SKT returns to Semifinals

Watching a boa constrictor strangle its prey to death isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s methodical and efficient. This Quarterfinals performance was SK Telecom T1 at its finest -- merciless with no room for counterplay.

SKT top laner Duke is satisfied with his team’s results and says, “I believe that the only time we stall a game is when we are in a bad position, so we have to buy time -- I don’t care if that’s boring because we win. But when we are in an advantageous position, I think my team is very speedy.”

Following a surprising loss to start the day, SKT flipped on a switch and trounced Royal Never Give Up in three straight convincing wins. After subbing in jungler Blank, they quickly matched RNG's early game -- it seemed if SKT escaped lane phase, then their opposition had no idea what to do against them. A 43 minute Game 2 was deceptive -- there wasn’t a single point in the game where it seemed like RNG had a real shot.

And while RNG did roll over the SKT lanes through sheer individual talent in the first game -- it wasn’t completely unexpected. It’s something they’ve demonstrated an ability to do even throughout the Group Stage.

Duke said, “There was no control for SKT in the top and bot lane in the first game. I didn’t time my W right during Jayce’s combo so I got solo killed in a silly mistake that ended up costing us.”

RNG may struggle at the macro level in terms of rotations, but they are world class when it comes to fighting. This makes them a frightening team when they can snowball from an advantageous position.

But SKT simply denied them those chances in the subsequent games. It was like watching a dog refuse to acknowledge a puppy's nips and scratches. Each win was more brutal than the last. By the end of the series, it was almost relieving to watch it stop.

Even a successful early game that saw RNG up 5-3 in kills at one point didn’t amount to anything in Game 4, thanks to a proactive play from SKT in the bot lane. RNG funneled in one by one and were eliminated in succession. It was the clearest example of the difference between the two teams in this series. Where SKT played as a team, RNG played as individuals.

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Another notable takeaway from this series is that the bot lane featured an Ezreal and Karma against Jhin and Zyra in every single game. Perhaps it was just that these two teams favored those pairings, but this shows an emphasis on long ranged abilities from the bot lane position. This is likely not the last we’ll see of those combinations.

Zyra and Karma bring a lot of zone control to a team fight as well, which plays to the general theme of this Worlds -- teams poking and prodding for position instead of smashing their heads into each other. This is a meta that significantly favors a more experienced and communicative team in SKT. Their ability to peel off is almost unrivaled.

But this series wasn't without fault for SKT -- the clearest being that their jungle issues are still not entirely resolved. Perhaps giving the nod to Bengi to start the day was more to play on his veteran experience. Duke, though, thinks people will overplay it.

“Both the loss and the win had nothing to do with junglers -- it was purely on me,” he laughs. “And I feel sorry for Bengi that I made it appear like we lost because of him, even though that’s not the case at all.”

Going forward in the series, they settled on Blank, though, and found much success. Whether Bengi returns at all or not will show how confident SKT is in their junglers. Last year, both substitute Easyhoon and Faker brought strong iterations to the team. This year, though, the jungle’s revolving door seems to be tied to a change of pace.

With either EDG Clearlove or ROX Peanut emerging from the other Quarterfinal matchup, it’s going to continue to be a point of concern for SKT. With one of the world’s top two jungler set to test them next week, SKT will need to solidify that hole in their game plan. How long SKT can continue to thread this disengage dance will determine whether or not they can repeat as the World Champion.