This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
Jin Air vs. Samsung
Samsung Galaxy continued its late season surge with a fifth straight series victory coming in the form of a 2-0 sweep against Jin Air Green Wings on Tuesday to open Week 9, Day 1 of the League of League Champions Korea in Seoul, South Korea.
While Jin Air (2-13, 10-26 match record) got off to a nice start in the first game of the series, it was never able to build much of a defense against the mid lane of Samsung (11-4, 24-12 match record). Before 10 minutes had even passed, Samsung mid laner Lee "Crown" Min-ho's Corki had already picked up two kills. As the game progressed, Crown just kept on picking up kills and using Corki's Package to bring Jin Air to its knees. To Jin Air's credit, a couple teamfight wins in the mid game did manage to prolong the game longer than it possibly should have. Samsung finally decided to put the game away with a Baron at 32 minutes after a 2-for-0 teamfight win that allowed it to start pushing into Jin Air's base for the eventual 37-minute win.
Game 2 was much slower than the first, but Samsung eventually got the better of Jin Air with a strong late-game showing. Before that could happen, it had to fend off an strong early game from Jin Air jungler Um "Umti" Sung-hyeon's Rengar, who picked up an early first blood while executing a flawless jungle path. Despite the slow start, Samsung eventually got back in it with impeccable control over objectives, earning a 2,000-gold lead by the 20-minute mark. Jin Air didn't simply fold under the pressure, though, and took a slight lead after a 2-for-0 teamfight win 22 minutes in that also gave it two towers in the mid lane. Samsung wasn't fazed by this at all, and simply bided its time until picking up a decisively clean ace at the 32-minute mark to secure the first Baron. While it took a second Baron a few minutes later to finally wrap up the win, Samsung's slow and steady approach to the late-game allowed it to essentially coast to a 42-minute victory.
Samsung will look to continue its run with a matchup against SK Telecom T1 on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET, while Jin Air continues to try and avoid relegation against Kondgoo Monster on Thursday at 4 a.m. ET.
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bbq Olivers vs. ROX
ROX Tigers outlasted bbq Olivers in a close 2-1 series Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea, to finish up Week 9, Day 1 in League of Legends Champions Korea.
ROX (7-8, 18-21 match record) started Game 1 with a nice first blood during a roam from jungler Kim "MightyBear" Min-soo's Elise, but bbq (4-11, 14-21) stayed alive long enough to register a win. Things were virtually even up until the 20-minute mark, but bbq took a bit of a lead with a Baron secure at 22 minutes after a 3-for-0 teamfight win. Its buff was nullified when ROX picked up a decisive teamfight win, but bbq still held a lead and took a second Baron a few minutes later to really cement its lead. A couple more teamfight wins in the late game, including a clean ace, were all bbq needed to lock up the 38-minute win.
ROX started Game 2 with an early first blood as well, then starting amassing a bit of a lead in the mid game on the back of some teamfight wins. It also took some objectives to put together a 3,000-gold lead at 19 minutes before the game slipped into a cryogenic slumber with no kills coming from either side for almost nine minutes.
Once the teams woke up, bbq picked up a 4-for-0 teamfight win that gave way to the first Baron. Olivers wasn't able to do much with the buff, however, which allowed ROX to hang in there until it picked up a Baron of its own in the late game. It made excellent use of that Baron buff to jump out to a 7,000-gold lead while simultaneously marching right into bbq's base to clean things up for a 39-minute win.
Whereas the first two games of this series were closely contested, the final game of the series was a complete trouncing by ROX. It started off with a bit of a slow period before Mightybear's Elise picked up two quick kills around 12 minutes in to jumpstart ROX's big win. Kills came from all across the map while ROX razed towers with relative ease. This translated into an almost 5,000-gold lead by 20 minutes before a 4-for-0 teamfight win and Baron in a span of less than a minute. This was a huge Baron buff that saw ROX end up with a 13,000-gold lead by the time it expired. From there, ROX easily strong-armed bbq to lock up the 26-minute win.
ROX Tigers will be back on Saturday to take on MVP at 7 a.m. ET, and bbq Olivers will next face the Afreeca Freecs on Thursday at 7 a.m. ET.
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MVP vs. KT Rolster
MVP came up with a shocking 2-1 victory over KT Rolster on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea to open up Week 9, Day 2 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
KT (10-5, 24-12 match record) took a while to close out Game 1 over MVP (10-5, 22-15 match record) despite a strong start in the early game. Beyond the 20-minute mark, KT's gold lead never dipped below 3,000, yet it took 46 minutes to finally wrap things up due to MVP's tenacity. MVP managed to hang around with scattered kills to throw off KT's rhythm, alongside a god-like Death Sentence from support Jeong "Max" Jong-bin's Thresh that stole a Baron kill for MVP. KT fought MVP's heroics with strong teamfight wins, taking a 4-for-2 on the back of strong AOE burst damage from mid laner Heo "PawN" Won-seok's Vladimir that gave KT enough breathing room to finally lock up the game.
Game 2 seemed to follow the same script as Game 1, with KT picking up towers and teamfight wins across the map on its way to a sizable lead. This time, it was KT AD carry Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu's Lucian who carried the team, earning a game-high 6/2/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and consistently dealing damage throughout the game. By the time 20 minutes had passed, KT had a 6,000-gold lead, even approaching 10,000 in the late game towards the 30-minute mark, but Max would turn the game on its head with his stellar Sion support play. Not content with being a passive support, Max earned a massive quadra kill in a perfectly played teamfight that led to a Baron kill and eventual ace in the following teamfight to push for the abrupt 31-minute win for MVP.
For as close as the first two games of this series were, MVP trounced KT in Game 3. The early game was slow, with MVP not securing first blood until about nine minutes in, but MVP broke the game wide open with a 4-for-0 at 15 minutes to get the Cloud Drake and start pushing for objectives all around the map. While KT tried to claw its way back with a couple more kills, MVP started to demolish towers across the map while winning teamfight after teamfight. After having the first Baron stolen away, MVP secured the second one at 35 minutes, using the buff to easily raze KT's base for the monumental 37-minute win.
MVP will be back to take on the ROX Tigers on Saturday at 7 a.m. ET, while KT Rolster faces Kongdoo Monster on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.
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SKT vs. Longzhu
SK Telecom T1 took down Longzhu Gaming in a hard fought 2-1 series during Week 9, Day 2 of League of Legends Champions Korea on Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea.
The SKT (14-1, 28-7 match record) that played in Game 1 didn't look like the typical dominant SKT as Longzhu (8-7, 19-19 match record) easily handled the defending World Champions to open up the series. Longzhu began with huge advantages in the top lane and jungle with two kills each onto Seung-Hoon "Huni" Heo's Nautilus and Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Elise. While SKT grabbed a 3-for-1 at the 13-minute mark to try and even the gold deficit, Longzhu got right back to work by knocking down towers to further its lead. SKT seemed poised to make a comeback in the late game, but Longzhu was too strong with the power of two Barons and an Elder Dragon, taking the 43-minute win.
SKT came out with a renewed focus in Game 2. While it took 11 minutes for an SKT first blood, once the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it from picking up objectives to amass a gold lead. Longzhu came up with a 3-for-2 about 15 minutes in, but SKT just kept trudging along to a 3,000-gold lead at the 25-minute mark. Longzhu, needing some sort of spark in its play, went for a desperate Baron attempt at 29 minutes that was easily stolen away by Peanut's Kha'Zix. SKT also secured three kills in the ensuing fight around Baron to begin its ascent to victory. With the buff in tow, SKT walked right down easy street into Longzhu's base to end the game in 32 minutes.
Continuing to build on its momentum from Game 2, SKT took no prisoners in the final game of the series. First blood was picked up by SKT about seven minutes in before the teams settled into a groove in the laning phase. It wasn't until the 15-minute mark that a major fight broke out, finishing as a 2-for-1 in favor of SKT. After that, SKT started piling on the kills, picking up 3-for-0, 2-for-0 and 5-for-1 teamfights over the next eight minutes of the game to take a 13-to-4 advantage in kills and a 5,000-gold lead. While the game would take another 10 minutes and two more Barons for SKT to finish up, the end result was almost never in doubt for this 35-minute win. SKT jungler Peanut was electric in the win as Lee Sin, posting a 6/0/8 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and earning MVP honors.
SKT will next hit the Rift on Saturday, facing off against Samsung Galaxy in a Worlds Finals rematch at 4 a.m. ET, while Longzhu will take on the Afreeca Freecs on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET.
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JAG vs. Kongdoo
It took three games, but Jin Air Green Wings ultimately picked up a 2-1 victory over Kongdoo Monster on Thursday in Seoul, South Korea during Week 9, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Jin Air (3-13, 12-27 match record) had a good start to Game 1 when Kongdoo support Kim "GuGer" Do-yeo's Lulu underestimated JAGW support No "SnowFlower" Hoi-jong's Malzahar damage and was taken out for first blood, leading to a Jin Air gold lead. While Kongdoo (1-14, 7-29 match record) tried to keep even with Elemental Drakes, Jin Air stayed ahead. A decisive Baron call at the 29-minute mark all but sealed the deal for Jin Air, but in true Green Wing fashion, the game couldn't end pre-40 minutes in due to their slow playstyle. Jin Air needed a second Baron at 39 minutes before the win was wrapped up in 43 minutes.
Game 2 was just as one-sided as the first, but for the Kongdoo team; they were able to take it in much quicker fashion than JAGW in Game 1. Kongdoo jungler Son "Punch" Min-hyuk's Lee Sin started his team off on the right foot with a first blood in the bottom lane about four minutes in, beginning the romp. It took 27 minutes before Jin Air finally picked up a kill, but by then Kongdoo was up 9-to-1 in kills and had secured a Baron kill. The buff allowed Kongdoo to easily sweep through Jin Air's base to force a Game 3 with the 31-minute victory.
While Game 3 was slow to start, once the ball got rolling, it was just was one-sided as the previous game. After essentially playing a farming simulator for 14 minutes, Kongdoo struck first with a big 4-for-1 teamfight win that led to first tower gold. Despite the strong start, however, it was Jin Air that came alive to dominate in the mid-late game. Starting with a 3-for-1 at the 21-minute mark and continuing with a 3-for-0 at the 23-minute mark, Jin Air took the first Baron to take full control. While a second Baron was ultimately needed, the end result was never in doubt as Jin Air found victory in 38 minutes.
Kongdoo Monster will next hit the stage against KT Rolster this Sunday at 7 a.m. ET, while Jin Air won't be back until next Tuesday to take on the Afreeca Freecs at 7 a.m. ET.
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Afreeca Freecs vs. bbq Olivers
In another marathon of a series for the day, the Afreeca Freecs outlasted bbq Olivers for a 2-1 win Thursday in Seoul, South Korea, to finish Week 9, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Afreeca (8-7, 19-19 match record) wasted no time popping off against bbq (4-12, 15-22 match record) in Game 1, picking up first blood at the five-minute mark. Afreeca dominated early, as by the time 11 minutes had passed it had racked up another five kills for a 6-to-0 advantage, led by jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Elise, who earned a 3/0/3 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) by this point. If that wasn't enough, Afreeca AD carry Jong-Hoon "Kramer" Ha was also on fire as Varus, earning a 3/0/3 KDA by the 20-minute mark. With no way back into the game, bbq looked completely flustered as Afreeca continued to play with its (fried) food on its way to a 25-minute win, finishing with a 15-to-0 kill advantage.
While Game 1 showed the best of the Afreeca Freecs, Game 2 definitely showed the worst. In a slower-paced early game, bbq secured first blood at the 13-minute mark, compounding the lead it had gained through first tower gold and farming in the laning phase. While both teams ended up taking scattered teamfight wins, bbq held a slight edge mainly thanks to mid laner Kang "Tempt" Myung-gu's Zed, who prowled across the map to the tune of an 11/2/3 KDA. Bbq picked up a Baron at 24 minutes to bolster its lead and never looked back from there as it took a 38-minute win to force Game 3.
For the second game in a row, bbq rushed out to an early lead through a kill advantage before 15 minutes. Despite facing a deficit in kills, Afreeca stayed within striking distance by razing towers, keeping things virtually even until the 25-minute mark. Looking for a way to break ahead, Afreeca began a Baron attempt at 29 minutes and just narrowly avoided a Smite steal from bbq jungler Choi "Bless" Hyeon-woong's Kha'Zix. The hard-earned buff turned Afreeca's 600-gold lead into an 8,000-gold lead by the time it expired. Afreeca continued to take advantage across the map before picking up a second Baron kill and a clean ace at 36 minutes to lock up the series win.
Afreeca Freecs will see its next action Sunday against Longzhu Gaming at 4 a.m. ET, and bbq Olivers will face Kongdoo Monster next Tuesday at 4 a.m. ET.
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Snake vs. Game Talents
While the closing series of Week 7, Day 1 of the League of Legends Pro League featured two stomps and a fiesta, a win's still a win for Game Talents, who took down Snake Esports 2-1 on Thursday in Shanghai.
It took a while for Game Talents (4-6, 10-15 match record) to get rolling in Game 1, but early objective control and kills on mid laner Bong "Republic" Geun-tae's Ekko put GT within striking distance of Snake Esports, who held a tenuous early lead through skirmishing. Seizing the mid game after a 4-for-0 teamfight and ensuing Baron bait at 21 minutes, Game Talents were far ahead of Snake thanks to Republic, who dealt a game-high 22,700 damage while posting a 9/3/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) to pick up MVP honors. Securing a 5-for-1 ace and Baron kill at 26 minutes, GT were simply too far ahead for Snake to deal with, bolstered by their four Elemental Drakes to Snake's zero, pushing into Snake's base and taking a final 4-for-0 fight to take Game 1 in 32 minutes.
Firing back in Game 2, Snake Esports (4-6, 10-14 match record) took control of the early game after surrendering first blood, repeatedly killing Republic's Twisted Fate while securing all of the outer turrets before 15 minutes. After securing three kills and a Baron around the 24-minute mark, Snake were in full control, showing great team synergy with their 1-3-1 split-pushing strategy. While Game Talents were able to fight off Snake with a 3-for-0 fight at 27 minutes, a second Baron kill and a 5-for-2 ace gave Snake a 33-minute Game 2 win and forced a Game 3.
Throughout a bloody and back-and-forth early game to open Game 3, both teams picked up kills on their carries, loading up for an epic mid-late game. Snake secured a Baron kill at 30 minutes, but was annihilated to the tune of a 4-for-1 teamfight, giving Game Talents control. GT picked up two kills and the second Baron of the game while Snake AD carry Oh "Ohq" Gyu-min's Lucian solo-killed Elder Dragon at 38 minutes, but Game Talents were ultimately too far ahead for the Elder Dragon buff to matter. Snake showed their tenacity with a massive 4-for-0 fight at 42 minutes, but it came too late as GT had already taken out most of its base. After getting over their nervous jitters, Game Talents finally ended the game with a 4-for-1 fight at 48 minutes, surviving an emotional Game 3 to take the series win.
Game Talents next take on Invictus Gaming on Saturday at 7 a.m ET, while Snake Esports will battle QG Reapers on Sunday at 3 a.m ET.
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SKT vs. Samsung
In a rematch of the 2016 World Championship Grand Finals, Samsung Galaxy came out on top with a surprising 2-0 sweep of defending champions SK Telecom T1 on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea, to open up Week 9, Day 4 of League of Legends Champions Korea.
Just as in its last series against Longzhu Gaming, SKT (14-2, 28-9 match record) began with a poor showing in the opening game. It gave up first blood to Samsung (12-4, 26-12 match record) under five minutes in, and the downhill slide never stopped from there. By the time 15 minutes had passed, Samsung had already taken down the first tower and put together an almost 5,000-gold lead. The main reason for the early success was SSG jungler Minseung "Haru" Kang's performance on Graves, putting pressure on every lane from the start to get his teammates ahead to snowball Samsung out of control. SKT simply couldn't stand up to the pressure of Samsung, not even picking up a single tower kill in the 33-minute Samsung win.
Whereas SKT normally bounces back after a bad performance, SKT continued to play poorly in Game 2. Samsung again jumped out to an early lead with three quick kills before eight minutes, but only held a 1,500-gold lead by the 15-minute mark to show for it. The ensuing mid game saw SKT try to mount a comeback, which started with a big 4-for-1 teamfight win at 18 minutes and a quadra kill for SKT jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Kha'Zix, pushing the advantage until they held a 1,400-gold lead of its own by 23 minutes. While SKT seemed like it was finally righting the ship to force a Game 3, Samsung had other plans. A decisive Baron secure at 25 minutes not only locked up the buff, but also netted four kills. Shortly afterwards, Samsung marched right on into SKT's base to wrap up the win in almost exactly 30 minutes.
SKT will try to bounce back from the loss with a series against the ROX Tigers on Wednesday at 4 a.m. ET, while Samsung will try to continue its five-game win streak against MVP on Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET.
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Afreeca Freecs vs. Longzhu
The Afreeca Freecs opened up Week 9, Day 5 of League of Legends Champions Korea with an incredibly easy 2-0 sweep of Longzhu Gaming on Sunday in Seoul, South Korea.
While Longzhu (8-7, 19-19 match record) started Game 1 with first blood, Afreeca quickly fired back with a kill of its own to make things even going into the early-mid game. The game stayed close for quite some time, despite the fact that Longzhu mid laner Yong-jun "Fly" Song's Aurelion Sol was dominant up to that point. A 2-for-0 fight at 22 minutes gave way to a Baron that took Afreeca's gold lead from 300 to 5,500 gold by the time the buff ended. Coinciding with this late-game surge, Afreeca mid laner Lee "KurO" Seo-haeng's Taliyah woke up late, going from a 1/0/0 KDA (kills/deaths/assist) at the 22-minute mark to a game-high 7/1/4 KDA at the end. This allowed Afreeca (8-7, 17-18 match record) to easily break into Longzhu's base for a 29-minute win.
While Game 2 took an exceedingly long time to conclude, the end result wasn't all that surprising. Afreeca started with first blood, parlaying it into an almost 2,000-gold lead just from farming and an early Infernal Drake. Longzhu managed to fight back with strong teamfighting, breaking the game open with a Baron secure at 25 minutes. Afreeca quickly took out three members of Longzhu to essentially nullify the buff, however, clawing back into the lead. Before picking up a Baron kill at 34 minute, Afreeca had put together a massive 5,000-gold lead, which was bolstered when Afreeca capitalized on the Baron buff. Instead of blitzing its way to a win, though, Afreeca was much more methodical with its approach, taking its time to wrap up the 49-minutes win and complete the sweep. Afreeca jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Lee Sin was a monster in the win, posting a stellar 3/1/0 KDA.
The Afreeca Freecs will turn right around and hit the stage against Jin Air Green Wings at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, while Longzhu Gaming won't be back until Thursday at 4 a.m. to take on Kongdoo Monster.
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KT Rolster vs. Kongdoo
Kongdoo Monster defied the odds with one of the biggest upsets of the entire Spring Split, picking off KT Rolster in a close 2-1 series in Seoul, South Korea to close out Week 9, Day 5 in League of Legends Champions Korea on Sunday.
KT Rolster (10-6, 25-14 match record) started the series with first blood 10 minutes into Game 1, but despite the early advantage, something was off with KT. It quickly found itself down in not just kills, but Elemental Drakes, towers and gold, too. This was exacerbated around 22 minutes when Kongdoo (2-14, 9-30 match record) picked up a 3-for-1 teamfight win and secured a Baron kill. KT had no answer to the ensuing Baron empowered push as Kongdoo cracked KT's base open with no opposition. A second Baron around 30 minutes was all that Kongdoo needed to lay waste to the rest of KT's base to close out the 34-minute Game 1 win.
The KT everyone counted on finally showed up in Game 2, playing with renewed focus around objectives. Leading the way was mid laner Heo "PawN" Won-seok, who went off on Syndra to the tune of a 5/2/3 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). With PawN decisively dominating teamfights, KT enjoyed a 5-to-0 advantage in kills by the time 20 minutes had passed. For the rest of the game, both teams danced around each other and the Baron while KT slowly chipped away at Kongdoo's structures lane by lane. KT finally took the Baron at 33 minutes, which finally gave it the ability to storm into Kongdoo's base to tie up the game with a 37-minute win.
KT grabbed an early first blood in Game 3, hoping to prevent a big upset but Kongdoo had other plans. Things were dead even until Kongdoo came up with a crucial Baron secure seconds after it spawned at 20 minutes to break ahead of KT. While the buff itself didn't do a ton for Kongdoo, only putting it ahead by about 1,000 gold, the moments following the buff's expiration are what truly turned the tide. A 3-for-0 fight and two razed towers for Kongdoo turned that 1,000-gold lead into an almost 5,000-gold lead in a matter of seconds. Kongdoo never let up with its pressure, picking up an extended 5-for-0 clean ace 29 minutes in that gave it a window to push for the win to finish up the biggest upset of the Spring Split.
Kongdoo will next hit the Rift to take on bbq Olivers on Tuesday at 4 a.m. ET, while KT will look to end its three-game losing skid against the Afreeca Freecs on Thursday at 7 a.m. ET.
