/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54391467/30649206745_adaef2f19c_h.0.jpg)
SK Telecom T1 has won its fourth LCK title, sweeping kt Rolster 3-0 in dominating fashion Saturday. With the win, SKT has punched its ticket to the Mid-Season Invitational, where it will defend its MSI title against the other Spring domestic champions from around the world.
The team was led by excellent performances from Peanut in the jungle, as well as strong games from Faker in vastly different roles (Game 1 as the assassin Fizz, Games 2 and 3 as supportive Karma and Lulu). kt kept trying to draft winning lanes and snowball the early games, but SKT repeatedly shut down Pawn and set up its own damage dealers for big performances
SKT joins seven other teams that have qualified for MSI, but is the first from one of the five major regions. The tournament begins in Brazil April 28 and runs through May 21.
Game 3, 30:00: That’ll be that. SKT wins Game 3, 25-7, in 29 minutes. That completes the 3-0 sweep, winning the fourth LCK title in organization history and clinching its spot at MSI.
Peanut finishes the game 11/1/9, while Bang is 7/1/9 and Faker is 3/2/12. It’s the perfect finale to what was ultimately a clean series for the defending world champions.
Game 3, 20:00: SKT has once again utilized the transition to the mid game to take complete control. Peanut’s Graves is now up to eight kills and five assists (86.67% kill participation) while Pawn’s struggles continue (0/5/3 on LeBlanc). Bang’s Twitch’s 3/0/6 start is reminiscent of last game’s effort, and this series seems just about sewed up. It’s 15-6 SKT with a 6k gold lead.
Game 3, 10:00: This early game has been razor tight, with kt holding a slight gold lead thanks in large part to a big farm advantage for Smeb. A sloppy bottom lane dive at three minutes for SKT resulted in a 2-for-2 trade, but Faker made up for it in the mid lane with a solo kill on Pawn. Both kills for kt went to Deft’s Ashe.
Game 3, pick & bans: We’re in our third game of this series, and it’s the third game with kt on blue side and SKT on red. This time, Peanut’s Lee Sin (now 11-0 this split) gets banned by kt, along with Faker’s Fizz.
SKT is bringing out the Twitch once again for Bang, even without Karma (picked away by kt). This time it will be Lulu for Faker in the mid lane, as SKT runs a composition with shields (Lulu), heals (Nami), disengage (Gragas) and two heavy damage marksmen (Graves and Twitch). kt is once again running a carry-heavy composition, hoping to snowball from a strong early game.
kt: Jayce, Rengar, LeBlanc, Ashe, Karma
SKT: Gragas, Graves, Lulu, Twitch, Nami
Can kt repeat last year’s miracle reverse sweep against SKT, or will SKT take home LCK title No. 4?
Game 2, 31:00: Well, that was quick. SKT wins Game 2, 19-8 in 31 minutes, as Bang finishes 6/0/6 on Twitch and Peanut finishes 6/1/8 on Lee Sin. SKT has excelled on two very different compositions against kt’s early-focused style ... does kt have anything left to show with their backs against the wall?
It's 2-0 for @sktelecom_t1 as they win game 2 of the #LCK Spring Finals!
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 22, 2017
Can they already close out the series in game 3? pic.twitter.com/CU09STg4zF
Game 2, 30:00: SKT gets a pair of kills onto its Twitch and begins sieging kt’s towers, building the lead above 4k before a clean 5-1 ace (including a triple kill for Peanut) at 27 minutes. That led to an uncontested Baron for SKT, who has this game (and the series) under complete control.
Peanut’s Lee Sin is 6/0/5, and Bang’s Twitch is 4/0/5. Better luck in Game 3, kt.
Game 2, 20:00: SKT has broken this game open, taking an 8-3 kill score and a 2k gold lead to the 20-minute mark with a composition that will not stop scaling. Bang’s Twitch is only 0/0/2, but with shields from Lee Sin, Karma and Lulu, it’s hard to see how kt is going to be able to kill him in fights.
Game 2, 10:00: SKT has a small lead early in this one, thanks to two Peanut kills. His Lee Sin picked up First Blood with a cheeky early gank bot, and killed Score as part of a 1 for 1 trade in the top lane that also netted Smeb’s Fiora a kill. The score is 3-2, with a 1.5k gold lead for SKT after first tower was taken bot.
Game 2, pick and bans: We’re sticking with the same sides for Game 2. After SKT chose red side for Game 1, kt has chosen blue for the second one. Faker’s Fizz earns kt’s first ban, while Huni’s Shen gets the second.
SKT doesn’t use its third and final ban, giving kt the first-pick Graves. But that lets SKT lock in Camille, this time putting Huni on a carry in the skill matchup against Smeb’s Fiora. Peanut returns on his undefeated Lee Sin, while Faker brings out a much more supportive Karma to counter Pawn’s LeBlanc. With Lulu, Karma and Lee Sin, that opens up Bang to lock in the hyper-carry Twitch: we’ve got quite a Game 2 in store for us.
kt: Fiora, Graves, LeBlanc, Ashe, Malzahar
SKT: Camille, Lee Sin, Karma, Twitch, Lulu
Game 1, 36 minutes: After a shaky start, it’s a clean finish for SKT, who take Game 1 17-11. kt’s early game composition isn’t enough to overcome Faker’s 10/4/5 Fizz and Huni’s 1/2/10 Shen, and clean team fighting from SKT earns a well-deserved win.
Game 1, 30:00: SKT successfully slows down the game to stall and farm, setting up an advantageous fight in their own jungle that eventually earns Faker’s Fizz four kills and his team a 28-minute Baron. SKT leads 13-11, with a 2.2k gold lead, and Faker is a whopping 9/4/3.
Game 1, 20:00: SKT chips into kt’s lead, led by a 5/3/2 scoreline from Faker’s Fizz, but a 4-2 fight for kt in SKT’s jungle swings the game back firmly in kt’s favor. It’s now 9-8 kt with a 2.3k gold lead, with five kills for Smeb’s Jayce.
Game 1, 10:00: KT Rolster has taken the early lead, despite First Blood for Huni on a Stand United mid. SKT is actually up 2-1 in kills, with Faker getting two assists in the mid lane, but kt is up 2-0 in towers and Smeb has a massive lead in the Jayce vs. Shen lane.
Game 1, pick and bans: Team comps are in, with kt Rolster on blue side for Game 1. Peanut locks in his 9-0 Lee Sin, while Faker pulls out a surprise Fizz for the old-school counter to Syndra in the mid lane. Other things to watch: a tank vs. carry matchup in the top lane and two playmaking junglers.
kt: Jayce, Elise, Syndra, Ashe, Malzahar
SKT: Shen, Lee Sin, Fizz, Varus, Lulu
Game 1, pre-game: It’s Faker time.
Korean super teams SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster will square off Saturday for the top honor in domestic League of Legends: an LCK title. SKT are three-time winners and three-time world champions, while KT Rolster has finished runners-up twice.
These two teams have plenty of history, and have met in the LCK playoffs three times before. SKT swept KT in the 2015 Summer Finals and the 2016 Spring semifinals, but KT pulled off a massive upset last summer with a 3-2 reverse sweep in the semifinals.
These teams met twice in the regular season, with SKT taking both series 2-1. But the two teams last played in early March, and KT has started to look like the team with the promise its star-studded roster suggests.
After narrowly missing out on Worlds in 2016, KT Rolster replaced every starter besides star jungler Go “Score” Dong-bin, bringing in a who’s who of former MVPs and Worlds winners to complete one of the most talented rosters in history. The team stayed in first place through the first five weeks, but that 0-2 Week 6 to SKT sparked a 5-5 finish to the season that dropped KT all the way to third place.
KT Rolster started playoff play in Round 2 by sweeping MVP 3-0, and pulled off a surprising 3-0 sweep of No. 2 seed Samsung Galaxy in Round 2. Now former MVP Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho will face his former ROX Tigers teammate Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, and fellow former ROX Tiger (and current Afreeca Freec) Lee "Kuro" Seo-haeng’s got some jokes.
LOL, Kuro wished for a scenario where both Peanut and Smeb are losers:
— Kwanghee Woo (@SaintSnorlax) April 22, 2017
Peanut (L) - Peanut (L) - Blank (W) - Blank (W) - Blank (W)
SKT also made some big roster moves after winning world championship No. 3 last fall, bringing in former Fnatic/Immortals top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and former ROX Tigers jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho. The team finished the regular season with an LCK-best 16-2 record, earning a bye straight to its fourth LCK final.
The series will be a best-of-five and begin at 4 a.m. Eastern (17:00 local time).
Lineups
SK Telecom T1
- Top: Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon OR Kim “Profit” Jun-hyung
- Jungle: Han “Peanut” Wang-ho OR Kang “Blank” Sun-gu
- Mid: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
- ADC: Bae “Bang” Jun-sik
- Support: Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan
KT Rolster
- Top: Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho
- Jungle: Go “Score” Dong-bin
- Mid: Heo “PawN” Won-seok
- ADC: Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu
- Support: Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong
Series info and how to watch
You can watch the best-of-five series live on Lolesports as well as on the LCK1 Twitch channel.