The final team to earn the opportunity to represent South Korea at the 2017 World Championship will finally be decided on Saturday morning when kt Rolster take on Samsung Galaxy.
For kt Rolster this match represents one last chance for their experimental super team to make the world championship and be proven a success. While the team had its ups and downs during the Spring Split, it was during the Summer Split that they really came into their own, nearly managing to get first place, but narrowly losing out to eventual champions Longzhu Gaming.
During the playoffs, kt had an unfortunate run in with rivals SK Telecom T1, who barely beat kt Rolster in their five game semifinal series. Because of that loss, the success or failure of this roster, designed specifically to win worlds, now hangs on the result of this gauntlet series.
For Samsung, there’s a little less to prove. We all know that this Samsung Galaxy roster is strong, they took SK Telecom T1 to five games at the Worlds Finals almost a year ago. For them, the goal is simply to return, so they have the chance to conquer that final step they faltered on last year. But getting there won’t be easy.
This Samsung roster is talented but kt Rolster has always seemed one step ahead. During their two meetings of the regular season, both were easy wins by kt. Meanwhile, this Samsung team has often faltered to lower tier opponents, something they rarely did last year or even during this year’s Spring Split, when they were firing on all cylinders.
The series will be a best-of-five and will be broadcast at 4:00 a.m. ET and will be watchable on Twitch, as well as Youtube.