These are some teams you'll have to keep an eye on!
LoL Teams to Watch in 2023
The 2023 League of Legends season is upon us. Teams are finalizing their rosters for the upcoming professional season and some unexpected players have moved regions or gone on to brand-new teams. Off-season is always a wild ride, but this year it seems crazier than before.
So, after all the roster moves, which teams look the most exciting and should you keep your eyes on? Let's go over the teams we think will be the most exciting come 2023.
The League of Legends Teams to Watch in the 2023 Season
4. Team Liquid - LCS
Team Liquid has made some pretty interesting changes this off-season. After their attempt at a Eurpean 'super team' failed with players like Bjergsen and Hans Sama, they've decided to mix it up with veteran top laner Summit, as well as CoreJJ as the cornerstones of the team. They brought in young players for the mid lane and bot lane, while also signing a World Champion for the jungle.
Overall, Team Liquid looks like an incredible team for the 2023 season. It will also be the first time that former World Champion and SKT T1 top laner Marin will be in the head coaching position, so it'll be interesting to see how he fares as a first-time coach in the LCS.
Team Liquid has a good mix of veteran voices and young players. Sean "Yeon" Sung, the bot laner, has been a part of the TL ecosystem since 2020, playing on the Academy team for two years before getting called up this year. He will already have some synergy with mid laner Harry "Haeri" Kang who had also spent time on TL Academy before getting the call-up.
3. JD Gaming - LPL
JD Gaming had an incredible 2022. They earned their spot as the number one seed of the LPL at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, though they just fell short during the tournament. Ahead of the 2023 season the team has stocked up in hopes of becoming the third Chinese team to earn a World Championship trophy.
The team will keep their star top laner 369, as well as jungler Kanavi on the squad, but have upgraded the mid lane with former Top Esports mid laner Zhuo "Knight" Ding. Knight has shown great skill throughout his time as the mid laner.
The biggest change for JD Gaming in the 2023 offseason was the acquisition of none other than Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk who had spent his entire career up to this point in the LCK with Gen.G (previously Samsung/KSV). Ruler is one of the most famous bot laners of the LCK, so fans will have to wait and see how the LPL playstyle will affect him in the 2023 season.
2. Team Vitality - LEC
Vitality was a team everyone had high hopes for starting in 2022. Perkz back in Europe, Carzzy in the bot lane, as well as Alphari in the top lane. It looked like an insane roster, but the French orgs dreams quickly shattered and the squad didn't even qualify for the 2022 LEC Summer playoffs.
So, the team went back to the drawing board for the 2023 season, signing a young Korean top laner Kyeong "Photon" Gyu-tae who had previously played on T1's Challenger roster, as well as call up the number one EUW solo queue player Zhou "Bo" Yang-Bo for their jungle woes.
Team Vitality still looks extremely strong on paper. Former MAD Lions support Kaiser has also signed with the team to play alongside Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík who made a name for himself with Misfits in 2022. This roster has experience, as well as young talent that, if they manage to communicate well, can take the LEC title this year.
1. T1 - LCK
This one might be cheating since T1 didn't make any roster moves this year, but after having become the most watched esports team of 2022 it is hard to count this team out for the 2023 season either. Faker signed a new 3-year contract with the team and the rest of the players will still be a part of T1 for another year.
T1 was a very exciting team to watch in 2022 and that won't change in 2023 either. With one of the best support players calling the shots in the bot lane, along with an insane rookie top laner, this team had everything. Any lane could carry and make up for the weaker side which made T1 games fun and added diversity for viewers.
T1 had a year of consistent second place finishes, which will make fans watch this year, whether these experiences have helped the young team move on to finally win something other than LCK Spring. Keep your eyes on T1 this year in the LCK, especially when they face off against the newly built Hanwha Life Esports squad.