The 2023 LEC Winter Split was easily the most successful split SK Gaming has had as an organization in nearly a decade. The League of Legends team reached the top four of the European playoff bracket for the first time since 2015 and came one game away from eliminating eventual runners-up MAD Lions.
This winter, SK posted a record of 12-8 in individual games. The team has not had a winning season since 2015, and furthermore, this year’s SK Gaming squad could do something that the team hasn’t done in nearly a decade: finish a season with more kills than deaths.
SK have not had a positive KD ratio as a team since 2014 when they collectively had a team-wide KD just barely above 1.0. That year, the team had 1,086 kills and 1,047 deaths, and SK has yet to have as successful of a year since. It’s arguable that 2014 was the last great year for SK Gaming as an organization. That season, SK finished second in the Spring Split and third in the summer. Additionally, 2014 was the last time the team qualified for the League World Championship.
The team has not had a winning record since that season, but this year, their Winter Split performance has put them on an early pace to run through 2023 with a winning record and positive KD—should they be able to continue playing at their current rate, of course. Through their first 20 games of 2023, SK holds a KD ratio of 1.15 across its roster, according to League stats site Oracle’s Elixir.
The greatest individual contributor to SK’s positive KD is support Doss, who holds a personal KDA of 6.3 on the season. Additionally, SK’s 1.15 team-wide KD is second in the LEC to only G2 Esports, who hold a blistering ratio of 1.58 on the year, according to Oracle’s.
SK have already surpassed expectations in 2023 since they were touted as a probable playoff spectator in the preseason. They’ll have the chance to pick up where they left off when the 2023 LEC Spring Split begins on March 11.
