The 2014 World Championship promises to bring all manner of styles together in a single, massive tournament. There are mechanical “gods” from numerous teams, including EDG AD Carry Zhu “NaMei” Jia-Wen and Samsung Blue middle laner Bae “dade” Eo-jin. These two players are considered among the best, if not the best, at their position in the game. On the flip side, you have mechanically mediocre teams that have found ways to win through exceptional team play and map movement. SK Gaming falls into the latter category, but that doesn’t diminish them as a threat in the
Group Stage of the World Championship.
Rebuilding the team
Roughly a year ago, SK Gaming was at a crossroads. The 2013 Summer Split was a forgettable monstrosity that pushed the team into the 2014 Spring Promotion Tournament, thanks to a losing 13-15 record. If they continued as they had been, there was a very real chance that SK Gaming, one of the most powerful esports organizations the world has ever seen, would be unceremoniously booted from the LCS.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and SK responded with multiple, radical roster changes aimed at moving the team back into contention with Europe’s best. Four players from the 2013 roster, top laner Kevin “kev1n” Rubiszewski, mid laner and team captain Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez Santiago, jungler John “hyrqBot” Velly, and support Patrick “Nyph” Funke, decided to move on to other opportunities, and were replaced with an assortment of veterans and fresh blood.
Three veterans, top laner Simon “fredy122” Payne, jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, and support Patrick "Nyph" Funke combined with newcomer Jesse “Jesiz” Le to form a rejuvenated SK Gaming squad heading into the Spring Promotion Tournament. Early returns in their matches against Supa Hot Crew were mixed, but the team came together when the chips were down to roar back for a 3-2 victory after falling behind 0-2.
Spring Split Surge
SK Gaming was the surprise of the 2014 LCS Spring Split, having swapped out Nyph for Christoph “nRated” Seitz in the off-season. Despite being tied for fourth through four weeks of the split, the team posted an impressive 9-3 record during the final month of the regular season to end the season as the No. 1 seed heading into the Spring Playoffs.
The surprise was compounded by how the team won. Instead of astonishing individual play, they regularly took everything they could off of an opponent’s play. Their understanding of what to do at critical moments, as well as mental fortitude, put them over the top. There were numerous games where SK Gaming responded to a dive or a heavy resource commitment by the opposition to a single lane by taking dragon or a turret. While the team may have suffered a death in those instances, it was more than balanced by an objective on the map.
Infrastructure Powers Surge
Infrastructure is the current buzzword for professional League of Legends teams, and SK Gaming is one of the early adopters of a support staff to assist the team. Two people, coach Nicolaj “Incarnati0n” Jensen and sports psychologist Lukas Schenke, were two major parts of the SK surge.
Combined with nRated, one of the most tactically advanced minds in Europe, Jensen helped come up with numerous SK strategies that were utilized during both the Spring and Summer splits. The reactionary play that earned SK their first place, based on superior understanding, is a hallmark of Jensen’s contribution to the team.
Schenke’s role is harder to lock down, if only because he specializes in the less quantifiable mental side of the game. SK’s manager Alexander Müller admitted that Schenke was “one of the missing parts without us knowing it was missing” during an interview with lolesports. The most overt translation of what Schenke has brought to the team is that SK Gaming had a tendency to fall behind due to issues during the early game, particularly during the Summer Split, but showed mental fortitude by continuing to fight even when they’re behind. One of the less overt things that Schenke has tweaked for SK Gaming comes from Jesiz who explained that “he didn’t help me get over mistakes. He helped me figure out how to not be afraid of making mistakes.”
Summer Step Back
Following their first place finish during the 2014 Spring Regular Season, SK Gaming entered as one of the favorites to contend for top honors in Europe. They fulfilled those expectations through the first six weeks by maintaining second place behind Alliance, but the team fell on some hard times during the back half of the split, at one point getting blanked in back-to-back weeks. SK Gaming fell from second to fifth for a time, but did come together to have a 3-1 Super Week during the last week of the Summer Split to bump up to fourth.
The hiccup was proven to be an aberration during the Summer Playoffs. SK Gaming smashed Millenium in three games, but ran into an Alliance buzzsaw that would win the entire tournament. With everything on the line in the 3rd/4th place game, the team again responded when the chips were down and swept ROCCAT to win 3rd place. Their third place earned the team a 2014 World Championship berth.
Worlds Bound
The key for SK Gaming at the World Championship lies in whether they can translate their superior strategic play into wins. Even if there are teams with better individual mechanics than SK Gaming coming to the tournament, SK’s combination of mental toughness and strategic prowess will make them a tough team to beat during the 2014 World Championship.
Editor's Note: This article originally stated that SK Gaming competed with Christoph “nRated” Seitz during their Spring Promotion Tournament. In fact, the team competed with Patrick "Nyph" Funke during that period, with nRated joining the team in January 2014. Lolesports.com regrets the error.
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