SKT 2 -- Jin Air 0
SK Telecom T1 came back with a vengeance, defeating the Jin Air Green Wings and picking up a 2-0 win to open Sunday's League Champions Korea slate in Seoul.
While SKT (1-4) looked out of sorts thus far, things were back to business as usual in this game. Unsurprisingly, it was mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's return to form that was the catalyst for this big win. While this was Faker's second series back after taking a break earlier in the week, this was the first time that the team put all its eggs in his basket.
Although SKT went for the increasingly popular funnel strategy to try and get AD carry Bae "Bang" Jun-sik's Xayah going early, it was none other than Faker who was the true difference-maker. His Taliyah may have only tallied a single kill, but he played the part of point guard by setting up plays for his teammates left and right. SKT had three kills going into the final 3-for-1 teamfight in the closing moments of the game, but it only gave up two kills and no objectives in the 24-minute win.
The second win, while not nearly as easy as the first, was still a masterclass for Faker. Back on his tried and true Galio, Faker once again set up his teammates from the very start. The difference this time was that he managed to pour on the damage as well, finishing with a whopping 33,839 damage, which was the most on his team. Some credit should be given to Jin Air's mid laner, Park "Grace" Chan-ho, whose Zoe gave SKT fits in the 46-minute slugfest. Try as Jin Air (0-6) might, however, it couldn't match the teamfight dominance of SKT in the late game as the former three-time world champion finally picked up its first win of the split.
SKT will now face KT Rolster at 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday, while Jin Air hope to find a win of its own against the Afreeca Freecs at 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
--Wyatt Donigan
Kingzone 2 -- bbq Olivers 0
Kingzone DragonX continued its climb to the top of the LCK standings with a breezy 2-0 win over the bbq Olivers.
When both Kingzone (4-1) and bbq (0-6) combined for five kills in the opening 10 minutes of Game 1, it was clear that these teams would be willing to duke it out in teamfights to decide a victor. Unfortunately for bbq, this put it at a disadvantage, with KZ drafting better teamfighting compositions in both games. As such, the series turned into no more than an exhibition for the defending LCK champions.
No doubt the star of the series was Kingzone AD carry Kim "PraY" Jong-in who crossed the 1,500 kill threshold to put a stamp on the series. He played Ezreal in both games to a combined KDA (kills/deaths/assists) of 8/0/12 while topping the damage charts in both games with 20,000 damage each time. With PraY driving teamfight after teamfight, there was simply nothing bbq could do to prevent its swift demise, losing both games in under 60 minutes of game time.
For as great as PraY was from start to finish, top laner Kim "Khan" Dong-ha stole a bit of that spotlight (and MVP honors) in the second game of the series with his Renekton. He got to work early on, focusing down bbq jungler Kim "Trick" Gang-yun multiple times in the opening minutes to put bbq on the back foot. By the time 23 minutes had passed, Khan had picked up six of his team's 10 kills. With a Baron buff in hand, Kingzone waltzed right into the bbq base and closed out the series with a 25-minute Game 2 win.
Kingzone will look to make it five straight when it faces the undefeated Griffin at 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday, while bbq continue its search for that elusive first win against Gen.G at 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
--Wyatt Donigan