The League of Legend regional seasons are back and there will be plenty of eyes on the LCK, which produced three of the four semi-finalists at last year's World Championship.
Week one has already concluded in the LCK Spring 2023 and week two has just begun with two more intriguing matches to enjoy on Thursday.
The day's action features two of the division's big guns in Gen.G Esports and T1, who are taking on BRION and Kwangdong Freecs respectively.
The LCK Spring 2023 runs through to March with the top two teams from the eventual playoffs set to progress to the Mid-Season Invitational.
Gen.G can get back on track against BRION
| What | Gen.G vs BRION |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 03.00, Thursday 26th January 2023 |
| How to watch | LCK Twitch channel |
| Odds | Gen.G -600, BRION +350 |
Gen.G Esports were one of the fiercest teams on the LCK circuit last year but there have been early signs of vulnerability from them in the LCK Spring 2023.
Last season, Gen.G finished second in the regular-season standings of the LCK Spring and were runners-up to T1 in the playoffs.
But they went up another gear in the LCK Summer, topping the regular-season charts with an eye-watering 17-1 win-loss record before sinking T1 3-0 in the final of the playoffs.
Going into the League of Legends World Championship, they were consequently among the favourites to lift the Summoner's Cup but fell short, sustaining a shock defeat to eventual champions DRX in the semi-finals.
It was a pretty positive season for Gen.G but expectations have rightfully been tempered coming into the new campaign.
The team have had to deal with two major roster changes during the off-season with Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk moving across to JD Gaming and Son "Lehends" Si-woo transferring to KT Rolster.
Their replacements for those outgoings - one of which is 17-year-old Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan - could go either way but the start from Gen.G to the LCK Spring 2023 suggests they may not be as dominant as last season.
In week one, they were dealt two tough games, losing 2-0 to T1 initially before winning by the same scoreline against Worlds winners DRX.
As for BRION, they won both of their matches against Nongshim RedForce and Kwangdong Freecs, although Gen.G will represent a major step-up in quality from both of those sides.
Gen.G might still have to work out a bit about their roster composition and could come unstuck against the big guns but this is still a match they can win and a 2-0 success is worth backing at -137.
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T1's time to shine in the LCK Spring
| What | T1 vs Kwangdong Freecs |
| Where | South Korea |
| When | 05.30, Thursday 26th January 2023 |
| How to watch | LCK Twitch channel / bet365 Live Streaming |
| Odds | T1 -1600, Kwangdong Freecs +700 |
This looks set to be a very one-sided affair and it is hard to argue with the prices with T1 about right at -1600 to beat +700 shots Kwangdong Freecs.
T1 are juggernauts not only on the LCK circuit but on the League of Legends circuit as a whole and they have started the LCK Spring 2023 with wins over Gen.G (2-0) and KT Rolster (2-1).
The not-so-secret weapon of T1 this season is the consistency of their roster.
They were the only LCK side to not change any member of their roster during the off-season with the organisation's CEO insisting they have a Worlds-winning combination at their disposal and it is hard to dispute that.
T1 may not have won Worlds in 2022 but they were by far and away the best team in the LCK Spring last year, finished as runners-up at the Mid-Season Invitational and then finished as runners-up to Gen.G in the LCK Summer.
In Worlds, they once again had to settle for second spot, losing to DRX in the final, but their consistency throughout the course of the season was scary and they are a cut above the rest of the pack in the LCK.
With DRX's roster having been decimated, T1 will view this year as their time to shine and they can continue their strong start to the LCK Spring 2023 season with a 2-0 win over Kwangdong Freecs, which is -275.
For more value, punters should look at backing T1 at -9.5 on the kill handicap at -120.
