Welcome to The Dive, a weekly podcast hosted by Kobe, Azael, and MarkZ that takes a closer look at the world of League of Legends esports and the NA LCS. Releasing every Thursday at 6am PT/9AM ET, the gang will be diving into the biggest international news, meta shifts and solo queue trends, and in-depth analysis of the LCS. #TheDiveLOL
This week’s episode of The Dive Driven by Kia begins with a lengthy conversation about the play-off finals: Lyon vs Cloud9 Kia. After battling through three separate Bo5s this weekend, Lyon caused quite the upset in our hosts’ week one power rankings. Two teams have punched their tickets to the Americas Cup, while one powerhouse team is headed to First Stand… but it may not be who we originally thought!
Plus, the players will be working with the newest release: Patch 26.5. With plenty of item buffs, Kobe is looking forward to more flexibility in builds for a wide range of characters. There's also midlane nerfs, could it be enough to shake up the pro scene?
Finally, our hosts noted how many amazing fans of The Dive they were able to meet this past weekend! Seeing the energy and support at the live events means the world to both the casters and players. Thanks for coming by!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:30 - Cloud9 vs LYON Finals Review
19:07 - Closer Look at LYON Saint
25:06 - Revisiting Power Rankings
28:06 - Americas Cup Lookahead
33:22 - Scrims vs Stage
39:35 - Patch 26.5
This week’s episode of The Dive Driven by Kia kicks off with the latest LCS news: our hosts recapped this past week of swift matches, each winning team dominating and showing the world what NA could be. C9 Zven continues to stack several massive leads- gold leads, that is. Meanwhile, Inspired shared his true thoughts about FlyQuest’s jungler during a post-match interview following the sweep, prompting a reaction tweet from Gryffinn.
To wrap things up, audiences from every platform submitted questions for our first FAN Q+A segment of the year. Thank you to everyone that sent one in!
Don’t forget: new merch is live! Check the link below for the latest wearables and plushes.
LCS returns on Friday, February 27th at 1pm (PT) for Team Liquid Alienware vs LYON live from the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles. Come see the pros play in person, tickets are on sale now!
Get your tickets here: https://www.tixr.com/groups/lcs/
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - Inspired via Sheep Esports
9:38 - LYON vs FLY Recap
32:12 - TLAW vs DSG Recap
47:36 - LYON vs TLAW Predictions
51:20 - SEN vs C9 Recap
1:03:07 - New Merch Just Dropped
1:04:00 - Fan Q+A!
On this week’s episode of The Dive Driven by Kia, we’re looking forward to LCS Superweek! Friday (yes, we said Friday), Saturday, and Sunday each feature a best-of-five showdown live from the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles!
Starting by breaking down the jungle-heavy patch, Meteos declares an insta-ban on Graves. Shifting to the standings, power rankings have been shaken. Confidence in TLAW wavers while the performance from DSG exceeds previous expectations. After getting schooled by Cloud9, will FlyQuest bounce back and apply the lessons they learned against LYON?
LCS SUPERWEEK begins FRIDAY, February 20th at 1pm (PT) with the face-off between TEAM LIQUID and DSG. Tickets are on sale now, come see us live! We’ll see you there!
Get your tickets here: https://www.tixr.com/groups/lcs/
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
16:49 - Late game: Baron & Elder
20:37 - SUPER WEEK begins THIS FRIDAY!
22:21 - Patch Notes: 26.4
42:22 - Lookahead to SUPER WEEK!
47:59 - SEN vs DSG Recap
01:03:02 - TLAW vs DSG
01:08:42 - FlyQuest vs C9 Recap
01:18:24 - LYON vs FLY
01:25:04 - SUPER WEEK Predictions!
Leave it to Azael, Kobe, and Meteos to break down another packed week of League of Legends news on The Dive Driven by Kia! It seems more and more likely that Deft may make a triumphant return from military service, while Los Ratones’ playoff hopes are officially over in the LEC. The buzz around LCK’s Coach Comms led our hosts to ponder: are players practicing in scrims like they’re playing on stage? Some clearly are… Darkwings and Huhi are showing up for Sentinels and KryRa looks right at home with DSG. With week one of playoffs here, audiences are left with one final question: which team is going to make a full run?
LCS returns on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14th at 1pm PT/4pm ET for SEN vs DSG. We’ll see you there!
Come see the LCS live at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles starting Friday, February 20th for Week 2 of Lock-In Playoffs! Tickets are on sale now! https://www.tixr.com/groups/lcs/
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
4:44 - International Updates // Deft & Los Ratones
16:09 - SEN vs TLAW Recap
33:04 - Scrims vs Stage
39:31 - LYON vs DSG Recap
51:13 - SR vs DIG Recap
59:25 - LAST CHANCE: TLAW vs DIG Recap
1:10:30 - FLY vs C9 Recap // Bracket Breakdown
1:28:01 - Lock-In Playoffs Lookahead
1:34:53 - “Literal Word Champion”
This episode of The Drive Driven by Kia begins with a check-in pit stop with Europe; where, shockingly, Los Ratones won… again?! Next, Kobe, Azael, and Meteos break down everything you need to know in Patch 26.3: Mel’s rework, Phase Rush buff, adjusted gold collection, and more! Meanwhile, NA pro-play has us asking quite a few questions: Is jungle out of control? Dignitas finally has a full roster, but what does that mean for their performance? And… what is Saint doing? With our final round of the Swiss Bracket and the Last Chance elimination match this weekend, we may get some answers. Oh, and have you heard of Literal “Word” Champion?
LCS returns Saturday, February 7th at 1PM PT/4PM ET for TLAW vs SEN. We’ll see you there!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro, Los Ratones Wins Again?!
8:20 - Patch 26.3, New Changes Galore!
29:18 - LYON vs C9 Recap
40:57 - DIG vs SEN Recap
53:21 - DSG vs FLY Recap
1:04:53 - TLAW vs SR Recap
1:11:53 - Looking Forward: Week 3
1:34:31 - Literal “Word” Champion
LCS Lock-In kicked off with a weekend of incredible matches, and our hosts break it all down game-by-game by dissecting clutch team fights and highlighting key power plays in this week’s episode of The Dive Driven by Kia. FlyQuest proves that they are more than ready to contend, while Inspired continues to produce jungling masterclasses. It’s already shaping up to be a very exciting start to the season… and we’re just getting started! LCS Lock-In returns on January 31st at 1pm for an epic showdown between Cloud9 Kia and LYON. See you then!
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:06:41 - FlyQuest Check-In
00:14:02 - Item-Focused Champions
00:19:56 - Shopify Rebellion Check-In
00:31:27 - TLAW vs C9 Recap
00:50:27 - DSG vs SEN
01:00:20 - LYON vs DIG
01:16:28 - Lookahead & Predictions - Weekend 2
01:31:17 - Revising Power Rankings
The LCS is back – and so is The Dive Driven by Kia for our 10th year! Kobe, Azael and Meteos bond over their shared struggles on the Rift and break down Patch 26.2 (will quests end lane swapping for good?). Looking forward to Week 1 of Lock-In, there are new rosters and power rankings to discuss, from LYON’s Inspired to Shopify Rebellion’s rookie Zinie. The LCS Lock-In kicks off with Cloud9 Kia versus Team Liquid on January 24th at 1pm PT - we’ll see you there!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro, year 10 of The Dive
10:20 - Recent Summoner’s Rift Experiences
21:35 - New Season, New Gameplay
38:38 - Patch 26.2 Notes
49:26 - Power Rankings; Cloud9 Kia vs Team Liquid
1:03:14 - Role/Lane Swapping in 2026
1:11:32 - Shopify Rebellion
1:19:43 - LYON
1:25:22 - Sentinels
1:30:28 - FlyQuest
1:44:55 - Dignitas
1:45:10 - Disguised
It’s the season finale of The Dive Driven by Kia! Kobe, Azael and Meteos discuss LCS format updates for 2026 and reports of Busio joining the LEC. But first, we break down another historic Worlds Finals as T1 Faker wins his third consecutive World Championship, tying him with another legendary mid laner, SKT Faker. Wait, I’m reading that those are the same guy… so that means… Faker has SIX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES?!
That’s all for Season 9 of The Dive Driven by Kia. Thank you all so much for tuning in and see you in the new year for Season 10!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro & Recapping the T1 v. KT Series
8:03 - Drafting Late Game in Fearless
25:51 - KT’s Tournament Journey
28:51 - T1’s Tournament Journey
41:56 - LCS - Looking at Next Season
51:27 - Thank you to the Dive Viewers!
FAKER. EIGHT. WORLD. FINALS.
At this point, what more can you even say? The Unkillable Demon King has done it again — carrying T1 back to the Worlds Finals for an unbelievable eighth time. His plays were unreal, his reads were perfect, and his legacy just keeps getting stronger. You can never, ever count Faker out.
Plus… is Quid really joining Team Liquid? The Dive crew reacts to the rumors and what it could mean for the LCS heading into next year.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro & Team Liquid Roster Rumors
9:12 - Worlds Condensed Format
16:38 - Semifinals: KT vs GEN
40:44 - Semifinals: T1 vs TES
50:06 - Nami’s Usefulness in Pro-Play
55:35 - The Game from T1’s Point of View
1:13:25 - The T1 System
1:17:43 - Predictions for Finals
NA is officially OUT of Worlds — and the Dive crew is here to unpack everything that went down in the last days of Swiss Stage. From the wild drafts to broken champs, Kobe, Azael, and Meteos will be breaking down every major storyline heading into Quarterfinals. Is Neeko actually busted? Can G2 take down TES? Can T1 defend their title? Tune in to find out!
Worlds returns on Tuesday, October 28th and at 12:00am PT (midnight) where HLE takes on Gen.G.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:32 - NA out of Worlds
8:31 - Stakes/expectations/reality at Worlds
16:31 - What are these drafts?
20:20 - Neeko is broken
27:06 - Gen.G vs Worlds
37:02 - Quarterfinal Champion/Gameplay Breakdown
43:07 - Deeper look at KT vs CFO
53:48 - G2 vs TES, an even match?
1:06:38 - AL vs T1, can the underdog win?
1:19:56 - Quarterfinal Predictions!
Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Dive, Driven by Kia! It's Worlds time!
In this episode, Kobe joins the crew from China and we dive right into the wild opening match of Worlds — SKT vs IG, with TheShy putting on a show as always. We’ve also got the matchup everyone’s been waiting for: FLY vs G2, (and Azael’s already calling it). Plus, a preview of the next big matches and some spicy discussion on the meta — from Sion to Rek’Sai and everything in between.
0:00 Intro
3:22 T1 vs IG Series
9:07 Sion is so OP
15:27 Qiyana jungle seems strong
22:16 Meteos’ opinion on Rek’sai & the tank meta
29:23 FlyQuest’s performance and uncertainty
44:20 NA vs EU rivalry
58:15 Mid lane meta
1:02:06 GEN vs TES preview
1:07:58 HLE vs CFO preview
1:15:14 BLG vs VKS preview
1:18:57 MKOI vs TSW preview
1:24:08 100T vs T1 preview