South Korea's LCK Summer is on the home stretch with the final week of the regular season underway.
Six teams - Gen.G, T1, Liiv SANDBOX, DWG KIA, KT Rolster and DRX - have secured their playoff spots and the remaining matches in week nine are either just formalities or an opportunity to climb the standings and gain confidence before the beginning of the playoffs on Wednesday 17th August.
The first match of week nine in the LCK Summer pitted Gen.G, who are top of the standings, against already-eliminated Fredit BRION and the match went as expected with Gen.G running out 2-0 winners.
However, the second match of day one between Liiv SANDBOX and juggernauts T1 provided a shock as SANDBOX not only won but prevailed by a 2-0 scoreline, providing spectators with hope that the final week of the regular season can still provide a few twists and turns.
Friday is the third day of week nine and features a lower-echelon battle between Nongshim RedForce and Hanwha Life Esports as well as a tussle between Fredit BRION and Liiv SANDBOX.
What | Nongshim RedForce v Hanwha Life Esports, LCK Summer 2022 |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 05.00, Friday August 12th, 2022 |
How to watch | LCK Global Youtube channel / Twitch |
| Odds | Nongshim RedForce -225, Hanwha Life Esports +163 |
Eliminated pair could be tough to separate
It has once again been a pretty underwhelming split for both Nongshim RedForce and Hanwha Life Esports, who clash in a dead-rubber match on Friday.
Back in the LCK Spring earlier this year, Hanwha Life Esports finished rock bottom of the regular season standings with Nongshim RedForce only a couple of places above them and still out of contention for the playoffs.
The situation in the LCK Summer is pretty much identical with neither side readying themselves for the playoffs and this match is a mere formality.
That said, both of these sides have put up some resistance in recent matches with Nongshim RedForce winning maps in four of their last five matches against the likes of T1 and Liiv SANDBOX.
As for Hanwha Life Esports, they may have lost 2-0 to T1 in week eight but that was the only one of their last four matches in which they did not pick up a map.
Although there is nothing to play for in this contest, neither side will want to be overpowered by another side missing out on the playoffs and over 2.5 maps looks a decent bet at -100.
What | Fredit BRION v Liiv SANDBOX, LCK Summer 2022 |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 08:00, Friday August 12th, 2022 |
How to watch | LCK Global Youtube channel / Twitch |
| Odds | Fredit BRION +300, Liiv SANDBOX -450 |
Liiv SANDBOX can maintain winning run ahead of playoffs
Friday's clash with Fredit BRION will be Liiv SANDBOX's last regular season match in the LCK Summer 2022 and they can maintain their strong run of form ahead of the playoffs.
SANDBOX are hitting form at the perfect time in the summer split with four consecutive victories under their belt, the latest of which came against highflyers T1.
Liiv SANDBOX recorded a stunning 2-0 win over T1 in their first match of week nine, taking their record to 12-5 in the LCK Summer and boosting their confidence ahead of the playoffs.
They won key teamfights on map one in that contest and established a significant gold lead before securing important objectives on map two to round off a shock win.
SANDBOX bot laner Lee "Prince" Chae-hwan, who is among the leaders in the race for the title of MVP, was once again instrumental with a kill-death-assist ratio of 14-0-3, and his side could be far too strong for Fredit BRION.
BRION, who are +300 to win this game, can no longer reach the LCK Summer playoffs and are simply playing for pride at this stage.
They have lost 14 of their 17 matches in the split with their most recent defeat coming against Gen.G Esports at the start of this week, demonstrating that nothing has changed even though the pressure is off them.
SANDBOX can justify their -450 price to win this match but the best betting angle could be to back them at -1.5 on the match handicap at -120 in their last game of the regular season.
