T1 gets early LCK victory over longtime rival KT Rolster

T1 secured a victory over its arch-rival KT Rolster in the first round of the telecom war in the 2020 LCK Spring.

The name of the teams and the rosters might change, but the rivalry between T1 and KT Rolster is still alive. Week 1 in the 2020 LCK Spring was different for both teams. While T1 is getting wins, KT Rolster is still struggling with the basics. T1 came into Week 2 hoping to get an easy win while KT Rolster was desperate for its first victory in the tournament.

The telecom war is a messy affair

The best word to describe the series between T1 and KT Rolster is messy. It was a messy series where the teams didn’t look their best. It ended quickly with a 2-0 score in T1’s favor.

Game one of the series showed the worst side of KT Rolster. The team was indecisive and overly aggressive in situations where they had to be more cautious. The problems for KT Rolster started eight minutes into the game when the team rotated its bottom lane duo to get the rift herald.

An eight-minute rotation has become the standard since the second rift herald was introduced into the game. The problem with that rotation is that the teams sacrifice gold and experience to get the objective. Even if the rift herald gets two turret plates and the team scores the first turret, it doesn’t make up for the time wasted. KT Rolster rotated and allowed Park “Teddy” Jin-seong to get turret plates for free.

KT Rolster continued to play a reactive style, going in too deep at the wrong times. Jungler Kim “bonO” Gi-beom on Jarvan IV was the worst-performing member of the team. On multiple occasions, bonO engaged in situations without back up and too far forward so the rest of his team couldn’t join him.

T1 was far from perfect, the team made fewer mistakes and were saved only by KT Rolster’s inability to punish them.

KT Rolster changed junglers in game two, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the series. In the second set, T1 had a better draft. The team had a strong early game with Olaf, three wining lanes and good scaling in the late game.

25 minutes into the game, T1 had a 10 thousand gold advantage over the enemy. T1 waited for KT Rolster to come at them and punished every mistake. T1 closed the day with two wins and is climbing in the standings.

On Sunday, KT Rolster will play against Damwon Gaming. T1 will face Gen.G.