The 2023 season of League of Legends featured plenty of great storylines throughout the year.
This year has brought plenty of drama and excitement to League of Legends and with the new year on the horizon, we take a look back at some of the most enthralling storylines this season had to offer. And as expected, South Koreans fans would be the happiest of them all as another LCK team ensured that the Summoner's Cup stays with them for a second year in a row. Many bore witness to T1's remarkable run at Worlds 2023, which will be one of the main talking points later on.
There was plenty of drama as well throughout the year that included the tension between developers, Riot Games and one of its franchises, the LCS. More specifically, the players and what they had to go through. North America as a whole took up plenty of headlines that also included the departure of one of the league's most prominent teams, TSM. The LEC also had its fair share of newsworthy topics, one of which involved the region's most historic midlaner and a change of scenery.
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Overall, the 2023 season featured plenty of highs, lows, and in-betweens. The 2024 season is just days away with plenty to look forward to. But for now, we take a look back at what this year brought to the table.
Close, but no cigar for China
This was seen as China and the LPL's year as JD Gaming was consistently dominant throughout the year. They won both the Spring and Summer splits to be the undisputed champions of China as well as the Mid-Season Invitational in an all-LPL grand final. The script was already written for both JDG and the LPL, especially since Worlds 2023 was held in Seoul, South Korea. The first time an LPL team lifted the Summoner's Cup was in 2018, which also took place in Seoul.
JDG could have completed the fabled Golden Road, having won three out of the four major Riot-sanctioned tournaments in a calendar year. And they came close as well, having topped the Swiss stage of Worlds 2023 and being one of two teams to qualify for the knockout bracket first. They proceeded to dismantle KT Rolster in four games to set up a semi-final clash against another LCK team in T1. This was a rematch in both orgs' eyes; JDG eliminated T1 from MSI to go on and lift the title whereas T1 eliminated JDG from Worlds last year in the semi-finals.
And much like the 2022 season, T1 took down JDG in four games in the semi-finals and booked its second Worlds grand final in a row. From there, the LPL's hopes and dreams rested on the shoulders of Weibo Gaming, who was the final team from China to stand in T1's way. This was also another branch of the LPL storyline of repeating its feat of 2018 as Weibo had two players who win that year. Unfortunately, it would not be the case as T1 could not be denied its fourth world title.
T1 stands above all
Not many could have called T1 winning Worlds 2023 in the grand scheme of things during the season, let alone taking out all the LPL teams in its way in the process. But against all the odds stacked against them, T1 emerged as four-time world champions with no other org being able to replicate such a feat in professional League of Legends thus far. The 2023 season has been full of close calls for T1, who came in second in both the Spring and Summer Splits as well as a third-place finish at MSI.
T1 also came off a heartbreaking grand final loss at Worlds 2022 to DRX and were one of the very few teams to stick with the same roster for this season. But despite its decent start, T1 were not even the best team in the LCK; that was reserved for Gen.G who were the undisputed champions of Korea having won both splits in a single season. To make matters worse, T1's star midlaner Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee missed most of the Summer split regular season through injury.
Given the inconsistent nature of T1 over the course of the season, the likelihood of them winning a fourth world title was more than a hard task, but not impossible. Even during Worlds 2023, T1 dropped just one game during the Swiss stage and that was against Gen.G. During the knockout phase, T1 also dropped just one match and that was against JDG. When it comes to being clinical in the most clutch moments, fans can rest easy knowing T1 rarely ever drops the ball.
The LCS have just 8
Much like many other years, the LCS have had an underwhelming time on the international stage as the region failed to once again make its mark in the world. North America have long been the home of some of the greatest organisations in esports over the last decade but since then, it has been on a slow but never-ending decline. NRG was the only team from the LCS to make it into the final eight for the knockout phase, who then went on to lose 3-0 to Weibo. And given that NRG had just returned to the LCS this year that also included the roster making its Worlds debut, a top-eight finish isn't all that bad.
But to make matters worse for North America as a whole, it lost two all-important orgs to the LCS in the form of Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians as well as TSM, which they announced a while back. While GG had only been in the LCS for six years, the loss of TSM will have a major factor given that it's one of the region's biggest and most recognisable brands. The seven-time LCS champion already announced its eventual departure earlier this year with hopes of opening up shop in a different region in the near future. Even with the introduction of Shopify Rebellion to the LCS wasn't enough to tide things over.
- Read More: The Drama between Riot Games and the LCSPA
Aside from having storied organisations leaving the franchise, the LCS also had to deal with plenty of drama throughout the course of the season, particularly right before the start of the Summer split. This involved both Riot and the players' association of the LCS who were fighting to keep the North America Challengers League alive after Riot allowed organisations to forego their obligations towards their Challengers squads.
EU could make a big splash in 2024
For a region that boast plenty of talent and pedigree, the LEC could not get things going on an international level this season. The EU region had no teams make it to the knockout phase of Worlds 2023 despite having four orgs in the Swiss stage. Unfortunately, the likes of Fnatic and G2 Esports came the closest, playing all five series but falling short at the end. MAD Lions could only get one win on the board before getting eliminated. Even Team BDS, who battled through the Play-In Stage, could not get it done as they lost all three of its games in the Swiss stage.
G2 was seen as the LEC's best hope at the world championship but even the mightiest could not stand against the best that the LPL and LCK had to offer. This was despite G2 being the LEC's best team with two of three regional split victories in the Winter and Summer. G2 even took home the LEC Season Finals trophy to further solidify its stance as the EU's best team; sadly, the same couldn't be said for its international performances with a top-six finish at MSI and a 9th-11th place exit at Worlds. To make matters worse for G2, both were at the hands of Bilibili Gaming. You can just smell the script being written for next season.
But not all hope is lost for the LEC as it has welcomed three new orgs to the franchise league with one of it being Karmine Corp. The cult-like following of the French esports org will bring a whole new dimension of fan experience given the level of passion its army of supporters holds. KC will make its LEC debut in the upcoming Winter Split in a few weeks time alongside Rogue, who will be making its return to the fold as well as GIANTX, a brand-new org that was the by-product of a merger between two other teams.
