Boards›Esports

Korea's SKTelecom T1 win just in time

Riot·5/7/2016, 10:33:14 AM·0 votes·22,270 views

It’s taken them two days, but Korea's SKTelecom T1 have finally shown signs of life again in their victory over North America’s Counter Logic Gaming at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. With their recent run of form, it’s probably the best birthday present that Faker could have asked for.

So, happy birthday, champ!

[[{"fid":"22572","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/26806647415_ed8a1a5a56_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DL0a8TJ49","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered","height":"662","width":"992"}}]]

There was a big question mark hanging over Day 4, and this match in particular. SKT’s unprecedented losing streak caused many to question if the World Champions had tilted to beyond the point of no return, or if there was still a beating heart buried somewhere deep down. CLG was living up to their counter logic namesake, losing to Turkey's SuperMassive and then beating SKT in the previous days.

So if you had asked us who the favorite was going into this match -- we would have struggled to give you a conclusive answer.

“For the past three days we’ve played worse than we have ever since our debut,” Faker said. “Even though I had confidence, we didn’t play good enough.”

It was CLG who exerted the early pressure in the match. Some slick Bard moves from Aphromoo and a great ultimate on Aurelion Sol from Huhi secured the First Blood. Kills were traded back and forth and the game could have easily swung in either direction. Duke edged out an advantage over Darshan, while Stixxay averaged a good 20-30 CS up on Bang.

[[{"fid":"22571","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/26742827141_8f6602dbdc_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DwUfjJlC4","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered","height":"661","width":"992"}}]]

Though, in the end, it was the birthday boy himself that proved the difference. Faker’s Zilean put in some serious work. It was the first time the Chrono Keeper's been picked at MSI, and Faker used him to zone CLG’s aggression and keep both himself and his teammates alive with some clutch ultimates.

The turning point came when a Baron play from CLG went awry. They secured Baron, but lost three kills and a mid inhibitor turret in the process. Then, instead of consolidating their loss, they went aggressive, pushing bot lane and grabbing another tower. A poorly played team fight from CLG gave SKT all the advantage they needed to quickly run down mid lane and close out the game.

“It was important that we broke our losing streak because if we didn’t, it would jeopardize our chance of getting to the next stage of MSI," Faker said. "We had a lot of support from our team.”

[[{"fid":"22570","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/26848653035_7ad105a84e_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DVonscftf","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered","height":"662","width":"992"}}]]

As we get closer to the end of the Round Robin stage, things are getting tight. The only thing that’s certain is that China's Royal Never Give Up will be in the Semifinals, and that they've secured a top four seed for Worlds 2016.

As SKT and CLG now inch closer and closer to the same amount of wins, it sets up an interesting tiebreaker scenario. Depending on how Europe performs for the rest of the Round Robin, it could be a tiebreaker that decides the fate of their regions.

Things are heating up here at MSI so stay up to date at Lolesports and hit us up on Twitter with #MSI2016 and show your regional pride.

21 Comments

Elphrihaim5/7/2016, 10:34:21 AM4 votes

SPOILERS. SERIOUSLY.

THIS IS WHY ESPORTS IS TERRIBLE. TRY MY HARDEST TO EVADE THEM, AND THEN THIS CROPS UP WHEN I CHECK BOARDS.

HOW CAN I STAY UNSPOILED WHEN THIS KEEPS HAPPENING? >:(

Rosemary Bread 5/7/2016, 9:25:21 PM2 votes

Who care about SKT anyways? The game would be so much better without them. Watching them winning over and over again is boring as fuck. Let other regions a chance to win the world. Go NA and EU win us the world.

Legacy of Ra5/8/2016, 1:23:38 PM2 votes

I'm happy to see that SKT-- the World Champions --are still alive, somewhere beneath the dust of the poor showing they've given us so far at MSI. I was actually nervous watching this final set of games, because I wasn't sure if they would show up (like I hoped they would). Thankfully, SKT came through in the end.

The game between SKT and CLG was fine and dandy, sure, but the match against RNG was the real treat. Not to take anything from CLG, because they're definitely putting NA on the map this year, but the match between RNG and SKT was in an entirely different league of mechanics, planning, and execution. That was arguably one of the greatest games I've ever seen in my life, and it was only a best of one. I can't wait for this Friday.

gvang5/9/2016, 12:30:20 AM2 votes

Those seats in that first pic are HORRIBLE. They're some of the players in the tournament, and you guys give them seats where they end up having neck pains? The front row seats are not always the best, ya know?