10 thoughts going into Finals
Two teams will try to roost in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest on Saturday. SK telecom T1 will once again take on Samsung Galaxy – it’s a rematch of the 2016 World Championship Finals that went the distance. Here are my final 10 thoughts of the season – thanks for reading along!
SKT’s dominanceA lot of people are sick of SKT winning all of the time. I am not one of those people. Every single championship they string together only grows their legend. To me, the ultimate dream as a fan — or an anti-fan — isn’t just wanting SKT to lose. It’s wanting them to lose to my favorite team — no matter how unlikely that may be. But the bigger SKT grow, the bigger it will be when they fall. Why would you want someone else’s team to take that glory? And in traditional sports, it’s the dynasties that people remember. We will talk about SKT for years to come. TPA is already a distant memory and SSW is going that way, too. But Faker and SKT? You will remember them. Especially if they complete the three-peat here. There is a strange (and maybe sickening) assurance in seeing SKT at Worlds every year. They have slowly become a villain of sorts. It is easy to root against Goliath. I eagerly await the day David appears.
Faker’s checklist in the Semis against RNG[ X ] Pick Galio [ X ] Pick Galio [ X ] Pick Galio [ X ] Pick Galio [ X ] Pick Galio
SKT keys to the game1. Huni needs to avoid ganks to be a proper split threat late game 2. Have a healthy set of engage options to break SSG’s strangle-you-to-death strategy 3. Bang and Wolf have to hold up 2v2 against Ruler and CoreJJ
SSG keys to the game1. Ambition needs to exploit SKT’s early game lulls and get one of his side lanes ahead 2. Crown has to continue to be active around the map and not get sucked into a 1v1 duel against Faker 3. Don’t be suckered into a rock’em sock’em pace and instead play methodically
Korea vs. Korea… again!While I find SKT’s dominance entertaining, the all-Korean final is maybe not the most compelling narrative. But it will give us the highest level of League of Legends – here are two teams who’ve maintained and honed their excellence for the last two years. It’s a rematch. It went to five games last year. And SKT look, again, vulnerable. But it’s also the culmination of a larger picture – the last Korean team to be eliminated by a non-Korean team was Najin Shield in 2014. I don’t think the future is all doom and gloom, though. It starts with…
Understanding “The Gap”Yes, ultimately Korea prevailed again at Worlds. But never in a fashion like this. SKT was on the brink of elimination four times this tournament. Twice to Europe’s 2nd seed and twice to China’s 2nd seed. They also struggled against the LMS’ 2nd seed. Over and over, SKT have scraped by at Worlds 2017. Even SSG went 0-2 against RNG in group play. Korean teams have been dominant because they have to be to survive in a league with Faker. That they are now being challenged means the level of talent is equalizing. Teams aren’t being out-skilled individually anymore. This tournament boded especially well for China and Europe. And NA… well, we have faith, and some day, that will count for something. Probably.
NA LCS UniversityOne cool thing about this Finals is that SKT top laner Huni and SSG support CoreJJ are both alumni of the NA LCS. After thorough research, I’ve concluded this means NA wins no matter what happens. NA imports foreign talent → teaches them fiesta ways → they return home → now NA is the top exporter of talent. :thinkingguymeme:
China’s resurgenceI want to take a moment to say it’s a damn shame we won’t have a Chinese team in the Finals. The Bird’s Nest is one of the most iconic stadiums in China, and the Chinese fans have been absolutely thunderous for the home teams. It really would have been incredible to have a Chinese representative there. But, perhaps, we were a year too early. Royal Never Give Up looked great – considering they went 2-0 against Samsung in group play, they may have been the second best team at the tournament when this is all said and done. Remember, this was their first year together as five, and they symbolized a return to reliance on domestic talent for China. WE showed off a consistent, team-oriented style, and they will only continue to improve. And finally, Edward Gaming introduced ADC iBoy to the world – he had a short but memorable debut. The region has infrastructure in place now, and they easily have the largest talent pool to draw from. It’s only a matter of time before NA tries to import Chinese players (again) – and I expect China to be the first region to overtake Korea at Worlds.
This has been the best Worlds yetI think I said this last year, too (wow what a shill!), but damn if this World Championship wasn’t great. We had drama every single week. So if you are disappointed with the Finals matchup, then at least remember that it’s just as much about the journey as the destination. The two SKT Best of 5s we got already are some of the best sets we’ve ever gotten at Worlds. Combine that with Fnatic’s miracle run, NA memes, GAM shenanigans, and China’s resurgence, and you’ll see we’ve had a ton of storylines and a ton of drama. And yet, after all the action and the ups and the downs, it’s still down to SK telecom T1 and Samsung Galaxy. Again. I don’t know how much longer SKT can thwart dreams, but it is awe-inspiring. Now we will see if Samsung Galaxy can get revenge or if they’ll cement themselves as just another page in the ongoing story of SKT’s legend.
Jordan Faker RulesAt times this tournament, Faker has absolutely lifted his team onto his back. He’s unbannable and at times unkillable. Dude just doesn’t make many mistakes. So I theorycrafted some ideas as to how SSG could limit him, since you can’t stop him.
1. Literally 2v1 mid lane. Not just a lot of ganks – rotate your bot lane to mid and stick a wave clear champion bottom or something.
2. Gank him every time you level up. Never gank for anyone else. Use Flash on cooldown to get his, too.
3. Ban Galio.
What do you think? How would you limit Faker?
I spent a lot of time up there talking about SKT. SKT this and SKT that. But let’s conduct an experiment and remove the name plates from the two teams. Which team has looked more dominant at Worlds 2017? Surely you would say SSG. And which one would you say had a tougher road? Again, surely you would say SSG. The problem, though, is I’ve been conducting this experiment at every stage. And at every stage, SKT has still prevailed. SKT has relied heavily on Faker, yes, but the meta doesn’t favor having a carry in the mid lane. SKT has been best, generally, when one of their side lanes has stepped up. Huni, in particular, has been feast or famine this tournament. But when he’s on, I think he’s been one of the best players overall – and at times, he’s contributed to the SKT victory as much, if not more-so, than Faker. But CuVee has been just as dominant and arguably so in the face of greater adversity. A lot of attention has been given to the SSG top laner, and yet he has still been magnificent. That’s the key matchup for me – which top laner can get going? If CuVee holds Huni, as he’s expected to, then the onus will be on Bang and Wolf to step up and take over a game. That’s something that hasn’t happened much this tournament. SSG have earned their keep by slowly choking teams out. SKT won’t flip a deficit against them so easily. So if SSG secures early advantages against SKT – as every other team in the tournament has done – it is much harder to envision them failing to close out. Whether or not SKT has shored up their early game will be the tale of the series.
Kien Lam is a content producer for Lolesports. You can find more awful great jokes and commentary on his Twitter @meanmisterkien.
maybe even lifesteal or... triforce, double crit item, and then tank - for that nearly 1-shot potential on bang in teamfights.).