SK Telecom T1 got exactly what they needed on Saturday. SKT entered the day needing either KSV eSports or ROX Tigers to lose in order to potentially make the LCK Spring Split Playoffs. Surprisingly, both teams lost, clearing the path for SKT to back into the playoffs despite a disastrous campaign. All they have to do is beat Kongdoo Monster, a team that is 2-15 on the year and already headed to a relegation battle.
League of Legends LCK Korea Spring Split Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
SK Telecom T1 -833
Kongdoo Monster +472
No team has dominated competitive League of Legends like SK Telecom T1. SKT has won three World Championships in seven years, and made it to the Grand Final last year before losing to Samsung Galaxy (now KSV).
However, this year has seen SKT in a way we have never seen before. The departures of Huni and Peanut ended up really hurting as their replacements have struggled to play on the most famous team in the world.
Champions find a way to rally though, and that’s what we have seen from SKT. After a stunning loss to the BBQ Olivers last week, SKT upset KSV and then routed MVP earlier this week.
It’s been another bad season for Kongdoo. Kongdoo continues to hover between the LCK and the Challenger Series and may be going back down for the Summer Split. Kongdoo Monster has been largely uncompetitive this season, either falling behind early on or struggling to close out games when they did manage to get a nice lead in the early game.
When these teams met earlier in the season, Kongdoo surprised many by taking a game off of SK Telecom T1 before ultimately falling short in the series. That gives Kongdoo some optimism heading into this one.
Analysis
SKT has not been able to find consistency in the top lane or jungle this year. The team has juggled Untara and Thal in the top lane, and Blossom and Blank in the jungle, in order to try to find a match that works, but it’s been a mess for much of the year. Lately, Thal and Blank have been the starters, but if either one does not look sharp, coach kk0ma will not hesitate to sub them out.
The good news for SKT is that Kongdoo is unlikely to be able to punish either shortcoming. Kongdoo’s top laner Roach has a 1.6 KDA and has largely been asked to play tanks for fear of getting punished if he tries to carry. He has played either Gnar or Ornn in the vast majority of matches this split, and neither champion is one that is designed to win one-on-one fights.
In the jungle, Raise has had a really tough time this season. He has played virtually nothing but tanks this year and has been unable to find much success on an overpowered playmaker like Olaf. SKT can be punished by aggressive junglers, but Raise has not proven that he can do that.
The bottom lane and mid lane should both belong to SKT. SKT has the best player in the world in the mid lane in Faker, and he will likely outclass Edge throughout the series. It hasn’t been the most enjoyable series for Faker, but his play has not suffered in spite of his team’s failures. The only trap he has fallen into is being somewhat overaggressive, but he’s felt the need to do that with the issues in other areas.
As for the bottom lane, Bang has been great this year. He has been able to take games over late as long as he is not outscaled in the early going, giving SKT some consistency. SKT has experimented with Effort at support, but it looks like Wolf will be the support heading into this one.
Prediction
SKT is not about to falter with the playoffs on the line. It’s rare that I will advocate to take a massive favorite, but SKT is the best team in League of Legends history with the best player in the world needing to beat a 2-15 team in order to make it to the postseason. Lay the juice with them at this price.
