This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
SKT vs. Longzhu
In the final match of Week 5, Day 1 in League of Legends Champions Korea, SK Telecom T1 bounced back from a Game 1 loss on Tuesday to take down Longzhu Gaming in a 2-1 series.
Longzhu got off to a great start in Game 1 with a first blood just under four minutes into the game for an early advantage. While SKT secured the first three dragons, Longzhu maintained a lead throughout on the back of its superior teamfighting and tower control. Despite seeing SKT close the gold deficit gap with a Baron at the 38-minute mark, Longzhu used the subsequent Elder Dragon to once again jump out to a 4,000 gold lead and break into the SKT base. With the base in shambles, one last Baron at the 45-minute mark was all Longzhu needed to finish off the SKT Nexus for a 49-minute win.
SKT top laner Seung-Hoon "Huni" Heo was given Camille in Game 2 and got his team off to a much better start by securing first blood on top laner Koo "Expession" Bon-taek's Renekton just under four minutes into the game. SKT then locked up the first tower in the bottom lane after a series of messy teamfights. As the game progressed, SKT grew its lead exponentially while striking down Longzhu at every turn, not allowing Longzhu any avenue for a comeback. SKT picked up the Baron 29 minutes in and used one final 5-for-0 ace to seal the 34-minute win.
While Longzhu did manage to get the first blood early on in Game 3, SKT quickly rebounded to take full control over the game. With little teamfighting occurring in the early game, SKT amassed its gold lead through control of dragons and towers. This lead continued to grow until SKT finally made it truly insurmountable with a 21-minute Baron that netted five towers and a whopping seven kills. One last Baron at the 28-minute mark allowed SKT to make a final push for the win, securing the 2-1 series win.
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MVP vs. KT Rolster
By the end of the first match of Week 5, Day 1 in League of Legends Champions Korea, no teams remained undefeated as underdogs MVP took down the previously undefeated KT Rolster with a decisive 2-0 sweep on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea.
MVP had a rough start to Game 1, with jungler Kim "Beyond" Kyu-seok's Elise taken down for first blood just over three minutes in and then losing first tower gold in the bottom lane at the 12-minute mark. MVP fought back into the game with a 2-for-0 fight around the dragon a few minutes later, but KT stormed back with a big 4-for-0 teamfight win around 19 minutes. In a desperation play, MVP went for a gutsy 24-minute Baron that paid off. MVP used the Baron buff to graze a few towers and even up the gold lead before securing a second Baron at the 32-minute mark. Despite losing three members immediately following the Baron kill, MVP hung on and won a 4-for-0 teamfight at the 35-minute mark to secure the Game 1 win.
MVP started off Game 2 on the right foot when support Jeong "Max" Jong-bin's Brand took down KT support Cho "Mata" Se-hyoung's Tahm Kench at the nine-minute mark for first blood. Despite KT taking three towers and top laner Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho's Rumble racking up seven kills by 18 minutes, MVP took control of the game on the back of top laner Kang "ADD" Geon-mo, who played well on Camille for the second game in a row. MVP picked up a big ace at the 24-minute mark on the back of an ADD quadra kill to secure the first Baron, pulling ahead with a gold lead. KT tried to hang on with a Baron kill, but Beyond snuck into the pit for the steal that gave MVP the final edge it needed to waltz into KT's base and pick up the 38-minute win.
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Kongdoo vs. JAG
In the first match of Week 5, Day 2, in League of Legends Champions Korea, Kongdoo Monster earned its first series win of the split after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Jin Air Green Wings on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea.
Even though Game 1 lasted 38 minutes, Kongdoo essentially won within the first two minutes of the game, when it took down JAGW jungler Um "UmTi" Seong-hyeon's Rengar twice. Despite a lack of kills over the next 20 minutes, Kongdoo was dominating in every lane. In addition to the earlier first blood, Kongdoo mid laner Lee "Edge" Ho-sung's Orianna picked up a triple kill in a big 3-for-0 teamfight at the 23-minute mark that truly broke the game open. The team took the first Baron kill, which it then used to take the final objectives needed for a 38-minute victory.
Despite the lopsided loss in Game 1, JAGW bounced back with an early first blood for support No "SnowFlower" Hoi-jong's Zyra in Game 2. JAGW slowly grew its lead on the back of strong objective control, amassing a 5,000 gold lead by the 22-minute mark. UmTi shook off a poor performance in Game 1, picking up a double kill during a 3-for-1 in the bottom lane at 23 minutes to further bolster his team's lead. Despite Kongdoo's Elder Dragon steal in the late game, JAGW controlled things well, taking a final 5-for-1 at the 44-minute mark to secure Game 2.
The final game of this series was incredibly close, with neither team taking a substantial lead until the very end. Kongdoo had a good start when Seo "SSol" Jin-sol's Jhin picked up first blood just over a minute in. JAGW stayed in the game by knocking down the first two towers, which kept the gold virtually even. After a long stretch of back-and-forth play from both sides, Kongdoo finally broke the game wide open with a 4-for-0 teamfight win at the 39 minutes that led to its first Baron kill. Navigating a tense late game, Kongdoo pushed into the base to finish up the 49-minute win.
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bbq Olivers vs. Afreeca
Bbq Olivers made short work of Afreeca Freecs in a quick 2-0 sweep Wednesday in Seoul during Week 5, Day 2 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Afreeca had an impressive start in Game 1, picking up two kills during a quick skirmish in the bottom lane. This fight gave way to a first tower for Afreeca, giving the Freecs an advantage over bbq early on.
Bbq began to even things up with a 3-for-1 teamfight at the 21-minute mark that was followed by two more kills just a couple minutes later. These decisive fights gave bbq the confidence to go for a risky Baron kill around 26 minutes that paid off, leading to a clean ace from bbq to break into Afreeca's base.
Breaking down three towers and an inhibitor during the siege left Afreeca's base in complete shambles, which allowed bbq to come right back and pick up the win in 33 minutes.
Bbq carried their momentum into Game 2, where the Olivers locked up the series sweep. Afreeca jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Graves invaded bbq's jungle to try and steal the red buff, but bbq jungler Choi "Bless" Hyeon-woong was lying in wait with his Kha'Zix to punish the greedy move with a first blood just over two minutes in.
Bless then went and stole the red buff on Afreeca's side of the map just for good measure, setting Spirit extremely far behind. While Afreeca managed to take the lead by demolishing two towers about 17 minutes in, an extremely early Baron from bbq right around 20 minutes all but ensured the game for the Olivers. Bbq secured the second Baron at 28 minutes, which gave way to a 4-for-0 teamfight win as bbq cruised through Afreeca's base to push for a 33-minute victory.
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SKT vs. Samsung
The first series of Week 5, Day 3 in League of Legends Champions Korea was a rematch of the 2016 World Championship grand final that saw SK Telecom T1 sweep Samsung Galaxy in a 2-0 series on Thursday in Seoul, South Korea.
Samsung jumped ahead in Game 1 with Kang "Haru" Min-seung's Kha'Zix taking down SKT mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Orianna just over four minutes into the game. Despite the strong start, however, Samsung's gold lead never crept above 1,000, allowing SKT to take control through superior teamfighting. SKT AD carry Bae "Bang" Jun-sik was especially strong on Varus, landing big Piercing Arrows on his way to a game-best 4/0/8 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). Once SKT picked up an Infernal Drake at the 23-minute mark following a 3-for-0 teamfight, there wasn't much Samsung could do to stop the defending World Champions. Taking a Baron and Cloud Drake around 28 minutes in, SKT locked up the Game 1 win in 39 minutes.
Going into Game 2, Samsung swapped out three players to try to get a leg up on SKT to force a Game 3, but SKT were unfazed as they stayed on the warpath. SKT came out of the gate with two kills at the six-minute mark from jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Kha'zix and Faker's Corki, leading to first tower gold for SKT in the bottom lane. While Samsung tried to come back into the game through kills, SKT's strong objective control kept them in the lead. SKT secured its first Baron at the 32 minutes, giving way to three tower kills in an initial siege into Samsung's base. It was all downhill for Samsung as SKT picked up one last Baron kill at 40 minutes to push into Samsung's base for the final time in a 42-minute Game 2 win.
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MVP vs. ROX
MVP earned its fourth straight series victory Thursday with a throttling 2-0 sweep of ROX Tigers on Week 5, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
ROX struck first in Game 1 when jungler Yun "SeongHwan" Seong-hwan's Kha'Zix took down MVP's top laner Kang "ADD" Gun-Mo's Renekton just three minutes into the game. Continuing the focus on the top lane, SeongHwan came back to help ROX top laner Heo "Lindarang" Man-heung's Maokai take down ADD once again just a few minutes later. Around the nine-minute mark, MVP came alive with kills onto SeongHwan and Lindarang in the top lane and ROX AD carry Kwon "Sangyoon" Sang-yun in the bottom lane. These kills turned the tide of battle solely in MVP's favor. Using impeccable objective control, MVP slowly chipped away at ROX's resolve until making one final push. While it took 41 minutes to wrap up the win, MVP thoroughly dominated ROX to the tune of a 19-3 lead in kills, 11-3 in towers, 4-1 in dragons and 3-0 in Barons.
Building off Game 1's resounding victory, MVP ran ROX off the Rift in Game 2. The key player in this game was MVP AD carry Oh "MaHa" Hyun-sik whose Caitlyn was incredibly dominating. He started off with a first blood onto ROX support Hangi "Key" Kim's Karma at the seven-minute mark. That kill kicked off what turned out to be a completely dominating performance in the lane. MaHa finished with a 7/0/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), while Sangyoon only managed a paltry 0/2/0 KDA. MaHa's finest moment came in a 4-for-1 teamfight at the 15-minute mark where he secured a triple kill. That fight allowed MVP to truly break away from ROX and start building its way up to a big push for the win. MVP secured the game's only Baron at 24 minutes and then a clean ace at the 32-minute mark to wrap up the win.
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Longzhu vs. Afreeca
Longzhu Gaming won its fourth series in the past five outings Saturday with a 2-0 sweep of the Afreeca Freecs on Week 5, Day 4 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
Afreeca started Game 1 well enough with support Park "TusiN" Jong-ik's Miss Fortune picking up the first blood on Longzhu support Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyeon's Zyra just four minutes into the game for an early lead. This lead was bolstered after AF took another teamfight at 13 minutes that netted two kills and the first tower. Everything changed at just over 21 minutes, however, when Longzhu decisively won a 4-for-0 teamfight and took an early Baron. In what was an extremely productive Baron buff, Longzhu razed six towers, secured a Mountain Drake and helped turn a 1,000 gold deficit into an almost 8,000 gold lead by the time the buff expired. Unable to stem the oncoming tide, Afreeca did little more than watch as Longzhu easily pushed for the 32-minute win.
Game 2 saw Afreeca jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Kha'Zix almost single-handedly try to force Game 3, picking up first blood on mid laner Song "Fly" Young-jun's Talon, which was just the first of seven kills in the first 15 minutes of the game. Longzhu weathered the storm, though, and got back into the game on the back of superior teamfighting. A 31-minute Baron kill gave way to five kills for Longzhu that put it ahead for good in the midlate game. Things looked shaky toward the end when Afreeca took a 4-for-0 teamfight at 37 minutes, but the Freecs pushed way too far into Longzhu's base and got wiped out 4 for 0 in Longzhu's favor. That teamfight win gave Longzhu a second Baron kill and an Elder Dragon that pushed Longzhu past Afreeca's tenacious defenses for the 48-minute win to secure the sweep.
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KT Rolster vs. Kongdoo
While it wasn't pretty, KT Rolster took down Kongdoo Monster in a 2-0 series on Saturday at the conclusion of Week 5, Day 4, in Seoul, South Korea. KT is now tied with SK Telecom T1 at the top of the standings of League of Legends Champions Korea, with the two juggernauts poised to clash in Week 6.
Game 1 was all KT Rolster as jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin's Kha'Zix got things started with two early kills on Kongdoo jungler Son "Punch" Min-hyuk's Rengar by the 12-minute mark. Not content with a lead in just the jungle, KT knocked down towers across the map and secured two Mountain Drakes to build up a considerable lead in the mid game. Easily securing the first Baron kill at 25 minutes, KT used the buff to take five towers and two inhibitors to force Kongdoo's base wide open. While Kongdoo delayed the inevitable loss with a quick 2-for-1 teamfight 32 minutes in, KT didn't falter, killing the second Baron in a lightning fast five seconds with the help of three Mountain Drake buffs to make its final push for the 38-minute win.
Kongdoo had a much better start to Game 2 as Punch's Rengar picked up first blood just under a minute into the game when both teams clashed in the jungle. Winning another 2-for-1 teamfight six minutes in, Kongdoo's lead further grew and put them in the driver's seat. KT showed off its veteran resolve, however, by slowly chipping back into the game on the back of superior objective control, taking a 3-for-0 fight around 27 minutes that led to the first Baron kill. Kongdoo tried to hold on and look for a window to break back into the game, but KT was relentless, finally finishing Game 2 in 52 minutes to secure the sweep.
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ROX vs. bbq Olivers
On the back of two dominant performances, the ROX Tigers earned a 2-1 series victory over bbq Olivers on Sunday in Seoul, South Korea during Week 5, Day 5 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
ROX started on the right foot with a first blood by top laner Park "Shy" Sang-myeon's Renekton just seven minutes into Game 1, which transitioned into first tower gold at 13 minutes. From then on, ROX saw little resistance from bbq. Even before securing the Baron at 24 minutes, ROX had amassed an almost 4,000 gold lead through kills and objective control. While bbq attempted to claw back into the game with a late teamfight win, ROX simply regrouped and took a 3-for-1 just a couple minutes later to lock up the 33-minute Game 1 win.
Carrying momentum over from the previous game, ROX jungler Son "Mickey" Young-min's Elise locked up first blood on bbq mid laner Kang "Tempt" Myung-gu's Corki just over three minutes in. Despite the early lead, however, ROX threw it away with a mismanaged Ocean Drake attempt at the 10-minute mark that gave the drake up for free. Using that freebie, bbq started to snowball its way to a massive gold lead through objective control that choked ROX out of the game. Two late game aces were all that bbq needed to finish up a quick 27-minute victory to force a decisive Game 3.
ROX came onto the Rift in Game 3 with renewed focus, starting with jungler Yun "SeongHwan" Seong-hwan's Elise picking up first blood onto bbq jungler Choi "Bless" Hyeon-woong's Kha'Zix around five minutes. At that point, it was off to the races for ROX, dominating every inch of the map to the tune of a 10,400 gold lead at 20 minutes. An early 20-minute Baron followed to allow ROX to lay waste to bbq's base on the way to a blazing fast 22-minute victory. By the end of the thoroughly dominating win, ROX enjoyed a 21-to-3 lead in kills, 11-to-1 lead in towers, 3-to-0 lead in inhibitors, 2-to-0 lead in dragons and 1-to-0 lead in Barons.
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Samsung vs. Jin Air
Bouncing back from a rough 2-0 loss to SK Telecom T1 earlier in the week, Samsung Galaxy dismantled Jin Air Green Wings in a quick 2-0 victory on Sunday during Week 5, Day 5 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
Jin Air started off well enough in Game 1 with mid laner Lee "Kuzan" Seong-hyuk's LeBlanc taking down jungler Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong's Rengar around six minutes, even taking first tower gold in the top lane before it all came screeching to a halt. Samsung capitalized on a poor engagement from Jin Air to take a 4-for-0 teamfight and secure a gold lead at the 17-minute mark. While Jin Air picked up both of the Barons kills in the game, it was unable to do anything with the buffs. Samsung held firm with a gold lead for almost the entire game, eventually pushing for the 50-minute win after overwhelming Jin Air in their base.
Apparently eager to begin the week-long break for IEM Katowice, Samsung absolutely trounced Jin Air in Game 2. The action kicked off with a bang as Samsung took an early 3-for-2 teamfight before minions had even spawned, with jungler Kang "Haru" Min-seung's Rengar getting two kills in the fight. Samsung made it a point to get the jungler ahead at every turn as he ended up with five kills by about 11 minutes, ultimately finishing with a 6/4/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). Samsung then parlayed the early lead into first tower gold in the bottom lane at the 13-minute mark. From there, the gold lead began to spiral out of control into insurmountable territory for Jin Air, growing from 5,000 gold by 15 minutes to a ridiculous 7,500 gold by 20 minutes. Only one Baron was needed for Samsung to push for an incredibly quick and dominant 27-minute Game 2 win.
