SKT vs SSG in the Finals: History Repeats Itself and The West Loses Its Last Hope
History Repeats Itself: SK Telecoms T1 Wins Over ROX Tigers
SKT takes the victory in Game 1. SKT fans said “ROX will get sweeped”. Then ROX takes Games 2 and 3 and their fans said “See you in Korea, SKT.” Bengi was subbed for Blank, SKT ties the series 2-2 after Game 4 and people we’re asking “Who’s going to win?”
One of the most hyped games in the 2016 League of Legends World Championships, the semifinals match between ROX Tigers and SK Telecoms T1, was a recap of last year’s Finals match. Though this year’s score is closer at 3-2, the outcome is still the same: SKT won.
I’ll focus on Game 5 since, at the end of day, that game decided the semifinal series and the fate of both teams.
At the 20-minute mark, the game is still very close: the score is tied at 4-4 and ROX has a very small 600 gold lead. Compare that to the first 4 games where, at the same point, the gold lead is more than double. Is this due to fatigue after 4 hours of playing? Or the pressure of playing for a slot in the Finals? I don’t think so. Both teams reached this level by practicing a lot and they’re both accustomed to high-pressure situations. In my opinion, the slower and much more calculated nature of Game 5 is because of the fact that both team are playing deliberately playing it slow. Looking for cracks, for mistakes or openings that the other team will give.
2 minutes later, ROX pulls the trigger.
With both teams having minimal vision around the top side of the map, ROX starts Baron and quickly chunks it down. With Faker clearing the huge wave in the top lane, SKT contests Baron knowing that this fight will most likely decide the game.
They immediately target and eliminate Peanut, forcing ROX to use spells and normal attacks to secure Baron. Meanwhile Duke dives from behind, further disrupting the remaining ROX members. Smeb focuses on Baron giving Duke and Bang enough time to get a triple kill and, effectively, nullifying the Baron buff which only remained active on Kuro after that bloodbath.
With that failed Baron attempt and 4 kills, SKT takes control of the game and, eventually, win the series.
Another reason I’m focusing on Game 5 is to highlight the difference in the style of the 2 teams.
SKT ran a tried-and-tested lineup while ROX ran a very high damage but very squishy composition. The strengths and weaknesses of both composition is exposed in that fight around Baron. Peanut and GorillA were already at 50% HP when SKT reached the Baron pit. Bengi dives in, kicks Peanut and then bails out of the pit. Being almost invincible, Duke had no doubts diving and killing GorillA. After quickly deleting these low-health champions (who also had most of the CC of ROX) Bang flashes in to help clean-up.
ROX was, most of the time, on the offence while SKT taking their time. Rushing Baron with their squishy lineup, ROX took a huge gamble which could have let them break the game open. Sadly, SKT stole the chips. ROX gamble, in the end, cost them the game, the series and their shot at the Finals.
The West Loses Its Last Hope: Samsung Galaxy Sweeps H2K
With both teams coming into the Semifinals in a winning streak, the team to lose will take a big hit in their morale. H2K is known to be a great team in the early game but falters in the mid to late game while SSG’s late game shotcalling is almost unparalleled. Which strength will prove to be better?
In this series that pits the last hope of the West against the underdogs of Korea, I’ll focus on Game 2 because the first 2 games were almost identical and Game 3 is just a stomp in favor of SSG.
H2K, in the first 2 games, gets some early kills but fails to secure objectives after. SSG, meanwhile, is happy to trade kills for dragons or turrets. In the long run, despite H2K getting these kills, SSG comes up ahead because of these investments in objectives.
Another thing that sealed H2K’s fate is the poor performance of Ryu. He’s constantly getting killed and giving up a lot of gold to Crown. In fact by the end of the game, Ryu is so far behind that he’s dealt just half of the damage Crown was able to give. And, to add more insult to the injury, CoreJJ outdamaged him by almost 33%.
In the end, it all came down to SSG’s superior shotcalling, their ability to hold their ground and actually make plays some place else in spite of having a numbers disadvantage. Case in point: H2K 5-man pushes the mid lane but fails to secure the turret and SSG answers with both the top and bot lane turret plus a bonus kill.
With this kind of plays, can SSG go up against SKT? Which Korean team will take home the Summoner’s Cup?
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