Kingzone DragonX are out to prove that they are the best team in the world. Last year, Kingzone (then known as Longzhu Gaming) crushed SK Telecom T1 in the LCK Summer Split Finals and were trumpeted as the favorite heading into the World Championships. They were phenomenal in the Group Stage, but wound up getting upset by eventual champion Samsung Galaxy in the Quarterfinals.
This offseason they became even more formidable by acquiring the player that many consider the best jungler in the world in Peanut. He has added another dynamic to this roster, particularly in this meta that rewards aggressive jungling.
That makes the task facing the Afreeca Freecs even tougher. Afreeca just won its first playoff series ever last week against KT Rolster, yet no one is giving them a real chance against Kingzone. The other eight LCK teams picked Kingzone to defeat Afreeca, leaving the Freecs in a true “no one believes in us” mindset.
LCK Korea Spring Split Grand Final Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Kingzone DragonX -385
Afreeca Freecs +260
These two teams met twice in the regular season with Kingzone winning both series. However, those matches were ages ago in terms of League of Legends. The first match was played on Patch 8.1, while the second was played on Patch 8.3. That was before the meta totally shifted following the massive changes in Patch 8.4 that have been ironed out in Patch 8.6, the patch this match will be played on.
Player to Watch
Love him or hate him, Peanut is a difference maker. He is a player that can snowball a game like no other, and he has been unleashed in this meta. After giving way to Cuzz a few times earlier in the season, we have seen a lot of Peanut over the past two months. He led Kingzone with an 8.5 KDA, and he has been flawless on both Sejuani and Olaf. Peanut has an incredible 59 KDA on Olaf. That’s a better number than any other player in Korea on any other champion.
For as great as Peanut is though, he can be a little mercurial. He can be too overaggressive, and if you stop his ganking in the early game, you can fluster him.
Afreeca will try to limit Peanut’s effectiveness by juggling Mowgli and Spirit in the jungle in order to try to predict his pathing.
Matchup to Watch
Perhaps the most lopsided match-up in this series is in the top lane. That’s not meant to be disrespectful to Afreeca’s Kiin. Kiin has looked great after replacing Marin this split, and that has enabled Afreeca to focus more on their meta game. He has the second-highest KDA of any top laner in Korea, and he has proven himself on Gangplank and Sion.
Any top laner is going to struggle going against Khan though. Khan is simply the best in world in the top lane. He wins tough to impossible laning match-ups on a regular basis, and his play on both Jayce and Gangplank is legendary. Khan is the only player that routinely sees Jayce bans because of his ability to snowball his lane on the champion, and he has showcased innovative gameplay on Gangplank. His numbers are out of this world, and I expect him to dominate this match-up.
Prediction
This is Kingzone’s year. The team has five players that can carry at each of their positions, and that’s something we have never seen before. They should make short work of Afreeca in a 3-0 sweep.
