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This is my weekly series of short articles picking out my favourite game of the week from the LPL, NA and EU LCS and LCK. I'll be taking into consideration overall gameplay, importance of the game within the region, and unique strategies. If you disagree with me on anything, let me know why!
SK Telecom T1 vs KOO Tigers - Game 1
In a match between the top two teams in the LCK, SK Telecom showed off the gulf between them and all of the other teams in their region. If there was a game to show all of the reasons why SKT has a legitimate chance at winning worlds, this is it with SKT thoroughly dismantled KOO Tigers in every facet of the game.
KOO’s drafting phase attempted to push SKT’s bot and top lane off of their comfort champions, but in doing so gave both Faker and Bengi their most successful champs in Viktor and Rek’sai. This pressure from the mid lane permeated through the rest of the map as SKT also drafted counter picks in the bot and top lane.
Whatever plans KOO had for their draft phase went awry quickly as Faker proved just how important mid lane pressure is in this meta, quickly whittling down the mid lane tower and then ensuring that SKT had control over the bottom half of the map, while the inherent advantage for Fizz in the matchup versus Maokai ensured that Marin was fine in the top lane without jungle pressure.
On the other hand, KOO once again fell behind in the early game, but unlike against other teams, they were unable to claw their way back into the game through mid-late game shotcalling and team fighting. If KOO hope to matchup with SKT in the finals they’ll need to ensure that they don’t fall behind in the early game, as their advantages over other teams in the mid-late game have proven ineffective against the more efficient SK Telecom T1.
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