SK Telecom T1 survive three scrappy games, beat Kingzone DragonX

SK Telecom T1 is looking ready for the LCK Spring Split final after a win over Kingzone DragonX.

The Kingzone team that rolled over Damwon Gaming in the previous round could not take a single game from three-time world champion SKT. The 3-0 victory puts SKT in the final against the number one team from the regular season, Griffin.

In game one, jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan locked in Vi. This was the first time the Piltover Enforcer had seen playing time in the LCK since 2015. Across the rift, SKT went for comfort picks including Jayce for top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha.

Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee on Akali completely neutralized Khan in the early game. SKT’s top laner had to settle for whatever farm he could get and tried to simply stay alive.

Kingzone was ahead for the most part and had excellent map control. However, SKT was generally better in the team fights. The mid game was full of crazy swinging fights that favored SKT. A baron steal by Park “Teddy” Jin-seong’s Varus preceded another team fight victory that would secure the win for SKT 39 minutes into the match game.

SKT picked a similar composition for game two, but this time the game plan was different. The squad looked disconnected and lost in the early game. These mistakes allowed Kingzone to get picks, to scale better, and even to expose SKT’s nexus.

SKT had to divide their attention between defending the base and pushing. At 44 minutes and with the help of a key baron buff, SKT managed to steal another victory from the seeming jaws of defeat.

At match point, Kingzone drafted a safe composition with plenty of tools to disengage. Said tools kept jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min largely clear of threatening the lanes. The calm early game turned into another chaotic mid game between the two sides as SKT tried to force Kingzone into fights without much success.

The tension was getting the best of the Kingzone DragonX squad as they began making multiple mistakes while facing series point. Instead of waiting for SKT to push inside their base for a more favorable fight, Kingzone decided to chase SKT through the jungle and tried to get a baron buff for themselves. That play would cost them their lives and would secure SKT’s spot in the finals.

SKT will face Griffin on April 13 at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul.