SK telecom T1 vs Misfits Worlds 2017 quarterfinal recap

After an incredible and tense five games, defending world champions SK telecom T1 take down EU LCS second seed Misfits to advance to the semifinals of the 2017 world championship.

Both teams took games that they dominated and both teams took a game that went late and got close, but in the end the turning point of the series was Misfits ill-fated inhibitor tower dive near the end of game four.

Before that moment it seemed that the EU LCS team would close the series soon and take home a 3-1, but that brief moment of over-aggression was punished expertly by the veterans on SKT who helped the team take back control of the game and eventually even the series.

Despite a disappointing loss, Misfits put up one of the best performances ever against the defending world champions and proved themselves to be a top tier team, not only in the LCS regions, but on the World’s stage as well.

SKT will play the winner of Royal Never Give Up vs Fnatic in the semifinals, next week. For a full look at how SKT advanced, take a look at our game by game summary below.

Game One

Winner: SK telecom T1

SK telecom T1 played a 24 minute, nearly perfect game, and it’s extremely hard to imagine a stronger statement from SKT to start off the series. Galio roamed early on and took complete control of Misfits’ top and the enemy jungle helping SKT get almost 6k ahead before Misfits had even figured out what happened. With such a strong early lead, it was no problem at all for SKT to close out the game.

Game Two

Winner: Misfits

Coming off a devastating game one, Misfits proved that they wouldn’t be going down in this series without a fight as they dominate game two just as hard. With a slightly surprising Blitzcrank pick, Misfits got pick after pick completely shutting down SKT and closing the game out at right around 26 minutes.

Game Three

Winner: Misfits

The biggest strength of Misfits over the last two months has been their incredible preparation and it was on full display today as they pick a Leona Ivern composition. The Leona in-particular gave Misfits an unbeatable lead in the early game as the team’s Tristana was able to get out to a huge lead during laning phase. Misfits never let that lead go pushing it all the way to the Nexus and pushing SKT to the brink of elimination.

Game Four

Winner: SK telecom T1

In the closest and most back and forth game of the series so far, SKT barely manage to take the game at almost 40 minutes. Early on it seemed SKT would take it easily, but Misfits battled back and gained a slight lead over the defending champions. However, a slight bit of early aggression from Misfits sent them into a doomed teamfight that let SKT pull the game back and take enough control to destroy the Nexus.

Game Five

Winner: SK telecom T1

In another close game SKT take the series thanks to a strong early and late game. For Misfits, the mid game, where their composition was strongest, offered a brief moment where it seemed like they might be able to come back into the game, but a poor attempt to force a fight at Elder Dragon costs Misfits the game and the series.