Locke, MSI Patch, and Spring Finals Recap with RiotPhroxzon! | The Dive Driven by Kia

RiotPhroxzon joins us for a special episode of The Dive Driven by Kia! He shares behind-the-scenes insight into the development of Locke, League’s newest champion, including the core goals that shaped the champion’s design and abilities. Our four hosts also debated whether the new mid-lane assassin is likely to make an impact in professional play or if he’ll be a solo queue menace.

Looking ahead to MSI, the conversation turns to the upcoming patch and how its changes could influence the competitive meta. Fearless Draft remains a major topic of discussion, but the experimentation may be far from over (Freljord-only draft, anyone?).

Azael, Kobe, and Meteos also break down the Arizona Spring Finals. C9 had a difficult series against TLAW, only for TLAW to suffer a similar fate against LYON the following day. While the hosts argue that pro-level games are often decided by team fights, what do you think are the key factors that separate the top teams from the rest?

With the Spring Finals now complete, LYON advances directly to the MSI Bracket Stage, while TLAW heads to the Play-In Stage, where they’ll face T1 on the first day of matches. Be sure to join us next week on The Dive Driven by Kia as we take a closer look at MSI’s Play-In and Bracket Stages. Thanks for tuning in!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro & Locke w/ RiotPhroxzon

20:28 - MSI Patch

37:47 - Top Lane in Pro Play

44:51 - LCS Spring Finals Recap

47:16 - Cloud9 Kia Spring 2026

1:01:54 - Spring Grand Finals (TLAW vs LYON)

1:23:22 - MSI Play-In Lookahead