This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
Longzhu vs. bbq Olivers
Longzhu Gaming (7-6, 16-16 match record) kicked off Week 8, Day 1 of League of Legends Champions Korea with a 2-1 comeback victory over bbq Olivers (4-9, 11-19 match record) on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea.
Bbq started out with an early lead thanks to a few ganks in the top and bottom lanes, amassing a 2,000 gold lead before the 10-minute mark. While Longzhu managed to find kills of its own to even things up, it eventually fell by the wayside after some poor positioning and teamfight execution. Bbq used a 4-for-0 teamfight win, led by a triple kill from mid laner Kang "Tempt" Myung-Gu's Jayce, to wrestle away control of the game. It then snowballed from there until it locked up the win with a decisively clean ace 30 minutes in that allowed bbq to waltz into Longzhu's base and take Game 1.
Game 2 followed a completely different script than the first. While bbq started off with a quick lead early, Longzhu managed to stick around with farm leads in most lanes. Bbq, sensing the need to break the monotony after things were still basically tied at 25 minutes, forced a fight by going for the Baron. This backfired tremendously, however, with Longzhu picking up a massive 4-for-0 teamfight win after AD carry Kim "PraY" Jong-in's Ashe shredded bbq for a triple kill. After securing the buff, Longzhu catapulted ahead, earning a 7,000 gold lead by the time the buff expired. The game lasted another 10 minutes, but Longzhu finally took another 4-for-0 at 35 minutes to lock up the win and force a Game 3.
Game 3 was one of the most one-sided affairs seen in the LCK this split. Jungler Lee "Crash" Dong-woo dominated the early game with his Graves to lead the way for Longzhu, picking up four early kills on his way to a final 11/2/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) by the 12-minute mark. Bbq didn't get its first kill until almost 14 minutes into the game, showcasing the stranglehold that Longzhu had on the game. By the time this 26-minute route was all said and done, Longzhu owned advantages of 24-to-4 in kills, 10-to-0 in towers, 2-to-0 in inhibitors, 2-to-0 in Barons and 2-to-0 in dragons.
Longzhu Gaming will try to continue its winning ways when it takes on the ROX Tigers on Thursday at 4 a.m. ET, while bbq Olivers will face SK Telecom T1 on Saturday at 7 a.m. ET.
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KT Rolster vs. JAG
KT Rolster (10-3, 22-8 match record) closed out Week 8, Day 1 of League of Legends Champions Korea on Tuesday with a 2-1 reverse sweep of Jin Air Green Wings (2-11, 9-22 match record) in Seoul, South Korea.
Despite being at opposite ends of the standings in the LCK, Jin Air was not about to roll over, quickly earning a 4,000 gold before 15 minutes. From then on, Jin Air managed to hold onto the lead for the majority of the match, even outlasting a Baron kill from KT Rolster. While it briefly lost the lead for a matter of seconds after KT secured the Baron at 31 minutes, Jin Air quickly recovered after the buff expired to get its lead rolling again. Continuing to dominate the mid lane, Lee "Kuzan" Seong-hyuk's Vladimir pushed all the way to an inhibitor by 36 minutes. Jin Air snagged the next Baron a couple minutes later and used that buff to destroy the KT base and lock up the Game 1 win.
Game 2 was much slower to start off, with KT only owning a 2-to-1 kill advantage after 17 minutes. It razed two towers by that point though, which contributed to the almost 3,000 gold lead. KT continued to slowly build up its lead throughout the rest of the game with picks while also preventing Jin Air from taking a single tower all game long. It was a big 3-for-0 teamfight win about 31 minutes in that finally allowed KT to make a serious push into the base of Jin Air. KT used brute force to crack into Jin Air's base and took down the Nexus under 36 minutes.
The final game of the series followed a very similar script to the second, but this time KT maintained a massive lead from the jump. KT managed to find two kills before three minutes had even passed, and never stopped from there. Jin Air managed to fight back with a 3-for-0 around the Baron pit, but somehow let KT jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin's Lee Sin steal the Baron despite being the lone member of KT left in the pit. This blunder threw away Jin Air's only chance at a comeback, as KT stayed in the driver's seat before securing one last Baron and an ensuing clean ace to lock up the win in 35 minutes.
KT Rolster comes back on Thursday at 7 a.m. ET to take on Samsung Galaxy, while Jin Air Green Wings look to bounce back against MVP on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET.
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MVP vs. Kongdoo
MVP (7-5, 16-13 match record) closed out Week 8, Day 2 of League of Legends Champions Korea with a 2-0 sweep over Kongdoo Monster (1-11, 6-23 match record) on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea.
It took some time, but MVP eventually showed Kongdoo who's boss. While MVP got first blood early on, Kongdoo managed to get a trade to nullify the early kill. Once the 12-minute mark passed, MVP started to slowly take over the game. It started with a 3-for-1 and was followed by a 2-for-0 a few minutes later. Leading the way in these fights was jungler Kim "Beyond" Kyu-seok's Elise, who was cutting through enemies with impunity to push MVP ahead. Beyond secured a Baron kill at 23 minutes, which grew its gold lead to over 10,000. It took one more Baron, but that second buff allowed them to swarm Kongdoo's base for the 32-minute win.
Game 2 went underway with the teams trading kills back and forth for the first portion of the game. Despite the kills dead even, MVP controlled the dragons and had farm leads in each lane to keep an overall gold lead. Sensing the need to make a play to turn the tide of battle, MVP went for a Baron kill at 21 minutes only to have it stolen away by Kongdoo jungler Son "Punch" Min-hyu's Graves. Fortunately for MVP, Kongdoo wasn't able to do much with the buff. Part of this was due to the presence of MVP mid laner Ahn "Ian" Joon-hyung making his presence felt across the map with Orianna en route to a 4/0/9 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). These teamfights were what allowed MVP to stay ahead of Kongdoo and grab the next two Barons to finally lock up the win after 40 minutes.
MVP will be back on the Rift on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET to take on Jin Air Green Wings, while Kongdoo Monster won't hit the stage again until Sunday at 4 a.m. ET against Samsung Galaxy.
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SKT vs. Afreeca Freecs
SK Telecom T1 (12-1, 24-6 match record) won a tough 2-1 series over the Afreeca Freecs (7-6, 17-16 match record) on Wednesday to open up Week 8, Day 2 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
Game 1 was an absolute trouncing by SKT from start to finish. While Afreeca tried to be unique with its surprise Dr. Mundo pick in the top lane, SKT stuck to fundamentals and it paid off. By the eight-minute mark, SKT secured four kills, three of which went to jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Lee Sin. Peanut's presence was felt early and was a huge reason why SKT easily controlled the game. As things went on, there was simply no stopping the SKT avalanche. It won teamfight after teamfight before securing the Baron at 27 minutes and locking up the 29-minute win.
Despite getting rocked in Game 1, Afreeca came out with a renewed spirit in Game 2. Picking up two kills before seven minutes, Afreeca slowly started to choke SKT out of the game. The Freecs won several early teamfights and knocked down towers left and right on its way to a sizable lead even before securing a Baron. Afreeca jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Rengar roamed the map constantly, keeping his team's advantages going all over the map. SKT did not destroy a tower until 30 minutes into the game. Afreeca used two late game Barons to lock up the 43-minute win and force Game 3.
With how the first two games proceeded, it was hard to know what to expect in this final game. Things started out nicely for SKT, as it picked up two kills and two towers in the early game for an almost 2,000 gold lead by 17 minutes. Continuing to grow its lead mainly through suffocating teamfights, SKT shut Afreeca out of the game. When it came time to finish the game, massive teamfights were SKT's path to the top. The first came in the form of a 3-for-0 at the 26-minute mark and gave SKT a Baron kill. Using the buff, SKT began pushing into the Afreeca base and picked up a 4-for-0 to complete its decimation of Afreeca's Base to secure the 27-minute win.
SK Telecom T1 will continue its romp through the LCK when it faces bbq Olivers on Saturday at 7 a.m. ET, while Afreeca Freecs look to get back on track with a matchup against the ROX Tigers on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
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Longzhu vs. ROX
Longzhu Gaming picked up a 2-1 victory over the ROX Tigers on Thursday during Week 8, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
Game 1 was a slow burn that wasn't decided until quite a ways in. Longzhu (8-6, 18-17 match record) got an early first blood by catching out ROX mid laner Son "Mickey" Young-min's Cassiopeia about a minute in, but neither side found more kills until the 14-minute mark. Both teams traded teamfight wins back-and-forth, which kept the game even approaching 30 minutes.
With both teams fighting around Baron after ROX started the attempted kill, Longzhu top laner Koo "Expession" Bon-taek walked into the pit as Nautilus and stole the Baron, flipping the game on its head. The buff was more than enough for Longzhu to amass a 7,000-gold lead and decimate the ROX base for a 30-minute win.
Longzhu once again started off strong with first blood in Game 2, but it was all downhill from there. ROX (5-8, 14-20) controlled every aspect of the game from that point forward, winning teamfights and securing objectives all the while. By the time 20 minutes had passed, ROX had razed four towers and racked up a 4,000-gold lead. Longzhu tried to get back into the game with a 4-for-0 at the 26-minute mark, but ROX immediately fired back with a 3-for-1 that started the assault on Longzhu's base. ROX picked up a second Baron a couple minutes later and used the buff to wrap up the 32-minute win.
Longzhu recovered from the Game 2 loss with one of the most dominant League of Legends performances this split. The early game was very slow, with neither team picking up a kill until just less than 10 minutes in. From there, Longzhu ran straight through ROX with gusto, starting with a flurry of kills in the span of three minutes. Longzhu kept on rolling to advantages of 14-to-1 in kills and 10-to-3 in towers while racking up a ridiculous 12,000-gold lead and a throttling 20-minute win.
Longzhu Gaming faces SK Telecom T1 Wednesday at 4 a.m. ET, and the ROX Tigers has one more match this week against the Afreeca Freecs on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
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Samsung vs. KT Rolster
Samsung Galaxy (9-4, 20-12 match record) beat the odds and came away with a 2-1 upset victory over KT Rolster (10-4, 23-10 match record) on Thursday to close out Week 8, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
Game 1 started off slow with no action coming until 11 minutes in, when Samsung picked up first blood in the top lane. That proved to be one of only three kills that Samsung secured to KT's whopping 15 as KT controlled the game through teamfights and objective control. The main catalyst for KT's success was jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin's Kha'Zix, who finished with a flawless 5/0/4 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). Score was all over the map, helping his side lanes gain sizable leads over the competition while also controlling the Dragon Pit to secure all three of the game's Elemental Drakes. Picking up a late Baron at 30 minutes, KT used the buff to make its way into the Samsung base to pick up the 33-minute win.
KT Rolster continued their momentum into Game 2 by picking up two kills before three minutes, but the honeymoon phase didn't last very long for KT as reality hit quickly in the form of two kills from Samsung a few minutes later that kicked off a massive snowball. Less than 10 minutes later, Samsung had picked up five more kills and secured the first tower gold for a 3,000 lead. Samsung had enough of an advantage across the map that it picked up a free Baron at 20 minutes, using the buff to push all of its lanes further towards KT's base. Sweeping through KT, Samsung which eventually translated its leads into a breezy 26-minute win.
For the second game in a row, KT grabbed an early first blood, this time just under a minute into the game. From there on, the teams went back and forth in terms of kills for the rest of the early game, but Samsung snagged the first tower gold to start growing its gold lead. By 15 minutes, Samsung had downed four towers for an almost 4,000 gold lead, and looked poised to take a quick victory. KT tried to turn the tide with a Baron steal at the 23-minute mark, but Samsung picked up three kills right after to stay in control. Samsung simply continued to pick up kills across the map before picking up a second Baron to make its final push into Samsung's base for the 36-minute win.
KT Rolster will return to the Rift next week to take on MVP at 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday, while Samsung Galaxy is back this Sunday in a matchup against Kongdoo Monster at 4 a.m. ET.
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MVP vs. JAG
In one of the longest series of the League of Legends Champions Korea, MVP took on Jin Air Green Wings during Week 8, Day 4. In a chaotic fiesta, MVP was able to prevail in Seoul, South Korea, picking up a 2-1 series win Saturday.
Game 1 started with conservative play by both teams, as the only early-game action was a Dragon stolen by Jin Air Green Wings (2-11, 9-22 match score) nine minutes into the game. First blood was drawn 13 minutes in by excellent crowd control chaining by MVP's Oh "Maha" Hyun-sik's Varus and Kim "Beyond" Kyu-suk's Elise. With Kang "ADD" Gun-mo's Kennen granting split pressure, MVP (8-5, 18-13 match score) were able to crack open the JAG base at 30 minutes after taking Baron. With the Baron buff and their huge lead, MVP were able to convincingly decimate JAGW's base and close out Game 1 in just 35 minutes.
The story of Game 2 was the dominating performance of JAGW mid laner Lee "Kuzan" Seong-hyuk's LeBlanc. Weaving his way in and out of the enemy team time and time again, Kuzan enabled Jin Air to find multiple kills, snowballing themselves to an early lead. Although Kuzan was the star of the game, AD carry Park "Teddy" Jin-seong's Jhin was able to assist him in dominating team fights by pushing all of MVP away from Jin Air time and again. Mid laner An "Ian" Jun-hyeong's Corki was the only MVP member who was nearly able to stop Kuzan, but he was unable to do so, thanks to Kuzan's fancy feet, which dodged skill shots left and right. After securing a Baron, Jin Air closed out the game in 44 minutes.
Jin Air found themselves an early lead due to Kuzan's expertise on Lissandra. Although the game was extremely messy and went back and forth, Jin Air's Oh "Raise" Ji-hwan was able to keep his team in the game by stealing a Baron with Graves, securing his team's lead. This stage of the game became chaotic, with team fights breaking out every couple of minutes while JAGW took an advantage. When all hope for MVP seemed lost, Ian ended up saving the game by hitting a three-man Shockwave with Orianna, which allowed his team to find a 4-for-1 team fight. Immediately following the fight, MVP pushed together down the mid lane to close out the game and secure a 2-1 series victory.
MVP will look to use their momentum from this victory as they take on KT Rolster at 4 a.m. EST Wednesday. Although Jin Air cannot avoid relegations, they will look to bounce back as they take on Samsung Galaxy at 4 a.m. EST Tuesday.
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SKT vs. bbq Olivers
SK Telecom T1 closed out Week 8, Day 4 of League of Legends Champions Korea with a dominating 2-0 performance over bbq Olivers on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea.
Bbq Olivers (4-10, 11-21 match record) started out the series with a glimmer of hope before getting snuffed out by the end of Game 1. After picking up first blood, bbq controlled the early and mid game fairly well with a sizable lead over SKT (13-1, 26-6 match record). This lead continued to grow through bbq's lead in towers (6-to-3), dragons (3-to-1) and kills (11-to-7) by the 33-minute mark. Having these advantages seemed to give bbq a bit of a false sense of security, however, especially after they secured the first Baron kill. It was at that point that SKT started to slowly inch its way back into the game, finally taking a lead around 35 minutes and never looking back from there. Bbq hoped to weather the SKT storm with a second Baron buff when SKT jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Graves came up with a massive Baron steal that halted all bbq momentum. SKT used the buff to easily walk into bbq's base to pick up the 43-minute win.
For as closely contested as Game 1 was, Game 2 was a much more lopsided affair with SKT dominating almost from the start. The action began with a SKT first blood in the bottom lane about eight minutes into the game. The score ended up staying within one or two kills until SKT picked up a 4-for-0 teamfight win at 25 minutes that included a double kill from ace mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Talon. This teamfight win also led to a Baron secure that allowed SKT to pushed its advantages across the map, cleaning house in this blazing fast 28-minute Game 2 win. Faker earned MVP honors in the game with his stellar 5/0/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists).
SKT will next see action on Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET when it takes on Longzhu Gaming, while bbq Olivers hope to get a win against ROX Tigers on Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET.
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Kongdoo vs. Samsung
Samsung Galaxy opened up Week 8, Day 5 of League of Legends Champions Korea with an easy 2-0 sweep of Kongdoo Monster on Sunday in Seoul, South Korea.
Samsung (10-4, 22-12 match record) started Game 1 on a high note, picking up first blood just over five minutes in. From there, Samsung started getting picks left and right to put together an almost 2,000-gold lead by 20 minutes. While it owned a 5-to-2 kill advantage, Kongdoo (1-13, 6-27 match record) kept itself in striking distance with a tower, Cloud Drake and Infernal Drake of its own to keep Samsung honest. Despite its best efforts, though, the lead did just that after Kongdoo tried to contest a Baron attempt by Samsung at 29 minutes, which ended up with Kongdoo losing four members and the Baron. While that buff set Samsung ahead even more, a second buff at 37 minutes really cemented its lead and allowed Samsung to pick up the 3-for-0 that gave it the 38-minute win in Game 1.
Game 2 followed a very similar script to the first, with Samsung getting an early first blood. While it took almost 10 more minutes for it to find another kill, Samsung managed to control the game enough to take the first five kills of the game to amass a 6,000 gold lead by the 22-minute mark. Just a couple minutes later, the kill lead was 7-to-3 and the gold lead was 10,000 in favor of Samsung. AD carry Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk's Ezreal was leading the way with four kills en route to a 7/2/2 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). Kongdoo tried to turn the game on its head with a Baron secure at 27 minutes, but by then it was far too little too late. It wasn't able to do anything with the buff as Samsung actually grew its own lead during Kongdoo's buff on the back of a 3-for-0 teamfight as the buff was dwindling down. Samsung didn't even need the next Baron to push into Kongdoo's base and completely raze it for the 34-minute win to secure the series sweep.
Samsung Galaxy will be back early on Tuesday with a matchup against Jin Air Green Wings at 7 a.m. ET, while Kongdoo Monster won't be back until Thursday at 1 a.m. ET to also face Jin Air.
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ROX vs. Afreeca Freecs
Closing out Week 8, Day 5 of League of Legends Champions Korea, ROX Tigers took a dominant 2-0 sweep over Afreeca Freecs in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday.
Game 1 was one of the slowest paced openings to a series that the LCK has seen in quite some time, with ROX's first blood kill not coming until 21 minutes in. Prior to the first blood actually taking place, ROX (6-8, 16-20 match record) had already earned a lead over Afreeca (7-7, 17-18 match record) with control over tower and elemental drakes. As the game progressed, ROX went for the Baron at 29 minutes and wound up securing the buff along with three kills. Afreeca, sensing the game slipping away, forced a Baron at 37 minutes and proceeded to get absolutely rocked by ROX jungler Kim "MightyBear" Min-soo's Graves, who came up with the Baron steal and the first kill of a 4-for-0 that allowed ROX to lock up Game 1 in 38 minutes.
While Afreeca managed to open up Game 2 with a first blood from jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Graves only three minutes in, his team was unable to do anything with the early advantage. ROX bounced back with two kills of its own while also picking up an early first tower in the top lane. From then on, ROX methodically picked up objectives across the map to snuff out any hope of an Afreeca comeback. While the lead was only 2,000 gold by 15 minutes, a 24-minute Baron pushed that lead out to 8,000 by the time the buff had expired. ROX never let up in the late game, securing another Baron at 31 minutes to make one final push for the win. ROX mid laner Sun "Mickey" Young-min's Taliyah was the star of the show, locking down Afreeca on the way to an 8/2/3 KDA (kills/deaths/assists).
ROX Tigers will be back Tuesday with a match against bbq Olivers at 7 a.m. ET, while the Afreeca Freecs will have to wait until Thursday to also take on bbq at 7 a.m. ET.
