The first round-robin of this year's LCK Spring is behind us with week six and the second half of the split now well underway.
South Korea's LCK is home to some of the biggest teams in the world of League of Legends from T1 to Gen.G Esports and the first split of the season has not disappointed.
There are currently 10 teams competing in the LCK Spring 2023 regular season with the top six set to advance to the playoffs, which commence later next month.
And as it stands, it is becoming clear which teams will be on their way to the playoffs and which are just making up the numbers with T1 flying high and Nongshim RedForce having picked up one win in 11 matches.
At the end of the playoffs, the top two teams from the LCK Spring will secure qualification for the Mid-Season Invitational 2023 - one of the most prestigious international events on the League of Legends calendar.
There are two more matches taking place in the LCK Spring on Friday with Gen.G first up against defending world champions DRX before Kwangdong Freecs clash with highflyers Dplus KIA.
Gen.G Esports benefiting from strong performances from "Peyz"
| What | Gen.G v DRX |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 08:00, Friday 24th February 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365's Sports Live Streaming / LCK Twitch / Youtube |
| Odds | Gen.G 1/8, DRX 9/2 |
Last year Gen.G Esports were a force to be reckoned with in both the LCK Spring and the LCK Summer.
In the Spring, they finished second to T1 in the regular season and finished runners-up in the playoffs, while in the summer they went one better, topping the regular-season standings and beating T1 3-0 in the final of the playoffs.
Anything but a title triumph in this year's LCK Spring would surely be considered a misfire and they acted by enhancing their roster during the offseason with changes to their bot laner and support player.
Bot laner Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan, who is only 17, has been sensational. At the halfway point in the LCK Spring, "Peyz" had recorded 94 kills across 19 games - more than any other player in the split, while he also had the second-highest KDA of any player in the LCK.
Those numbers are seriously impressive for a rookie and, interestingly, the only player ahead of him in the KDA standings is Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong, his team-mate and fellow new signing at Gen.G Esports.
That in itself shows how well this team is gelling already this year and they have started the split with eight wins from 11 matches.
At the end of week five, they slipped to a 2-1 defeat against T1 in a blockbuster encounter but that was hardly a disgrace and they picked themselves up with a 2-0 defeat of lowly Nongshim RedForce on Wednesday.
As for their opponents DRX, they deserve respect as world champions but this is not the same roster that romped to the Worlds title last year.
Indeed, DRX saw their best players depart during the offseason and it has shown in their performances with nine defeats from 10 matches.
Gen.G Esports should have few issues in this matchup and are worth a bet to prevail 2-0 at 4/7, while those after better value should consider Gen.G at -9.5 on the first-round kill handicap at 5/6 given the performances of "Peyz" this season.
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Dplus KIA unlikely to falter against Kwangdong Freecs
| What | Kwangdong Freecs v Dplus KIA |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 10:30, Friday 24th February 2023 |
| How to watch | bet365's Sports Live Streaming / LCK Twitch / Youtube |
| Odds | Kwangdong Freecs 11/2, Dplus KIA 1/10 |
The other match taking place in the LCK Spring on Friday looks similarly one-sided with Dplus KIA 1/10 to get the better of 11/2 shots Kwangdong Freecs.
Kwangdong Freecs are seriously struggling in the LCK Spring 2023, having lost eight of their 10 matches so far and they are on a two-game losing sequence.
As fro Dplus KIA, they are going well with a 7-4 win-loss record to their name and, despite having slipped up against Liiv SANDBOX at the end of week five, they got back on track on Wednesday with a fine 2-0 win over KT Rolster.
Dplus KIA are pretty efficient when it comes to seeing off the lesser lights and they can secure a 2-0 win here at 1/2.
