Third time's the charm for KT Rolster
Success in Summer seems to be coded into KT Rolster's DNA.
For three years in a row now, teams under the KT organization made it to the LCK Summer Finals. The results have been different each time and in 2014, the KT Rolster Arrows even won the Summer Season. But for some inexplicable reason, KT has never been able to make it to the Worlds stage. The craziness that is 2015 Summer has changed things once again. KT Rolster finally -- finally -- have clinched a ticket to the primary tournament of the year.
Even though it was a hard-fought battle up the Playoffs and Qualifiers brackets to make it to Worlds, the players have finally made it a reality. KT was one of the teams that was hit hardest by the Korean Exodus to China, with players like KaKAO, RooKie, Zero, and inSec leaving the organization. Despite the absence of the players of previous years, the current KT Rolster squad is eager to see, and play, against them.
"I want to face off against the teams that have the ex-KT players. I think it’d be fun to have them as an opponent. I’m confident that I can win against them, more than anything," says KT's jungler, Score.
The Play
KT is fueled by vision. Every member plays off the wards that the support Piccaboo and jungler Score set up together in the early game. Having those wards also enable Ssumday to make appropriate Teleport plays that help turn the game in KT's favor. Even the location of wards matters, and Ssumday has a knack for finding the perfect places to Teleport to.
One such coordinated skirmish ensues in their Week 11 match against KOO Tigers. After Score sets some wards deep into the enemy jungle and bot lane, the whole team moves immediately towards Ssumday who has Teleported behind PraY and GorillA. The other members of KT use their ults as follow-up to Ssumday's Ryze, who immediately locks down members with Rune Prison (W). Vision enables KT's playmaking.
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Top Heavy, Vision Steady
KT Rolster holds a versatile threat in the top lane, and his name is Ssumday. He's showcased his champion diversity by pulling out 12 different picks into the top lane. Ssumday has played everything from meta favorite champions (Shen, Gnar, Maokai) to snowball heavy picks (Yasuo, Riven). He's also the LCK Summer Season MVP, having received the title of game MVP 14 times. The award solidifies his distinction of being the key player on the team since he makes those crucial plays, especially with Teleport, that gets his team ahead.
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But Ssumday isn't solely responsible for KT Rolster's success. Improvements have been seen in the team's overall vision play and synergy. In turn, it's allowed Ssumday and other members of the team to gain and abuse advantages. A steady climb in Round 2 after Piccaboo's addition documents just how fast they were able to rise. Riding into the end of the season looking better synced than ever, all eyes will be on Ssumday for his ability to carry and on Piccaboo for his early roaming and vision control.
"During practice, we’re able to understand and communicate with each other better. Piccaboo says anything that he wants to say, and in game we are able to talk freely without any reference to junior-senior statuses." -- Arrow
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Talk of the Rift
It's been a rough and wild ride for the members of KT Rolster. But trials and tribulations maketh the men, and they've certainly been through enough to come out of this more prepared and more motivated than before.
"Definitely, our confidence has increased after Piccaboo joined the team. He talks a lot…I don’t think that we’ve become more aggressive, but rather that we make decisive decisions when we see a window of opportunity." -- Ssumday
"I want to face off against the teams that have the ex-KT players."
"Looking from Spring Season, I didn’t think that we’d do this well. Thankfully during the Summer Season we started to see a huge improvement in our results and our teamwork started to mesh well. After our loss at the Finals our team morale tanked, but with our qualification to Worlds, I think it’s all come back," says KT's mid laner, Nagne.
And as they step into the bright lights of the international stage as Korea's No. 3 seed, their ever-evolving teamwork will be put to the test once again.
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Interested in learning more about the other teams competing at Worlds? Check out the whole lineup, now.
