August 31, 2013. The skies are dark at Jamsil Supplementary Soccer Stadium. The staff at OnGameNet do their final preparations before the big event. KT Rolster and SK Telecom, two of the biggest sponsors in Korean eSports, ready fansigns and various other paraphernalia, from enlarged player heads to clappers, and everything in between. One by one, the 20,000-person capacity of the stadium is slowly being filled by fans, ignoring the imminent rain for a chance to see their idols on such a massive event.
The clouds finally give in, and everybody gets drenched. But it does not matter, for it is time for another chapter of Korea's "El Classico," a rivalry that has spanned across multiple games. The players from each team come out on stage, game faces on, ready to fight in one of the biggest battles of their lives.
SKT T1 versus KT Rolster B. OGN Champions Summer 2013 Finals. It begins.
Game 1 - The Immortal Strikes!
The drafting phase was a testament as to how much KTB and SKT researched each other. Each team's favored picks were removed, the most important of which was Zac, as he is just simply too strong in the hands of both inSec and impact. While poohMandu loves his Nami, KTB considered his Thresh more threatening.
This made poohMandu's Sona pick questionable, as it really was not his go-to champion. Then again, the rest of SKT's whole lineup relied on strong AoE lockdown and teamfighting, with Vayne doing most of the work. As if they read its opponent's mind, KTB built a heavy-engage, mobile pick composition with Ryu and Mafa on Gragas and Fiddlesticks respectively to create chaos.
The first game was absolute murder to SKT. Score getting early kills meant that he was able to immediately construct his blue build, which made him nigh untouchable. There was barely any oppotunity for SKT to set up their AoE combo, as they get constantly picked one by one from KTB's strong single target burst. Add to that the powerful fast push style they developed, and SKT was not able to gain any sort of momentum. Though Piglet showed off some impressive Vayne play, it was not enough to carry his team off that huge deficit.
Game 2 - Zac Attack!
Now on blue side, KTB gets that coveted first draft pick, and while it looked like the bans are going be the same, the sudden Singed ban from KTB might have threw SKT off-guard. That is because it opened up inSec's favorite champion right now: Zac. Coming off that amazing performance on The Secret Weapon during the CJ Frost match, forcing SKT to choose between him and Zed was what KTB needed to throw their opponent off even more.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And that's what KTB did during the second game. It was pretty much the same team comp from the Bullets, albeit a change of pick by Score to Tristana, for better late game potential and disengage. SKT, on the other hand, attempted to answer this team comp with a more assassination power from Faker with his Ahri. However, all in all the SKT lineup looked confused, as the Nasus pick for impact did not seem to fit.
While it seemed like a much closer game than the previous one, one teamfight in KTB's favor dictated the rest of the match. Again, the fast puch style seemed unstoppable, especially now that inSec got his favored champion. Score's Tristana was interesting as well, getting a Pickaxe then shifting to Statik Shiv for that midgame power, which she certainly lacks. Though Faker was able to reach 100-0 burst, he is still only one man, and again the questionable Sona pick, as well as an poorly played Vayne led SKT to defeat, and it looked like they will be swept away.
Game 3 - Here comes Vi!
Back against the wall, SKT decided to throw caution to the wind. The big change in SKT's bans was Fiddlesticks, as it seems like it is playing such a huge factor on KTB's success. Surprisingly, KTB decided to leave it open, opting to remove impact's champions more. This would prove to be a big mistake for the team currently 2-0, as the draft continues on.
The same old team comp for KTB was chosen, because why not? It works, right? Well, this time SKT knew what kind of lineup they would throw against its opponents, and it was also a heavy engage team comp, but much more all-in than KTB's. Bengi and impact on Vi and Malphite can get into the center of anything, and poohMandu's Zyra might be the pick he needs, as he always preferred a much more aggressive, play-making support.
A level 1 facecheck gank was all SKT needed to get back into this series. The fast push style of KTB finally met its match, as the constant aggression from Faker and bengi threw their opponents off their rhythm. Compared to Game 1, Score looked like a puny human, as Vi and impact kept making great initiations while Faker and Piglet annhialated everybody. The Zyra proved to be a much better choice for poohMandu, even getting a good kill score beyond his impressive Stranglethorn placements.
Game 4 - The Runback
The momentum has shifted, and this time is it KTB's turn to show what else they have in stock. Instead of adapting however, they instead tried their team comp once more, this time taking away Vayne from Piglet. The confidence was in SKT's side, as they let inSec get his beloved Zac, while it used the same strategy as last game as well, with some changed yet similar picks.
If Faker and Piglet snowballing wasn't scary enough, imagine bengi joining the gang. Ryu's Gragas pick seemed to work against him this time, as he didn't have much of an effect this time, even with the lane swap to harass Faker. In the end, they were crushed even more than last game, especially KaKAO being unable to make plays like the previous games, due to bengi being a more dominating presence in the map. And just like that, the series is tied.
It is time for the finale: Blind Pick.
Game 5 - Faker: The Real Deal
SKT and KTB have a lot of overlapping champion pools, so having two Zeds and Shens weren't surprising, though one has to wonder if inSec got too scared to use Zac after that last game. As for the team comps, KTB didn't seem to have anything else planned, as it is still a fast push, strong engage pick comp, this time with the "submarine" tactic of Shen/Evelynn. SKT maintained this super-aggressive, fight-hungry lineup, now optimized as it is blind pick.
If inSec and KaKAO were going to have a bad game, then this one is definitely the worst time for it happen. KT Teams were known to "choke" during the crucial moments, but it looked like they have fixed all that. So it is very sad and soul-crushing that every member of SKT carried their own weight: From impact's precision taunts, to bengi's strong ganks, to Piglet looking like Korea's best AD Carry at the moment, and poohMandu with the perfect snares and counter engages.
But of course, all of that are shadowed by one man: Faker. Though his KDA isn't jaw-dropping, one shouldn't be fooled. The way he played Zed was something worth watching again and again, proving why this Solo Queue Superstar is taking the game to a whole new level.
Speaking of a whole new level:
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And with that, SKT emerges victorious with one of the most epic comebacks in recent professional LoL history. KTB had the championship in the bag, if only they prepared just one more strat. Sadly, their stubborness led to their demise, and now they would have to continue fighting to get a second chance of going to Los Angeles.
SK Telecom wins... but it is not over.
Because of the Korean Circuit Point System, SKT ends up at 3rd place from points accumulated, and would have to wait on who will they face for the third spot at the World Championships.
That can wait, however. Right now is their moment.
Faker, impact, bengi, Piglet, and poohMandu. SK Telecom.
Champions of Summer.
