After an eight day break, the LCK has returned, now in the shiny new year of the rooster. This week was mainly a tool used by teams to get back into the LCK rhythm. Still on patch 7.1, Korean teams have to wait until week four before they get to play with the new lethality changes on stage.
But even on the old patch, these teams managed to continue surprising fans of Korean LoL. Renekton was played, Camille lost to Singed, and the return of Syndra support; this was a confusing week to say the least.
KT can bleed (kinda)
Alongside SK Telecom T1, KT Rolster stood as one of the kings of this LCK split. Touting a star-studded lineup, KT Rolster was a giant looming over the rest of the LCK. But this week, KT faltered (sort of). In their series against the Afreeca Freecs this week, KT finally dropped a game. Falling victim to Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-hwan’s Renekton, a signature champion of his, as well as Heo “PawN” Won-seok’s Azir pick falling flat combined into a 41 minute loss for KT.
KT quickly shored up their mistakes in game three, countering Marin’s Renekton with a Maokai from Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho. While it was a sight to see KT finally drop a game, the only thing this loss really affects is the standings. Both SKT and KT haven’t lost a series, but due to the LCK’s tiebreaker rules, if playoffs were to occur tomorrow, SKT would be directly seeded into the finals instead of KT due to game records. KT Rolster will get the chance to take back first place in week six, when they play against SKT. That is, if both these teams can remain undefeated until then.
Afreeca Freecs are confusing
Speaking of the Afreeca Freecs, their week three results were a bit weird. At the start of the week, AF went up against KT. Despite eventually losing the series, AF managed to take a game off the Korean “superteam,” who was previously undefeated. But the following day, the same AF team was swept by the Jin Air Green Wings, who before this win were tied for last place with the Kongdoo Monsters.
This result mirrored week one, where AF won their first series against world finalists, Samsung Galaxy, but then lost to MVP. These results are reminiscent of North America’s Counter Logic Gaming, who like AF, could take down the best but also lose to the worst on any given day. AF take on SKT this Thursday. Not only will this series be Marin’s reunion with his former team, but this will also be AF’s chance to blemish the record of the LCK’s other colossus.
Weekly Results
Longzhu Gaming 2-0 Kongdoo Monster
KT Rolster 2-1 Afreeca Freecs
BBQ Olivers 2-0 Kongdoo Monster
Jin Air Green wings 2-0 Afreeca Freecs
Samsung Galaxy 2-1 ROX Tigers
SK Telecom T1 2-0 MVP
Current Standings
1 – SK Telecom T1 (4-0)
2 – KT Rolster (4-0)
3 – BBQ Olivers (3-1)
4 – Samsung Galaxy (3-1)
5 – Longzhu Gaming (2-2)
6 – Afreeca Freecs (1-3)
7 – Jin Air Green Wings (1-3)
8 – MVP (1-3)
8 – ROX Tigers (1-3)
10 – Kongdoo Monster (0-4)
What was your favorite moment of week three? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom.
Article by Malcolm Abbas. Follow him on Twitter @SmashhLoL.
Photos courtesy of INVEN Global
