The Breakdown - OMG vs SKT T1 K

T1 K dominated All-Star 2014 in a convincing fashion. From the group stage to the grand finals, T1 K won every match. Although there were moments of weakness such as their Game 1 finals match, T1 K ultimately recovered to pull out a win. Meanwhile, OMG were entirely capable of winning the opening match if not for a few devastating errors.

Assembling the team

Bans & Picks

• OMG bans: Yasuo, Lee Sin, LeBlanc
• T1 K bans: Thresh, Kassadin, Nunu
• OMG picks: Twitch, Pantheon Leona, Syndra Renekton
• T1 K picks: Jax Kha'Zix, Morgana Lucian, Orianna

Not surprisingly, OMG directed the majority of their bans at Faker, limiting him from playing champions that could dictate mid lane from the very start of the game. Even though T1 K's bans removed several comfort picks, OMG managed to pick up a number of champions they excelled at. Twitch had been a highly contested ADC pick for much of All-Star and OMG locked in the Plague Rat as their first pick. OMG's mid lane, xiyang, had already shown an affinity towards Syndra and found yet another opportunity to shine with the Dark Sovereign. By allowing OMG to get champions they favored, T1 K knew they could approach the game by selecting the appropriate counterpicks. Responding with the likes of Lucian and Orianna, T1 K felt it was an acceptable risk to allow OMG to get their preferred picks. With Leona's long range initiation and Pantheon's map presence with Grand Skyfall, OMG's team composition wanted to initiate fights where they could set up a proper front line and allow San's Twitch to attack from the back with impunity. T1 K on the other hand had a more reactionary lineup. Their team would function the best if Faker's Orianna could land a critical Command: Shockwave, giving Bengi and Impact a window to jump in and pick off enemy carries.

Responding to a threat

From the very start, T1 K decided they wanted to dictate the pace of the game. Already ahead in gold and kills in the first fifteen minutes, T1 K never hesitated whenever they found a pick opportunity that arose from PoohManDu's Dark Binding. However after carefully reading T1 K's engagements, OMG found a way to capitalize on their enemy's over-aggression. After clearing a ward, T1 K maneuvered to mid lane to apply pressure. PoohManDu shot a Dark Binding that managed to snare xiyang at max range. As soon as the spell landed on OMG's mid lane, T1 K instantly volleyed their ultimates, Command: Shockwave and The Culling to ensure a kill on the rooted champion. But instead of a quick hit and run, OMG counter-initiated right after xiyang fell. Because Bengi Leaped in to guarantee the kill on xiyang, T1 K's flank was exposed and Allen struck T1 K's backline with his Zenith Blade. With Bengi and Faker out of position, and standing close to OMG, San had the option to pick off either target. Given that Bengi still had a second Void Assault charge to activate and stealth away (despite taking a turret shot), Faker was another target in sight and ultimately the safest kill to secure first. With three kills already, Bengi was becoming predictable in how he was playing. After spotting a Vision Ward too appetizing to just walk away from, Bengi's confidence was bolstered even more after he had Black Shield from PoohManDu and Command: Protect from Faker guarding him. What Bengi expected was a lone Support trying to place wards and contest vision. It wasn't until he ran out of the brush that he saw that Allen had xiyang there to back him up. Already grossly out of position, Bengi's killing spree was handed over to xiyang and pomelo landed in the middle of the fray just in time to stall T1 K from retreating and gave xiyang the additional timing he needed to pick up a double kill. T1 K overestimated their presence on the map for a second time and gave OMG the kill lead. Although T1 K still led in team gold, OMG were slowly pulling even by netting kills on appropriate carries.

Out from the shadows

While the rest of his team grouped together to counteract T1 K's pushes, San was slowly becoming a dueling beast. With Blade of the Ruined King and Zeal completed, San could dispatch any of T1 K's carries with a well-timed Rat-Ta-Tat-Tat out of Ambush. While trying to mobilize and get in position behind Faker, San waited for the most opportune time to strike. Noticing that Faker had just used Command: Attack to farm, San had a few seconds of unhindered attacks before Faker could move his ball again. With greatly increased attack speed from his spells and items, San solo killed Faker with ease and avoided Piglet's attempt to get revenge. San was given plenty of time already by his team to get ahead of Piglet in farm and now his responsibility going into midgame was to pick off targets by using his stealth and create an even bigger gap in gold between him and T1 K's carries. San's strikes from the shadows continued as soon as he spotted another lone T1 K player trying to solo farm a creep wave. With Piglet isolated from the rest of his team, San once again got into position and a stun from xiyang ensured Piglet was going to go nowhere. Now facing a 5v4, OMG flanked the rest of T1 K for another kill. This fight eventually led to a two for one trade in OMG's favor and they were able to further control the map as a result.

The great equalizer

With OMG still with the kill lead, T1 K became more hesitant to fight them head on. So instead, T1 K chose to clear Baron wards and attempted a two-man Baron. If successful, it would neutralize the gold lead OMG had from the additional kills. Success in a match comes to understanding the strengths and weakness of not only your own team but also the enemy's. Going into midgame, OMG lost sight of T1 K's capabilities and they suffered from the miscalculation. Both Jax and Kha'Zix are exceptional at mowing down Baron. Once Impact completed his core items of Blade of the Ruined King and Trinity Force, he had more than ample attack speed, as well as the percent HP damage from the Blade. Bengi's Kha'Zix is also strong against Baron because of the additional damage dealt from Taste Their Fear when attacking isolated targets. After sweeping for Stealth Wards, T1 K sent Bengi and Impact into the pit while the rest of the team ran interference. OMG eventually realized what T1 K was doing but they panicked, only to make the situation even worse. OMG made the right call to have their jungler check Baron first. They needed to get their jungler with Smite as close to Baron as possible. OMG had knowledge that some T1 K players were by their Wraiths, so if T1 K was doing Baron, it would only be a fragmented part of the team. When pomelo confirmed T1 K was on Baron, his very first thought should have been what the most effective way to stop a Baron attempt: interrupting the enemy jungler. Pomelo made a mistake here of using Aegis of Zeonia on Impact, instead of Bengi. With Bengi free from attacks, he had his full focus on watching Baron's health and easily used Smite for the last hit.

Advantage gained, advantage lost

After a poorly executed pick for T1 K that resulted in both Impact and Bengi dying for nothing, OMG sought to increase their lead by taking their first Baron of the game. However their timing couldn't have been worse as the remaining three T1 K players played against the odds and won. By waiting at the last possible moment to commit to a 3v5 fight, T1 K allowed Baron to do as much damage as possible to OMG's five players. The less health OMG had, the greater the chance T1 K could make a clean sweep attack. The Baron attempt left OMG's frontline in tatters; already at one-fourth health, Allen was the first to fall, followed by pomelo. With Gogoing as the last front line remaining, he too, crumbled under the focused attacks of Faker, Piglet, and PoohManDu. While it appeared OMG's frontline stood and fought, their carries were nowhere to be found. OMG might have been able to repel T1 K had OMG's frontline absorbed damage while their backline launched their own offensive. To make matters even worse for OMG, as soon as Impact revived, he Teleported into the top lane in a position that cut off xiyang and San's retreat path. San might have been able to get away but in reckless abandon, he tried to fight PoohManDu, who had more than twice San's health, only to get snared by a Dark Binding and finished off by Piglet. Xiyang fared no better as Impact charged headstrong towards him to finish the ace for T1 K. A poorly initiated Baron allowed T1 K to come out triumphant despite initially down two players and looking at a total loss of map control. By biding enough time for Impact and Bengi to come back, T1 K swept OMG and found themselves with an uncontested Baron and eventually the game.

Wrapping up the match

Key moments for each team SKT T1 K Faker continues to prove why he's the best Starting the match with four deaths before his first kill, Faker fought back after being the prime target of OMG for most of the game. Faker didn't let his early deaths hold him back and still managed to influence how T1 K played out their late game team-fights. Understanding the limitations at Baron Showing how to obtain and counter Baron attempts, T1 K demonstrated a strong grasp of how to make offensive and defensive plays around Baron. OMG Misplanned and and mistimed opportunities Few teams can open and transition into midgame with a kill lead against a team of T1 K's caliber. However, OMG let their advantage slip out of their hands after poorly executing attacks and allowing T1 K to catch back up and eventually overtake them. Jack is a freelance writer for Riot Games and he was surprised at the rise of Twitch at All-Star. What champion do you think will make a splash in the summer split? You can tweet him your thoughts @NeoIllusions.

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