This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
bbq Olivers vs. Kongdoo Monster
Bbq Olivers picked up a 2-1 win over Kongdoo Monster in a marathon of a series on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea to open up Week 10, Day 1 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Bbq Olivers (5-12, 16-22 match record) picked up first blood early in Game 1 but that was one of the few high notes that it hit this game as Kongdoo (2-15, 10-32 match record) took control with an ace at the 15-minute mark. An ill-advised Baron attempt at 21 minutes cast some doubt on Kongdoo's chances as it resulted in a 4-for-1 in favor of bbq, along with the Olivers taking three towers to chip away at Kongdoo's gold lead. Sensing the game slipping away, Kongdoo snagged the next Baron kill at 29 minutes to wrestle back control of the game. It took another 10 minutes and a third Baron to finally wrap up the win, but the slow and methodical pace allowed Kongdoo to comfortably take the game in 39 minutes.
Bbq got off to a better start in Game 2, beginning with a first blood by AD carry Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun's Jhin about seven minutes into the game and they never let up from there. Kongdoo did its best to keep things close, as bbq had less than a 1,000-gold lead by the 15-minute mark. Starting with a 2-for-0 skirmish about 18 minutes in, though, bbq began to win teamfights with relative ease on its way to the win. By the time it was all said and done, bbq was up 12-to-2 in kills and had razed nine towers without giving up a single one to Kongdoo. Ghost led the way in the game with his final KDA (kills/deaths/assists) of 8/0/3 for 92 percent kill participation.
After the one-sided natures of both Games 1 and 2, the final game saw a marked change, as things were extremely close. Bbq held the only kill of the game until the 31-minute mark, where it picked up an ace after Kongdoo secured a Baron kill. This gave bbq a plus-3,900 gold advantage during Kongdoo's Baron "power play" thanks to the ace. Depsite getting the large advantage, the game settled into a bit of lull, even with bbq's Elder Dragon and Baron at the 38-minute mark. Bbq outlasted some late-game kills from Kongdoo to pick up another Elder Dragon as the game was creeping past 60 minutes, which allowed it pick up a late ace to finally secure the series victory.
Kongdoo will hit the stage to try and bounce back against Longzhu Gaming on Thursday at 4 a.m. ET, while the Olivers will return Sunday when it faces the Jin Air Green Wings on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
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Afreeca Freecs vs. Jin Air Green Wings
Bbq Olivers picked up a 2-1 win over Kongdoo Monster in a marathon of a series on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea to open up Week 10, Day 1 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Bbq Olivers (5-12, 16-22 match record) picked up first blood early in Game 1 but that was one of the few high notes that it hit this game as Kongdoo (2-15, 10-32 match record) took control with an ace at the 15-minute mark. An ill-advised Baron attempt at 21 minutes cast some doubt on Kongdoo's chances as it resulted in a 4-for-1 in favor of bbq, along with the Olivers taking three towers to chip away at Kongdoo's gold lead. Sensing the game slipping away, Kongdoo snagged the next Baron kill at 29 minutes to wrestle back control of the game. It took another 10 minutes and a third Baron to finally wrap up the win, but the slow and methodical pace allowed Kongdoo to comfortably take the game in 39 minutes.
Bbq got off to a better start in Game 2, beginning with a first blood by AD carry Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun's Jhin about seven minutes into the game and they never let up from there. Kongdoo did its best to keep things close, as bbq had less than a 1,000-gold lead by the 15-minute mark. Starting with a 2-for-0 skirmish about 18 minutes in, though, bbq began to win teamfights with relative ease on its way to the win. By the time it was all said and done, bbq was up 12-to-2 in kills and had razed nine towers without giving up a single one to Kongdoo. Ghost led the way in the game with his final KDA (kills/deaths/assists) of 8/0/3 for 92 percent kill participation.
After the one-sided natures of both Games 1 and 2, the final game saw a marked change, as things were extremely close. Bbq held the only kill of the game until the 31-minute mark, where it picked up an ace after Kongdoo secured a Baron kill. This gave bbq a plus-3,900 gold advantage during Kongdoo's Baron "power play" thanks to the ace. Depsite getting the large advantage, the game settled into a bit of lull, even with bbq's Elder Dragon and Baron at the 38-minute mark. Bbq outlasted some late-game kills from Kongdoo to pick up another Elder Dragon as the game was creeping past 60 minutes, which allowed it pick up a late ace to finally secure the series victory.
Kongdoo will hit the stage to try and bounce back against Longzhu Gaming on Thursday at 4 a.m. ET, while the Olivers will return Sunday when it faces the Jin Air Green Wings on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
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SKT vs. ROX Tigers
SK Telecom T1 secured its spot at the top of League of Legends Champions Korea on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over the ROX Tigers to open Week 10, Day 2 in Seoul, South Korea.
The first game was very much a slow burn in which SKT (14-2, 28-9 match record) simply bided its time before exploding for a dominating win. SKT jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Graves got things going early with two kills before 13 minutes had even passed in the game. But ROX (8-8, 20-22 match record) managed to keep it even by taking down the first tower, which set the game into a bit of a stalemate for a few minutes until SKT started to pick up towers of its own to take a slight lead. This lead continued to grow slightly until SKT secured the Baron at the 25-minute mark, which ended up blowing the game wide open. The buff allowed SKT to start pushing its advantages across the map even more, with Peanut continuing to run the show on his way to an 8/0/6 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). ROX had no defense at all for the onslaught that SKT put out, leading to SKT's 32-minute victory to open the series.
Game 2 started off much like the first, with Peanut getting an early first blood and ROX picking up the first tower. Where this game differed was the early-mid game, with ROX decisive in teamfights, which is not a hard thing to do when your mid laner is playing out of his mind. Sun "Mickey" Young-min was playing on Ahri in this game and took no prisoners, finishing with a stellar 10/0/5 KDA. With Mickey leading the way, ROX secured two Barons to keep SKT completely pushed out of this game from the mid game to eventually finish up the win in an almost identical 32 minutes to SKT's Game 1 win.
The final game of the series saw SKT go back to its Game 1 prowess in a big way. While SKT did get first blood, it came as part of a trade kill between the two teams, so there was no advantage to be gained from it. Up until the 21-minute mark, it looked as though ROX might take this game through objective control, but then SKT did what it does best, securing a 3-for-0 teamfight win that led to a game-flipping Baron. While it took another 17 minutes to finish up the win, at no point did ROX look like it had an avenue back into the game. This was mainly due to AD carry Bae "Bang" Jun-sik's Ezreal, who kept ROX bogged down with his sky-high 39,000 damage and 10/1/9 KDA in the 38-minute win.
Both teams will hit the stage one last time this split Saturday, with ROX taking on Samsung Galaxy at 4 a.m. ET and SKT facing MVP at 7 a.m. ET.
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Samsung vs. MVP
Samsung Galaxy continued its strong run, ending Week 10, Day 2 of the League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Split with a sixth straight series win after taking down MVP 2-0 on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea.
Samsung (13-4, 28-12 match record) didn't start Game 1 on the right foot after MVP (10-7, 23-19 match record) picked up first blood, taking advantage of a misplay by Samsung jungler Minseung "Haru" Kang. However, Samsung eventually regained control following a series of picks near the 19-minute mark. Relying on objective control coupled with strong play from mid laner Lee "Crown" Min-ho's Syndra and AD carry Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk's Ezreal, Samsung continued to build on its lead into the late game. It was the massive damage output from Ruler, including a triple kill in the final teamfight that Samsung used to take the Game 1 win in this series. He finished with a massive 8/2/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists).
Game 2 started off slow for Samsung, as MVP once again picked up first blood. Crown answered right back with a flurry of kills from his Taliyah, who became an absolute terror in the game. On the back of some teamfight wins and tower destruction, Samsung quickly jumped out to a lead, in large part thanks to Crown's dominance. A 4-for-1 teamfight win at the 21-minute mark made the final outcome seem like nothing but a formality, as there was just nothing MVP could do to combat the strength of Samsung's draft. The lead was almost 8,000 by the time Samsung secured the Baron 25 minutes. That was all she wrote for MVP. Samsung barely needed a kill during its final assault on MVP's base to lock up this 27-minute trouncing. With Crown posting a 9/1/2 KDA, there simply was nothing MVP could do to prevent its fate in the tough loss.
Samsung will look to end the season with a seventh straight win when it faces ROX Tigers on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET, while MVP will have a tough match against SK Telecom T1 the same day at 7 a.m. ET.
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Longzhu vs. Kongdoo Monsters
Kongdoo Monster came up with a surprising 2-1 victory over Longzhu Gaming on Thursday in Seoul, South Korea during Week 10, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
While Longzhu (8-9, 20-23 match record) managed to get first blood in Game 1, that proved to be its only kill for the entire game. All of Kongdoo (3-15, 12-33 match record) were monsters, picking up kills across the map starting in the early game as jungler Son "Punch" Min-hyuk's Lee Sin dominated. Punch ran rampant all over the map on his way to an 8/0/9 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), which was good for 94 percent kill participation. Despite the early onslaught of kills, it took a 10-to-1 kill advantage at 24 minutes for Kondgoo to finally earn a gold lead. Once it took the lead, though, it never looked back. A 2-for-0 in favor of Kondgoo at the 28-minute mark led to a Baron kill that was used to break into Longzhu's base, which allowed Kongdoo to march to a win in 35 minutes. With the loss, Longzhu was eliminated from the playoffs, giving the Afreeca Freecs the final spot.
For as lackluster as Longzhu looked in the kill department in Game 1, it more than made up for it in Game 2. Longzhu jungler Dong-woo "Crash" Lee's Rengar picked up the first blood for the second game in a row, and then it was off to the races. The mid-game was a fiesta of epic proportions, with 11 kills between the two teams in an eight-minute span. By 25 minutes, Longzhu had amassed an almost 6,000-gold lead on the back of a 9-to-4 kill advantage and four tower destructions. Longzhu continued raking in the kills with a 4-for-0 and Baron at 28 minutes; both advantages allowed it to easily siege Kongdoo's base and lock up the 32-minute win.
For the third game in a row, a jungler picked up first blood, with Punch taking the honors this time around with his Lee Sin. While the first blood came early on around four minutes in, no other kills came until 17 minutes, and neither team got a sizeable advantage until Longzhu won a 4-for-2 at the 21-minute mark. Longzhu then continued rolling its way to a 4,000-gold lead by the 28-minute mark before Kongdoo flipped the game on its head with a Baron steal by the Nami of Kongdoo support Kim "GuGer" Do-yeop. This allowed Kongdoo to start amassing a lead of its own with the buff in tow. A second Baron and Elder Dragon at the 38-minute mark gave Kongdoo just what it needed to wrap up the surprise 41-minute victory to end its split with a bang.
Kongdoo Monster have played its final game of the Spring Split, while Longzhu will come out one last time to face KT Rolster on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET.
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KT Rolster vs. Afreeca Freecs
It was a close one, but KT Rolster managed to overcome the Afreeca Freecs on Thursday in Seoul, South Korea for a 2-1 series victory to close out Week 10, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
In what was an omen of things to come, Afreeca jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Lee Sin picked up first blood in a 1-vs-1 with KT jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin's Rengar just three minutes into the game. He got another kill a couple minutes later before the game settled into a major lull. The drought lasted until the 28-minute mark when KT (11-6, 27-15 match record) finally got on the board with a 4-for-1 teamfight win, but it came after Afreeca's decisive objective control led to a Baron at 29 minutes and a sizeable gold lead. From there, Afreeca didn't allow KT to claw back into the game, taking a late 2-for-0 pick to rush into KT's base and take a 1-0 series lead.
KT bounced back in a big way during Game 2, as mid laner Heo "PawN" Won-seok's Orianna got an early first blood, which KT then parlayed into a series of kills all across the map for a 3,000-gold lead at 10 minutes. Much like in Game 1, things settled into a bit of a lull during the mid-late game, but KT still led the way. While Afreeca (10-8, 22-20 match record) managed to put together a 4-for-0 teamfight win -- led by a double kill from AD carry Jong-Hoon "Kramer" Ha's Lucian -- that led to a Baron at 38 minutes, it wasn't able to do much with the buff. With KT's strong 8-to-2 advantage in towers at that point, it wasn't surprising that KT had enough breathing room to eventually outlast Afreeca for a 43-minute win.
KT continued to ride the wave of momentum it generated in Game 2 throughout the early game of Game 3, with top laner Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho's Shen picking up the first blood only a few minutes into the game. KT continued to pound Afreeca into the ground with massive leads in every lane to the tune of an 8-to-4 kill advantage by the 17-minute mark. Leading the way was Score and his Elise, pressuring every single lane on the way to an impressive 11/1/6 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). While Afreeca did get back into the game with a 3-for-0 and Baron at 26 minutes, KT just kept its head down and picked up a 3-for-0 of its own at 37 minutes to get the second Baron kill. With that Baron buff in hand, KT was able to easily break into Afreeca's base and finish up the 42-minute win.
Afreeca have now finished up the Spring Split, while KT Rolster has one final game against Longzhu Gaming on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET.
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ROX Tigers vs. Samsung Galaxy
The World Championship runner-up Samsung Galaxy finished the League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Split with a commanding 2-0 sweep of the ROX Tigers on Saturday during Week 10, Day 4 in Seoul, South Korea.
Samsung (14-4, 30-12 match record) started and ended this series with a bang, kicking things off with the jungler Minseung "Haru" Kang's Lee Sin getting two kills just a few minutes in. ROX (8-10, 21-26 match record) fired back with some kills of its own, including a big double kill that gave it first tower gold about 10 minutes in. At this point, a series of chaotic fights broke out, and Samsung consistently came out on top. Even though Samsung picked up 3-for-0 and 2-for-1 teamfight wins, though, ROX still held a lead from taking down towers. Samsung kept trudging along until it decisively took down the Baron at 25 minutes and then picked up a 5-for-2 ace on the back of a Haru double kill. Led by another Haru double kill later on, which gave him an overall 8/0/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), Samsung picked up another big teamfight win to fully destroy ROX's base and secure the 31-minute win.
The second game followed a very similar script to Game 1, with Samsung getting an early first blood before ROX clawed back in it through messy teamfights. At one point, ROX owned a 10-to-8 advantage in kills and a 2-to-1 advantage in towers, but Samsung was still up by almost 1,000 gold due to the sizable advantages in farm that every lane owned. In an almost identical fashion to Game 1, Samsung picked up a big 5-for-1 ace that was powered by a triple kill from jungler Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong's Kha'Zix at the 26-minute mark. The teamfight win also allowed Samsung to pick up a Baron kill and start pushing for advantages all across the map. ROX had no defense against any of what Samsung put out in the late game, eventually leading to another ace to allow Samsung to push into the base and secure the 36-minute win.
Samsung locked up the No. 2 seed with the win and will look ahead to the playoffs in a couple weeks, while ROX will be forced to watch from the sidelines and look forward to the Summer Split.
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MVP vs. SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1 ended the split with a bang by picking up an easy 2-0 sweep over MVP on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea, to close out Week 10, Day 4 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
While SKT (16-2, 32-10 match record) has looked a bit worse for wear in some of its recent series, Game 1 against MVP (10-8, 23-21 match record) should quell any concerns that the community has about this team. By the 12-minute mark, SKT held a 7-to-1 kill advantage, which would eventually grow to a 23-to-5 kill advantage by the end of the game.
At the center of it all was SKT jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Graves, who picked up five kills in the first 12 minutes and finished with an impressive 11/1/8 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). With Peanut leading the way, SKT pushed for advantages all over the map, which left MVP with no way back into the game. A Baron kill at the 26-minute mark was all that SKT needed to finish up the 30-minute win.
Peanut wasted no time getting back to work in Game 2 with first blood just over two minutes into the game as Rengar. SKT followed up with a series of dominating teamfights that put it firmly in control. Although Peanut was the catalyst for SKT in Game 1, top laner Seung-Hoon "Huni" Heo's Rumble was at the forefront of SKT's onslaught in Game 2, finishing with a flawless 5/0/8 KDA.
SKT amassed a 6,000-gold lead by 15 minutes as MVP mid laner Ahn "Ian" Joon-hyung's Ekko did his best to try to keep his team afloat by securing four of his team's six kills. Even with Ian's contributions, though, MVP couldn't seem to win a single teamfight. Any time it initiated a skirmish, the decision would backfire, and SKT would outlast MVP. With no avenue to make a comeback, MVP was dismantled by SKT in a swift 31-minute contest.
SKT now sits back and watches the playoffs unfold, as its spot in the grand finals on April 22 has been locked up. MVP, on the other hand, will have to play a tiebreaker against Afreeca Freecs on Sunday to determine the seeding for the final two spots in the playoffs.
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KT Rolster vs. Longzhu Gaming
KT Rolster ended the 2017 League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Split with a dominating 2-0 victory over Longzhu Gaming on Sunday in the first match of Week 10, Day 5 in Seoul, South Korea.
KT (11-6, 27-15 match record) didn't get off to the best of starts in Game 1, as Longhzu (8-9, 20-23 match record) picked up first blood when jungler Dong-woo "Crash" Lee's Graves ganked the bottom lane for an easy kill. Undeterred by the slow start, KT mid laner Heo "PawN" Won-seok's Taliyah took over a 3-for-1 teamfight win at 10 minutes with a double kill to start pushing KT's advantages across the map. The game was so one-sided that KT actually put together an 11,000-gold lead at one point without needing a Baron buff. With PawN leading the way with his flawless 7/0/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and AD carry Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu setting up his teammates as Ashe with Enchanted Crystal Arrows, there was nothing that Longzhu could do to stop KT in this 32-minute win.
KT had a better start in Game 2, with jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin getting the first blood as Elise. Picking up a 3-for-0 fight a few minutes later, KT looked poised to really run away with the game but it lost a fight shortly afterwards that went 3-for-1 in Longzhu's favor. The game was relatively even through the mid game unitl KT came up with a sneaky Baron at the 30-minute mark to start taking full control. While the buff gave KT a 7,000-gold lead, it ended a bit awkwardly when the teams went 4-for-4 in a messy teamfight. While Longzhu attempted to get back into the game with a Baron of its own, it did nothing with the buff and then proceeded to get wiped in a clean 5-for-0 ace for KT 42 minutes in. PawN led the way again in this game as LeBlanc with a 9/2/4 KDA to power KT in the lopsided sweep.
KT will now have a little over a week to prepare for its first playoff match on April 11, while Longzhu will have the next couple months to shore up and prepare for the Summer Split.
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bbq Olivers vs. Jin Air
Jin Air Green Wings picked up a close 2-1 victory over bbq Olivers on Sunday during the 2017 League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Split on Day 5 of Week 10 in Seoul, South Korea.
Jin Air (3-14, 12-29 match record) seemed ready to end the split as it picked up a swift win in Game 1, despite usually taking a while to finish games. While bbq (5-12, 16-22 match record) picked up first blood on jungler Choi "Bless" Hyeon-woong's Graves about 11 minutes in, Jin Air stayed in striking distance. Despite not having a lead in kills, Jin Air wasted no time knocking down towers for a 3,000-gold lead by 20 minutes. Jin Air then went for a decisive Baron secure at the 21-minute mark that ballooned its gold lead to 12,000 by the time the buff expired. With the help of an Infernal Drake, Jin Air easily shredded through bbq to the tune of a 5-for-1 ace that finished up the game in 28 minutes.
In true Jin Air fashion, Game 2 was an extremely drawn-out, arduous affair. While Jin Air started well enough with a lead in the early game after a couple early kills and the first tower, the game settled into a lull until turning into a nightmare for Jin Air. Four Barons were secured in the game, with each team getting two apiece. The two that bbq secured came as steals where Jin Air jungler Um "Umti" Sung-hyeon, playing on Graves, was unable to time his Smite correctly, giving bbq easy steals. None of the buffs provided much of an advantage for either team, though. Bbq simply waited for another fight in which it decimated Jin Air to get a 4-for-0 to clean up the 58-minute win.
Needing a change after UmTi's subpar performance in Game 2, Jin Air put in jungler Ji-hwan "Raise" Oh, who played Elise. The change worked out well, as Raise was able to come up with some unconventional ganking strategies to push his team ahead. He picked up one of two early kills before Jin Air started focusing on towers to amass a 5,000-gold lead by 20 minutes. Jin Air then went for the Baron soon after it spawned and quickly picked up a 3-for-2 teamfight win. By the time the buff had expired, Jin Air was up 11,000 gold. After running through bbq's base after the first Baron, Jin Air picked up a second Baron for good measure and finally finished up its destruction of the base for the 31-minute win.
Jin Air is now looking towards the Promotion Tournament, having finished in the bottom two in the standings, while bbq is simply looking forward to the Summer Split.
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MVP vs. Afreeca Freecs
In a quick, sub-30 minute tiebreaker match, the Afreeca Freecs trounced MVP on Sunday in Seoul, South Korea at the end of Week 10, Day 5 in the League of Legends Champions Korea, and will now have the side selection for the Wild Card match later this week.
Afreeca (10-8, 22-20 match record) set the tone early on with jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Lee Sin getting first blood on MVP mid laner Ahn "Ian" Joon-hyung's Ahri. While the first blood was nice, it was a 3-for-2 teamfight in favor of Afreeca in the bottom lane that really cemented Afreeca's lead. Ian came down to the bottom lane to initiate a 3-vs-2 gank on the bottom lane duo of Afreeca and while MVP (10-8, 32-21 match record) initially picked up a kill onto AD carry Jong-Hoon "Kramer" Ha's Varus, it ultimately underestimated Afreeca support Park "TusiN" Jong-ik's Karma, who incredibly picked up a double kill during the resulting 1-vs-3 in a microcosm of MVP's inability to do much of anything. From then on, Afreeca picked up objectives all across the map while methodically inching its way towards victory. This cautious approach paid off with a 29-minute win, and granted Afreeca its pick for side selection for its wildcard match against MVP on Friday at 4 a.m. ET.
