Summoning Insight

MonteCristo and Thorin discuss Naz Aletaha stepping down as the Global Head of LoL Esports, the business practices and failures of Riot Games in esports, the disastrous LEC Summer Playoffs, the state of top lane globally, updates on Cloud9 in the LCS, results from LCK and LPL, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the new Olympic Esports Games, KC's recent success, the baffling priority on Renekton, previews and predictions for the LEC Playoffs, the latest drama featuring Caedrel, KC fans, and Faker, T1 losing multiple matches, the latest from the LCS and LPL, and more!

Thanks to this episode's sponsors!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss Riot Games subtweeting at us with more misleading information from Chris Greeley's account, IWDominate's treatment by Riot, Viper's strong recent performances, the LPL and LEC Playoffs, rumors of Rogue being bought out by Team Falcons, VALORANT and VCT's impact on LoL esports scheduling, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the Esports World Cup (EWC), why Riot Games lied when they said they weren't involved in the EWC, why there may never be another event called "MSI" in future years, lane swaps in the current League of Legends professional meta, T1 and their performance at the EWC, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss why Riot Games and other game developers ought to be the target of fan frustrations over the Esports World Cup, T1's upset loss to KT, silly Twitter drama involving Dom and Jankos, the longest ever series winning streak in pro LoL esports history, why League of Legends may already be in a death spiral, the banger upcoming LPL matches, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss this Gen.G's lineup potential to be the greatest of all time, Chovy's significant role in his team's success, Twitter drama surrounding talent announcements for the Esports World Cup, results from LCS, LEC, and LPL, the fantastic content being made this split for LCS, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the Esports World Cup (EWC) talent tease, Dash turning down invitations to attend EWC, reactions to the LCS Finals taking place at the YouTube Theater, Cloud9's first week of play, LCK week 1, a lack of hype surrounding LEC, praise for the LPL format, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the announcement by Riot Games regarding the potential merger between LCS, CBLOL, and LLA, a brand new annual international LoL esports event, reactions from Brazilian fans, Team Liquid's ownership's response to criticism of joining the Esports World Cup, the Esports Awards partnering with Saudi Arabia, analysis of LEC and LPL, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss controversy around Faker's Ahri skin for the Hall of Legends, changes coming to the LCS, Fearless Draft in the NACL and LPL, roster moves at Dignitas and Shopify Rebellion, how the Esports World Cup has affected pro teams' marketing exercises during LGBT+ Pride Month, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss MSI 2024, Gen.G and their potential to Golden Road this year, Faker and T1 defeating G2 despite looking shaky, the future of League of Legends, Chovy's status as a bonjwa, Jensen being benched b FlyQuest, Esports World Cup and Riot Games shenanigans, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss MSI 2024, Team Liquid vs Fnatic, the rivalry between NA and EU, Noah's lackluster performance, BLG vs T1, Caps potentially being one of the best mid-laners at MSI, the hype matchup of BLG and GenG + knight vs Chovy, Riot Games's subpar star-building strategy, LS's take on bracket resets, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss MSI 2024, FlyQuest's shocking early exit, leaks for a Faker Ahri skin to go with his induction into the "Hall of Legends," Fnatic, G2, and Team Liquid's chances of winning a match against an LPL or LCK squad, the reveal of "Club Support Program" teams for the Saudi-backed Esports World Cup, a common flaw in LEC broadcast talent, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin are joined by YamatoCannon, Damonte, Memento, and RandomMinionCaster to preview MSI 2024, discuss the goals of FlyQuest at this event, ponder the role that lane swaps will have, roast Doublelift, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the League of Legends regional finals in LCK vs LEC and LCS, more Doublelift drama, why the current broadcast meta may be changing, the economics of professional esports, the Chovy bonjwa debate, the upcoming MSI event, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss why Monte thinks G2's lane swap strategies were leaked, the G2 vs BDS series, Faker's statements regarding the ongoing DDoS attacks on T1, Sjokz stories, controversy regarding Inspired's recent interview with dGon, Korean top laner Thanatos joining Cloud9, the future of Fudge's career, potential changes to the LCS, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics being a part of the Esports World Cup (backed by the government of Saudi Arabia), controversy surrounding a strategic coach before the LCS Finals, why Coach Spawn deserves a lot of the credit for Team Liquid's victory at the LCS Finals, the upcoming banger matches in the LCK Playoffs, G2 looking dominant again in LEC, the ongoing LPL Playoffs, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the LCK All-Pro voting, preview the LCS and LCK Playoffs, Cloud9's disappointing games, KC and Rogue finishing 9th and 10th again in LEC, G2's spot on global power rankings, milkyway continuing to impress, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss Quickshot exiting Riot Games and LEC, Cloud9 returning to form in the LCS Playoffs, HLE defeating T1, results from LEC, Riot's update to the esports franchise model, the VCS match fixing scandal, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the latest drama featuring Doublelift and Dodo, milkyway's continued masterful performance in the LPL, the T1 vs Gen.G match, global power rankings, the start of the LEC split, Smolder in pro play, the latest from the Saudi Esports World Cup, a story about Kameto and KC, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the LCS matches that were played in a smaller, grungier studio, Tyler 1 vs Corejj drama, big roster moves at Heretics, Cloud9's 2-0 weekend, an update on the LCK DDoS saga, milkyway and FPX's plot armor, and more!

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the DDOS attacks on the LCK, T1 and Faker's current dominance over the league, TSM stories involving Bjergsen and Reginald, updates from the LPL, why FPX jungler milkyway is the player to watch this split, LCS Spring Finals once again being placed on Easter Sunday, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the drama involving BDS Adam, Wooloo's decision-making in reporting on certain stories, the LEC Winter Playoffs, T1 fans malding over Monte's power rankings, updates from the LCK, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss LCS viewership and Commissioner MarkZ's recent series of tweets on the topic, G2 once again rising to the top of the LEC power rankings, Hylissang's history of both strong and questionable plays, the strengths of MAD Lions KOI, the levels of play of the LEC and LCS, new information regarding the recent layoffs at Riot Games, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss KC benching Yamato and whether the action was deserved, the Cloud9 losing streak and questionable drafts, problems with the LCS, LEC, LCK, and LPL broadcasts, BDS's and their T1 style of play, Team Heretics' chances to win against SK, KDF's rise in power, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss Riot Games's poor handling of LEC layoffs, Riot's cancelled streaming service, news out of TSM, the end of the split of Karmine Corps, Elyoya's decent performance as captain of Mad Lions KOI, BLG potentially stepping up to be what JDG was last year, Zeka's level of play on HLE, the messy game between CLoud9 and Shopify Rebellion, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss mass layoffs at Riot Games, the joint letter by the LCK teams + Joe Marsh's dissent, Karmine Corp's weak start in the LEC, the LCS's declining viewership, blue side dominance in Asian leagues, and more.

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MonteCristo and Thorin discuss week 1 of the LEC, Ibai and MAD KOI vs Yamato and Karmine Corp, whether MarkZ's ideas can save the LCS, take stock of the LEC rosters, and more.

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Disquieting news settled on the League of Legends esports world this week with new from Jacob Wolf that the Saudi Arabian government would be including League of Legends in their Esports World Cup in July, 2024. MonteCristo and Thorin discuss the history of the Saudi esports initiatives, including this past year's Gamers8 event, and what it means to have Riot approval for competition. Our hosts also unpack the latest LEC talent announcements, the changes to the Worlds seeding and format, the delays in announcing league schedules, and Riot's "Hall of Legends."

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We circle back on some old news that we have yet to discuss: long-time analyst and coach Mark "MarkZ" Zimmerman has been named the new commissioner of the LCS. Thorin and Monte give their takes on the news as well as examining the extent to which he can effect real change in the floundering North American league. Travis Gafford unexpectedly entered the conversation surrounding the commissioner role, which leads to quite a few laughs about the ridiculous situation. T1 fans are also compared to the movie Gremlins, but what else is new?

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Christian "IWillDominate" Rivera joins the Summoning Insight season finale to discuss the greatest teams of all-time in the history of League of Legends. They discuss over a decades' worth of competitive League of Legends to identify and celebrate the best teams in LoL. Our hosts evaluate teams that peaked at an extraordinary level, such as Samsung White and Invictus Gaming, while also examining the teams that almost managed to walk the Golden Road, including JDG, SKT T1, RNG, and G2. Join us to evaluate each teams' unique aspects, strength of individual players, and fierceness of competition they faced to reveal the best of the best!

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After touching on this year's rostermania in the LCK and LEC, this week Thorin and Monte turn their discussions to North America and Europe. With Cloud9's acquisition of Jojopyun, will they be the presumptive title favorites in the LCS? Over in China, Knight has announced his move to BLG, Weiwei signs with LNG, and OMG topside moves to NiP to play alongside Rookie. Riot finally steps in to takeover the LPL English broadcast as well, but it comes at the cost of downsizing the already meager casting crew on the league.

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Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi is back on Summoning Insight to discuss the LEC and LCK rosters for the upcoming 2024 season of League of Legends! They also discuss what he would do in a theoretical universe where he's the head coach of Karmine Corp and his speculations about the team's roster and coaching staff construction. Doublelift announced his retirement (again), so Monte and Thorin discuss what it says about the health of the LCS and the success of his lengthy esports career.

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The 2023 League of Legends World Championship has ended with T1 and Faker's fourth title by beating a lifeless Weibo Gaming. Considering that Zeus, Keria, and Gumayusi are now free agents, what is the legacy of this iteration of T1's roster from their past two years of play together? Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians suddenly exited the LCS, leaving the league with 8 teams for next season. Thorin and Monte discuss the ramifications on the LoL and broader esports ecosystem as a result of these moves, as well as the unfortunate plight of the players promised spots on these rosters. The free agency window officially opened on November 20th, which means it's time to rampantly speculate about the future of the LCK and LPL considering the huge number of elite players not yet contracted for the 2024 season.

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The show begins with reactions to the semi-final matches and an in-depth breakdown of the high-level series played between T1 and JDG, ending the latter team's attempt at completing the first Golden Road in League of Legends history. Thorin and Monte preview the finals and discuss how Weibo might hope to defeat the T1 juggernaut in a meta the Korean team has defined, but the opportunity appears slim. They chat about the variety of roster moves rumored for LCS and LEC teams, including G2's former members regrouping under Heretics' banner.

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This week, we break down all four of the quarter-final match-ups at the LoL World Championship and debate T1's chances at ending JDG's bid to complete their journey on the Golden Road. BLG should easily beat Weibo en-route to a berth in the finals, but if the series is close does this spell doom for an exciting end to the tournament? The question of the Dade Award looms as Tarzen turns in an unforgiveable performance, and Monte and Thorin contemplate if there should be a winner this year. With another GenG performance at the international level, the guys discuss if this is the end of the Chovy/Peanut partnership that yielded three domestic titles but collapsed at two Worlds and an MSI.

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Worlds playoffs have arrived with the quarterfinal match-ups starting this week and you've got Monte and Thorin to preview each of the four match-ups. Fans have worked themselves into a tizzy about the performance of G2 and NRG, so it's time to bust some myths concocted on social media and address logical fallacies about these two teams' tournament runs. G2 released their entire year of scrim results, but it this a good look for the org?

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We've got a few bangers to start off the second stage of the Swiss at the World Championship, particularly KT vs LNG and T1 vs BLG. JDG's performance has been marvelous, but has LNG shown the glimmers of how to beat them in their three recent, close series? Team Liquid's uniquely tragic performance underscores a disappointing Worlds run for Western teams, but thanks to the Swiss format we might still see one of Fnatic, Cloud9, or NRG qualify for the bracket stage. G2 has proven their mettle and deserves a quarterfinal match, with only the minor hurdle of NRG remaining. Would it be Summoning Insight without a little complaining about formats? No, it would not.

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The new format for Worlds Play-Ins has already delivered a much more exciting and robust competition in the early stages of League of Legends' marquee event, but Monte and Thorin still dread the upcoming Swiss format due to poor seeding and unavoidably wacky results. Our hosts discuss each of the match-ups from the first round of Swiss, and what fans can reasonably expect from the performance of each of the 16 teams.

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This year's MEGA PREVIEW episode of Summoning Insight has landed! Guests galore join the show to talk about all major regions and many of the minor ones, making sure you'll be informed heading into the 2023 World Championship in League of Legends. Our featured guests are: Max "Atlus" Anderson (LCK caster), Alex "Nymaera" Hapgood (LPL analyst and LJL expert), Tom "Carix" Newing (VCS caster), Lucas "Maestro" Pierre (Furia head coach), Thomas "Thinkcard" Slotkin (NRG head coach, and Dylan Falco (G2 head coach).

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The LEC season is finally over after a slow, extended grind through the season finals and, surprise, G2 lifts the European trophy once again. Monte and Thorin discuss their expected victory as well as Fnatic's surprising resurgence with Wunder coming in as a last-minute substitute. The LEC appears to be raising the minimum age of players to 18, but why? Does this mean that they have secured new betting or alcohol sponsors? After many promises from Riot about using Dash for content and VALORANT hosting, it appears to have all been lies now that we can reflect on the amount of work he received over the course of 2023. Is this an ill omen for Riot casters in NA?

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Evil Geniuses' embattled CEO Nicole Lapointe Jameson steps down from her position after months of controversy surrounding her handling of Danny's mental health crisis and numerous articles revealing her incompetence in a leadership position. Monte and Thorin discuss the amusing email sent to all EG staff members at her departure, including an outrageous line that she is the "Warren Buffett of esports." LEC finalizes the teams that will be sent to the World Championship with BDS tagging along to face Golden Guardians in the Worlds Qualifying Series. Is there hope for Europe and was their promise shown in the LEC Season Finals so far?

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Famous streamer Ibai might be paying 3 million Euros for player salaries and other costs to prop up KOI, whose ownership is struggling to make payments to staff and Riot for their franchise slot. Gabby Durden announces that she will not participate in the LCS next year, to a mixed reaction from fans who enjoyed her interviews and hosting but criticized her casting. The LCS leadership engaged in a bizarre interview with Travis Gafford in which they revealed they reveal their ridiculous goal is to draw more non-domestic viewership like the LCK, with Monte and Thorin here to reveal the difficult reality that impedes their vision. They discuss the LCK playoffs/regionals, the latest on the LEC Season Finals, and more.

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LCK playoffs have become surprisingly exciting with the resurgence of T1, and now it feels like anyone's bracket between T1, Gen.G, and KT. Can any of the Korean teams counter JDG's style at Worlds? Monte and Thorin discuss the reasons that JDG has yet to drop a single bo5 this year and theorize how the pre-tournament favorites might be toppled. The LCS playoffs have exposed numerous flaws in North America's play, leading our hosts to ask when we last saw a playoffs this bad considering the number of throws and blown leads. EG's rapid exit in spite of their regular season ranking exposed them as fraudulent, but it's not clear that Cloud9 or Golden Guardians will fare much better on the international stage.

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A healthy roasting of Summoning Insight's nemeses kicks off this week's episode, with more hilarious social media hijinks from Evil Geniuses' staff drawing continued attention on Danny's disappearance. LPL crowned JDG as back-to-back champions in 2023 and the rest of the Chinese Worlds contenders have been decided, so Monte and Thorin break down the teams who will compete in Korea in October. TSM has allegedly played their last game in LCS and somehow Summoning Insight managed to outlast the once-popular American team. Surely, NRG can't pull off a third upset in a row to lock in a place in the LCS finals, right?

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With the end of the LEC's Summer Split and the upcoming Season Finals, Thorin and Monte dive into whether this year's new format has been a success and the changes that need to be made before 2024. The LCK off-season looks insane this year, with players such as Kiin, Canyon, Showmaker, Chovy, and many more stars with their contracts expiring. What super team rosters will be possible to assemble next year in Korea. The LPL playoffs have reached the finals and JDG looks like a lock to win, but the races in LCS and LCK are not so sure and merit in-depth discussion. Faker is back and T1 already looks better, but formidable opponents stand in his way, including a revitalized HLE with their new jungler Grizzly.

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LPL playoffs have reached the double-elimination stage and fans are being treated to some of the best League of Legends in the world. JDG looks to defend their title and seem like the heavy favorites, but can LNG, BLG, or TOP put up a fight and steal the crown? In spite of better-than-expected play from Excel, G2 still should comfortably win the LEC with some adjustments to their strategy, which Monte breaks down. KT vanquishes GenG to claim the number one position in the LCK rankings as they look to continue their massive win streak straight into the playoffs in two weeks' time. Rumors persist that Riot is discussing a possible merger of LCS and CBLOL alongside a move outside of Los Angeles, and the guys insist in would be in the best interest of the competitive scene to proceed.

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The LCK announces new salary restrictions on players/teams, a luxury tax, and exemptions for former champions, which means that Thorin and Monte are here to discuss the details.

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What does it mean for Faker's legacy after seeing T1 play without him? Is the collapse of his team indicative of the essential strength of his leadership in game or a lack of motivation from his teammates given the circumstances. Substitute players abound with Bible, Spirax, and APA coming in for Dplus KIA, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid, and Monte and Thorin are here to discuss the impacts of these roster moves. The guys also chat about the upcoming LEC group stage and a random Apex Legends' caster's hot take on the value of casting.

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T1 announced that Faker will sit out for at least two weeks with an arm injury, but how much will that affect his team's performance before LCK playoffs? The LPL displays a dazzling level of mechanical talent, which Riot has slowly optimized the game toward with new champions and patches, leading the right into China's wheelhouse as they look poised to dominate a weak field at Worlds. LCS viewership was lower than Brazil's CBLOL in the Spring Split and the gulf appears to be widening for Summer, leaving North America in a perilous position moving forward. Vitality's Summer draws to a close in a somehow even more disappointing fashion than the other splits this year, with Monte and Thorin giving a eulogy to the superteam.

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Rumors swirl that all major regions, LCS, LCK, and LPL, will be changing their formats next year to accommodate an additional international event, which sounds like a return to the League of Legends circuit from ten years ago. Fnatic's additions of Trymbi and Noah seem to have helped with the longstanding synergy issues between Humanoid and Razork, but will this new bot lane allow them to take the LEC title? JDG is a juggernaut and should be the favorites to win Worlds in almost any scenario, especially as they tore through the TOP Esports last week. Thorin and Monte discuss what makes them so strong and if any teams from the LCK can currently compete with the LPL's best.

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All the major regions in League of Legends are up and running, so it's time to check in on the general level of play at the start of summer with LPL as the clear leader. Teams in LCS and LEC look poor at the moment and the LCS' viewership is hitting an all-time low, so it may be a rough Worlds for the West in 2023. Monte and Thorin chat about the upcoming telecom war in LCK and why fans should have hope that KT can finally beat T1, as well as the possibility of an upset by Dplus over GenG. They also discuss which teams might be currently overperforming, such as Team Liquid, Heretics, and Evil Geniuses, and why they expect those teams to fall back to Earth.

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Harris Peskin, attorney at ESG Law, comes on the show to finalize the discussion of the LCS player walk-out and debate whether the players themselves have taken too much money to make the league sustainable. They also discuss the possibility of unionization and salary caps for the professional players, which may be the only path forward to responsibly continue the LCS. The teams appear to have received the worst pain from the bursting of the esports bubble, so what will they need to do to survive?

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Richard "RichsWrath" Wells joins the show to discuss the ongoing walk-out saga from the LCS Players' Association and the current financial realities of player salaries within the League of Legends ecosystem. They dive into Doublelift's on-stream responses to the player walkout and his potential sabotage of the collective negotiating efforts. Other topics of discussion include Sjokz's surprise announcement that she'll be taking a break from the LEC broadcast for the Summer Split, the staleness of the meta as LPL kicks off once more, and the ethics of being a scab player for LCS teams.

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Monte and Thorin are joined by eight classic Summoning Insight guests to share memories of League of Legends esports as a celebration of 200 episodes of the show! Taking turns on the podcast are Edward "Edward" Abgaryan, Nick "LS" De Cesare, Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi, Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider, Yoon-seop "Locodoco" Choi, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Will "Chobra" Cho, and Christoph "nRated" Seitz. Learn the truth behind the Gambit Pringles sponsorship, the definition of a toxic cesspool of negativity, and stroll down memory lane from 10 years of League of Legends esports.

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MSI ends with an all-LPL final and a convincing win for the JDG super team, and Summoning Insight is here to break down all the details. What went wrong for T1 and Gen.G? TSM announces their departure from the LCS for another region, which ends the TSM holy war in a final victory for Monte and Thorin. The North American academy system is in trouble as the teams vote to end the challenger team requirement and the players' association makes demands, but does this make sense financially in League of Legends?

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T1, JDG, and Gen.G all have strong claims to become the next MSI champion, but who do Thorin and Monte predict will claim the title? Spanish and French fans are crossing a line with player criticism and deserve to be called out, even though player performance from Europe has not been up to its usual international standards. T1 roars back after losing their Korean crown to GenG and we're here to break down why fortunes reversed and the teams evolved since their last best-of-five showdown in the LCK finals. JDG seem like the team to beat with spectacular teamfighting and a favorable meta that enables their superstar ADC, Ruler, but they showed some flaws in the LPL that have yet to be revealed on the MSI stage...

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On the cusp of MSI playoffs, Thorin and Monte preview each match and discuss why the Western teams have slim odds of an upset and how each team matches up stylistically with their opponents. MAD Lions and Golden Guardians have been borrowing strategies from T1 and GenG, but how can they win as they face the real thing? G2's wacky team compositions won't be enough to topple the macro gods of GenG, especially if they continue to play without a teleport in top lane. Analysts have been talking a big game about NA's performance at play-ins at international tournaments, but Monte and Thorin are here to dispel that delusion and question how satisfied North American fans should be.

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MSI is almost upon us! Monte and Thorin are very excited about the format and chat about their expectations for the teams as they head to London. They recap the LEC finals and celebrate MAD Lions' epic run through the lower bracket while remaining a bit wary about their tendency to throw. Evil Geniuses appear to be cutting their budget and releasing their player, but why not fire the management as well?

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Riot's global head of esports, John Needham, wrote a blog post and conducted an interview with Travis Gafford outlining Riot's future plans for esports given the industry's current crisis and the financial struggles of many of the teams. Monte and Thorin react to Riot's plans and pierce through the PR veneer to get to the core issues and evaluate whether the changes to the LoL ecosystem can be successful. Leaks have sprouted around Riot's plans to allow teams to field up to three imported players, but will this be successful at making more competitive teams from LCS? The LPL finals and LEC Spring groups round out the conversation alongside some healthy appreciate for the upcoming MSI and its exciting format.

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This week marks Faker's 10th anniversary as a professional player, with Monte reminiscing about casting his debut game and Thorin contextualizing his career in the context of the greater esports ecosystem. The discussion turns to GenG's surprising victory over T1 and how Chovy's squad was able to conquer their rivals to win back-to-back titles. Cloud9 wins as expected in LCS, but how much did FlyQuest underperform compared to Golden Guardians' overperformance to make the finals?

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CLG gets sold and TSM is on the auction block: is this the true start of esports winter and what does it mean for the LCS and the broader industry? T1 defeats GenG to set up a titillating match between GenG and KT, which is the true gift of LCK's first double-elimination playoffs. The discussion continues around the LCS playoffs and the surprising upset of Evil Geniuses by Golden Guardians, as well as FlyQuest's chances in a rematch against Cloud9.

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Dan "Aux" Harrison, LCK analyst, joins the show this week to discuss his recent move to Korea and the exciting start to the playoffs, including the thrilling duel between T1 and KT. They preview each of the remaining teams, focusing on the promising performance of rookie ADC Peyz and the rest of GenG while also lamenting the early exit of Dplus KIA. After a chat about LCS playoffs and the resurgence of Evil Geniuses, attention turns to the surprising Spring Split performance of BDS and Astralis who enter the group stage as the top two seeds. Can either team be relied upon to raise Europe's Spring Split trophy?

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LCS playoffs are looming, but first an MVP must be crowned and the decision is a difficult one: should it be Berserker or Prince? 100 Thieves are ramping up before playoffs, but their specific playstyle causes concerns when they have to play FlyQuest in the first round. Excel finally announce that they will swap Vetheo for Abbedagge, but it might be too late to save their Spring Split already. The surprising issues with KOI are dissected, while Fnatic and G2 close the LEC conversation. Finally, T1's historic dominance with their current roster, which has gone 50-4 in bo3's since the start of 2022, is put in context. Is this version of T1 the best LoL team of all-time?

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The LEC ramps back up with the start of the Spring Split, but fnatic somehow looks even worse than before! Thorin and MonteCristo discuss the cascading series of decisions about fnatic's roster that led them to this moment and the little hope the team should have moving forward in 2023. KT Rolster has dramatically improved over the past couple of weeks by adding more pick compositions and stellar performances from Bdd. Over in the LPL, LNG have proved they should be considered among the world's best while questions begin to arise for Top Esports due to their recent losses. The upcoming LCK and LPL playoffs are previewed with an overview of which teams our hosts want to see attending MSI in May.

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New information on the Danny situation with EG emerges and Thorin and Monte add their final thoughts to the situation until Riot makes further announcements. The LCS continues with C9 and FlyQuest convincingly leading the league, while 100 Thieves struggles to find an identity. Dplus KIA rises through the ranks in Korea as KT has a bounce-back week, but T1 continues to dominate the world meta and the eye-test. Over in LPL, EDG and LNG appear to be shocking upstarts among the super teams of JDG, TOP,  and WBG.

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Summoning Insight kicks off with discussing the complex issue surrounding Danny's treatment on EG and the possible unethical actions of team management in handling him as a player. The news of Upset to Vitality breaks as the show is happening, so Monte and Thorin discuss if this is finally the roster move that sends Vitality to the top. They recap G2's dominant victory in the LEC Winter Split and then discuss the recent results from the best teams in the LPL and LCK, including JDG, TOP, T1, and GenG.

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The LEC playoffs begin with G2's victory victory over KOI, which Monte argues was more one-sided than many believe. Vitality's elimination receives further scrutiny, with discussion focusing on whether or not the bot lane of Neon and Kaiser needs to be changed before the LEC Spring Split. A quick chat about the LPL's best teams such as JDG and TOP moves into conversation about the issues with Dplus KIA and the big match between T1 and GenG. Monte and Thorin finish the show with a conversation on LCS, particularly focusing on Team Liquid and their struggles with their Korean-speaking roster before moving onto Discord questions.

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The first weekend of the LEC Winter Split groups is complete, with G2 moving on to the playoff bracket and Vitality unexpectedly upset by KOI. The European LoL discussion focuses around each of the remaining teams and the overall strength of the region alongside the options that Excel have as they await their next shot in the Spring split. The conversation turns to Asia as Thorin and Monte highlight the strengths and weaknesses of some of the world's best teams: T1, GenG, JDG, Top, and Weibo. How did KT pull off the upset against GenG this week and will Dplus return to their early split dominance?

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Chris "PapaSmithy" Smith, President of FlyQuest, joins the show to discuss his new role with the team, the process of building the LCS roster, the organization's plans for content, and the team's hot start to the Spring Split. Monte and Thorin dive into the drama with the LCS's segment on TSM vs 100 Thieves, the production's responsibility for the tone of the segment, DoubleLift and Leena's inappropriate responses to LeTigress, and more. They also chat about the current state of the LCK and whether too many control wards are being purchased by professional players.

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This week the show starts with the LEC: Excel's surprisingly poor performance, Vitality's status as the number one team after two weeks, SK's surge up the standings, and Fnatic's fall. The first week of the LCS is complete with FlyQuest a clear frontrunner thanks to Prince and Vicla's supreme performance. Can Evil Geniuses, CLG, or 100 Thieves hope to catch up? The discussion shifts to the new aspects of the LCS production and if they've been successful in their attempt to woo new viewers. Finally, the show concludes with analyzing the match between T1 and Dplus KIA, the two best teams in the world.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they rank discuss the start of the LEC and LCK regular seasons, the dominating debut of G2, Vitality living up to the early hype, how T1 and Dplus should vie for the title in Korea, the announced changes to the upcoming LCS broadcast, how most teams are playing through bot lane, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they rank teams from 1-10 in LEC, LCK, and LCS for the Spring Split in 2023. They also discuss the LEC talent announcement, the changing start time of the LCS, channel updates for Last Free Nation, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Christian "IWillDominate" Rivera, as they rank every team that has won the League of Legends World Championship from 2012-2022, why Fnatic doesn't count as a Worlds winner, which teams were patch dependent, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they discuss Riot's changes to the Worlds and MSI formats, why the Swiss system mirroring the CS:GO Major presents new problems, how Riot is being dishonest about their format reasoning, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they discuss the confirmed and rumored roster moves around the League of Legends world, the massive shake-up of players in the LCK, what Viper and Ruler changing leagues means, the huge number of free agents in the LPL, the ceiling of JDG's alleged new lineup, giving away our Big D Energy trophies for Worlds performances/Esporstbet wagers, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Peter Dun, former head coach of Evil Geniuses, as they discuss the thrilling end of Worlds 2022, the matchup between T1 and DRX, what the win means for Deft's legacy, the differences in coaching between North America and Europe, the problems with mentality among LCS pros, how LCS team owners and management interact with coaches, the possible roster moves in LEC, the strange trade situation with Elyoya, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Wolf Schröder, LCK caster, as they discuss the conclusion of the Worlds semi-finals, the incredible upset of DRX over Gen.G, how T1 defeated JDG, the possible pick/ban meta between DRX and T1 in the finals, Zeka as the leader of the MVP race at Worlds, why Faker deserves this week's Big Dick Energy Trophy, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Wolf Schröder, LCK caster, and Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi, head coach of Fnatic, as they discuss the wild quarterfinals at Worlds, the struggles of Fnatic during the play-ins and groups, the stylistic match-ups between T1 vs JDG and Gen.G vs DRX, the epic inhibitor respawn in EDG vs DRX, the reasons why this meta is so spectacular, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Laure Valée, host and interviewer on LEC, as they discuss the end of the group stage of Worlds 2022, predictions for the upcoming quarterfinals, what it means to the LEC to have Rogue in the bracket stage, the bug at the end of the TES vs GAM game, the implications of moving the LCS to weekdays, whether JDG or Gen.G are the Worlds favorites, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Christopher "SeeEl" Lee, assistant coach of Rogue, as they discuss the first round-robin of Worlds 2022 groups, Rogue's dominant 3-0 start, the likelihood of the fabled 0-18 for NA LCS teams, the launch of the new brand Last Free Nation, Carlos' punishment by Riot, which teams remain favorites for Worlds, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they discuss the Worlds 2022 Play-Ins stage, RNG and DRX's current form and potential in groups, the elimination of MAD Lions at the hands of Evil Geniuses, predictions for the Group Stage of the Worlds Main Event, who are the favorites for the title, how DAMWON Kia and T1 may be bolstered by the emerging meta, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Cake, top pastry of Rogue, as they discuss the LEC and LCS finals, the Worlds group draw, Danny's substitution on EG, Rogue finally overcoming their status as the razor cake, Cloud9 inexplicably powering up for the playoffs, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Alexander "Carter" Cartwright, head coach of Misfits, as they discuss the formation of the current Misfits roster, the LEC playoffs and G2 and Fnatic as presumptive finalists, Team Liquid's failure to make Worlds, the LPL finals between Top Esports and JDG, DRX and DAMWON KIA making it through the Korean gauntlet, the sale of Misfits, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Jensen Goh, former LCS coach and current coach of Maryville University, as they discuss the most fraudulent team in the LPL playoffs, the intense series between JDG and Top Esports, the LCK finals between Gen.G and T1, Cloud9's massive upset against EG, G2 rising above the rest of the LEC, XL's disappointing performance against Fnatic, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Parth Naidu, former GM and coach of TSM, as they discuss the first round of LCS playoffs, the surprising drafts in the DAMWON KIA vs T1 series, the slugfest of CLG vs C9, the grassroots issues with the NA scene, the future challenges that the LCS faces with declining viewership, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider, jungler for Mouz, as they discuss upcoming LEC/LCS/LCK playoffs, whether G2 is the favorite to win in Europe once more, 100Thieves vs Evil Geniuses for best team in North America, why this is Gen.G's time to finally win an LCK title, and more..

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they discuss the shocking amount of upsets in the LEC, Vitality's sudden snap into form, the dragon and herald's changes affecting the meta, Gen.G's current status as a potential Worlds winner, who could be contenders in the LCS playoffs, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Niship "Dhokla" Doshi, top laner for CLG, as they discuss Dhokla rejoining the LCS for the Summer Split, CLG's ambitions to qualify for Worlds this year, ranking the top laners in LCS, why EG continues to be the best NA team, what has gone wrong for Team Liquid, the new LCK player contract rules and restrictions, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser, support player for MAD Lions, as they discuss the Summer split shifts to the MAD Lions roster, what Nisqy brings to the team, why G2 and Fnatic seem to be faltering, what aspects make Rogue and Excel strong in this meta, the results of the TSM investigation and Reginald's probation, if the LCS is dying, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, support player for Cloud9, as they discuss the latest iteration of the C9 roster, Zven's approach to role-swapping to support, Evil Geniuses as the best team in the LCS, the end of T1's historic 24 match win-streak in LCK, the factors that make Gen.G a top team in the world, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Nelson Sng, coach of Excel, as they discuss Excel's Korean bootcamp and first place standing in LEC, G2's performance at MSI and the Summer Split so far, the causes of the remake between Excel and Vitality, the top things that LEC and other Western teams can learn from LPL, the degree to which MAD Lions has improved, the current state of the LCS, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Andre Guilhoto, head coach of Team Liquid, as they discuss the new Monte & Wolf LCK show, the durability patch's effect on the meta, Team Liquid's Korean bootcamp, the expectations for NA teams on the international stage, Monte's enjoyment of children's card games, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin as they discuss the Playoffs of MSI, the latest on the TSM investigation, updates on the Peter Zhang scandal, the grand final between RNG and T1, Xiaohu's legacy as a player, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest Dan "Aux" Harrison, LPL color caster, as they discuss the Rumble Stage of MSI, RNG and T1's finish in the top 2, G2's world-beating form straight into their loss streak, playoffs predictions, and more.

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Join MonteCristo and Thorin with guest artificial ping, as they discuss the real problems with network latency at MSI, Riot's ruling to replay RNG's matches, possible positive changes to the MSI format, the dominance of T1/RNG/G2 in the Group Stage, predictions for the next tournament phase, and more.

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Robert "Dagda" Price, LPL color caster and analyst, joins the show to discuss the LPL and LCS finals, the rise of NA players jojopyun and Danny, the chances of G2 and T1 and MSI, and more.

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Barento "Raz" Mohammed, LCS analyst, joins the show to preview the final weekend of the LCS playoffs, discuss C9's playoff collapse, discuss the final three teams in the LPL playoffs, and more.

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Dylan Falco, head coach of G2, joins the show to discuss G2's victory over Rogue in the LEC finals, how this iteration of G2's roster was formed, the strength of the field at MSI, and more.

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James "Mac" MacCormack, head coach of MAD Lions, joins the show to discuss the second round of the LEC playoffs, the LCK grand finals, coaching best practices in esports, and more.

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**AUDIO FIXED WHEN AMAZING JOINS**
Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneide, LoL analyst, joins the show to discuss the first round of the LEC playoffs, the LCK semifinals, the favorites for the European title, and more.

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Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu, top laner for Rogue, joins the show to discuss the upcoming LEC playoffs, TSM coach Peter Zhang's scandalous departure, T1's perfect 18-0 split, and more.

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Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung, support for Golden Guardians, joins the show to discuss the LCS playoff race, Olleh's extensive global experience playing LoL, T1's historic win-streak, and more.

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Mohamed "Revenge" Kaddoura, top laner for Immortals, joins the show to discuss the upcoming LEC playoffs, Immortals' off-season moves, Revenge's Korean bootcamp, and more.

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Alex "Nymaera" Hapgood, LEC/NLC/LJL caster, joins the show to discuss T1's dominance in the LCK, Fnatic as the best team in the LEC, the current status of Malrang and Rogue, and more.

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Erlend "nukeduck" Våtevik Holm, mid laner for Excel, joins the show to discuss LS' release as head coach from Cloud9, Excel's addition of Mikyx, and more.

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Peter Dun, head coach of Evil Geniuses, joins the show to discuss EG's method of roster construction, Jojopyun's promising start, MAD Lions' roster changes, and more.

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Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi, head coach of Fnatic, joins the show to discuss the TSM investigation, the start of the LEC spring split, Fnatic's hot start to 2022, and more.

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Catch the latest episode of Summoning Insight: the premier League of Legends esports podcast. Tuesdays on Spotify video

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