Summoner's Cup in 2022 but their roster was ripped apart during the offseason and that is showing in their performances at the moment.

They are languishing in the lower echelons of the LCK Spring Split with a 1-8 win-loss record and they are on a five-match losing streak heading into their next clash with Hanwha Life Esports.

These sides met as recently as week three with Hanwha Life Esports coming out on top 2-1 on that occasion.

Indeed, while DRX continue to struggle, Hanwha Life Esports have turned their season around, putting their tough start to the season behind them.

In weeks one and two, Hanwha Life Esports had lost three of their four matches as they still adjusted to some major roster changes.

But in week three, they managed to beat both T1 and defending world champions DRX before also beating BRION in week four.

Their last week ended with defeat to Dplus KIA but they have generally looked back on the right tracks and are a decent bet to win this one against a deflated DRX.

There is not a lot of value in backing them at -275, though, and given that DRX have won six maps in nine matches this season, a bet on a 2-1 win for Hanwha Life Esports at +210 could be the way to go.

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