OGN Week 3 Preview

There are only two weeks left in the Hot6iX Champions Spring 2014 Group Stage. This week promises to be exciting as multiple top-tier Korean teams face off against each other with No. 1 seeds in their various groups still up for grabs. In two specific cases, Groups B & D, they'll be all over but the shoutin' a week from today.

Group A: SK Telecom T1 S vs. KT Rolster Arrows

When: Wednesday March 26th. 3:00 AM PST. 11:00AM CET The first series of the weekend, SK Telecom T1 S versus KT Rolster Arrows, may hold the most intrigue. The Arrows jungler KaKAO wants to "obliterate the SK Telecom organization," and T1 S is very interested in breaking out of the groups in only their second season in Champions. The Arrows have looked strong recently, and notched a win against the mixed Samsung Galaxy roster over the weekend in the SK Telecom LTE-A Masters tournament. SK Telecom T1 S is the only team to beat the undisputed No. 1 team on the Rift, sister team SK Telecom T1 K, in the 2014 calendar year. That win puts even more pressure on the KT Rolster Arrows. They to sweep T1 S, or face the tall task of taking a game off of T1 K to set the stage for a wild tiebreaker at the conclusion of the group stage.

Group B: CJ Entus Frost vs. Samsung Galaxy Ozone

When: Wednesday March 26th. 4:30 AM PST. 12:30 PM CET Wednesday's second series is shaping up to be a litmus test on CJ Entus Frost. The team's trials and tribulations have been well documented over the past six months. The mid lane was a revolving door of inconsistency, and the jungle was the center of more head-scratching then a flea infested pound. All of that changed when CoCo and Swift came over to the team from Xenics Storm. Frost has looked closer to the frozen lords they were many moons ago. Lining up against them is Samsung Galaxy Ozone. While they did it with a different mid laner, this team made the finals of Champions Winter in January. They've notched wins over the KT Rolster Arrows and NaJin Black Sword in the recent past, and will almost certainly close out the No. 1seed from Group B with a sweep here. Their only remaining series is against Midas FIO, an amateur team that has looked barely competitive in Champions Spring thus far.

Group C: KT Rolster Bullets vs. NaJin Black Sword

When: Friday March 28th. 3:00 AM PST. 11:00 CET The KT Rolster Bullets have had a tumultuous past few months. After again proving gatekeeper to a championship in Champions Winter, the KT Rolster organization decided to change rosters around. The result was a major step back for the Bullets. Their preternatural ability to make accurate calls on both the tactical and strategic level was gone. They have managed to regain some of their former swagger by putting 2013 All-Star inSec back into the jungle. The revitalized team won the IEM World Championship, but stubbed their toe back in Korea by splitting Samsung Galaxy Blue. Where the Bullets have faltered, roster changes for their opponent, NaJin Black Sword, have reinvigorated the proud team. Helios has been a revelation in the Black Sword jungle after a miserable season for CJ Frost. Limit's top lane presence has given Sword a roaming threat they had lacked since MakNooN left a year ago. They've already scored one win over the KT Bullets in the LoL Masters tournament, but that was before inSec returned to prowling the jungle.

Group D: CJ Entus Blaze versus NaJin White Shield

When: Friday March 28th. 4:30 AM PST. 12:30 CET When the groups were drawn, many considered Group D on the weaker end of the spectrum. The series between CJ Entus Blaze and NaJin White Shield would prove to be the decisive contest, and that thought process has held true. Blaze already swept Incredible Miracle #2, and Shield swept Xenics Storm. Both Shield and Blaze have appeared a step above in their games, though Xenics Storm nearly snuck a victory over Shield. The two premier teams of Group D enter on slightly different trajectories. While NaJin White Shield did lose their most recent Masters game, it was against SK Telecom T1 K, and it was one of the best games of that tournament. They'll have confidence coming off of that performance. On the other hand, Blaze has looked shaky of late. Their Masters performances have left much to be desired, and they even dropped a recent game against Incredible Miracle #1. Did CJ Blaze keep strategies hidden against IM#1 in Masters in preparation for this series? That explanation has been offered by some, and if they did, expect Blaze to come out ready to rock the Rift. A sweep puts either team in the playoffs for sure, and gives them a leg up to earning the coveted #1 seed from Group D.

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