After failing to attend League of Legends’ biggest international tournament for the last two years, KT Rolster have qualified for the upcoming World Championship.
The second team to qualify for the World Championship after Taiwan’s Flash Wolves, KT Rolster earned their World Championship ticket thanks to Afreeca Freecs’ playoff victory over KINGZONE DragonX. With KINGZONE eliminated from playoffs, KT now automatically qualify for the World Championship even if they lose the finals thanks to their championship points.
If KT lose to either Griffin or Afreeca in the finals, they will exit the playoffs with 140 championship points, more than any other team in the league. The team that ends the LCK Summer Split with the most championship points qualify for the World Championship as Korea’s second seed.
First formed in 2017, this iteration of KT was dubbed “the Korean super team.” With star talents like top laner Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho, and AD carry Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, this KT lineup was expected to topple the SKT empire, and become the LCK’s top team.
But due to shotcalling and team cohesion issues, this KT roster failed to win the LCK 2017 Summer Split, and were thrown down to the regional finals where they fought for a spot at the World Championship. KT were swept by Samsung Galaxy in the regional finals, and thus failed to attend the World Championship last year.
Although they have already confirmed their place at the World Championship, KT’s LCK season has still not ended. Seeded straight to the LCK finals after ending the regular season in first place, KT hope to win their first ever LCK title. The last time KT earned a domestic title was in 2014, when KT Arrows won OGN Champions Summer.
Although KT’s opponent’s have yet to be finalized, the LCK Summer Split playoff finals is set for Sept. 8, following the 2018 Asian Games tournament.
