[OGN] Quarterfinals #1 Review, #2 Preview

Opening up the festivities for the knockout round of the Spring season of Champions, we had the most surprising team of the season, SK Telecom T1 #2, led by long time #1 solo queue player Faker, going up against the team that barely squeaked into the playoffs, Najin Shield, who would have been knocked out of the tournament if ahq Korea had surrendered only seconds earlier in their final game against LG-IM. On paper, it was a mismatch, SKT only losing one real game in the regular season, not playing seriously in their final two games against MVP Ozone, using double jungle strategies and having a fun time to close out the group stages. In reality, the results were actually much worse than initially anticipated.

Game One

The pick/ban phase was nothing out of the ordinary. Mandu, gaining respect from everyone in Korea after putting on a terrifying performance on support Fiddlesticks to start the season against CJ Blaze, has had it continually banned against him. Taking away Shield's comfort picks, they were forced to step outside the box, Nofe going for Hecarim in the jungle and save - who had both his favorite champions, Kha'zix and Diana banned - go for Jayce in the mid lane.

Shield were able to pick up first blood on Lulu, but that was the happiest they would be in the game, everything going down the drain after a good start. Nofe, who is known for his aggressive ganking in the early levels, was a hindrance to his team, poorly engaging in fights and giving SKT early kills. This began a comedy of errors for Shield, Nofe overextending again and again, forcing his team to back him up in badly positioned fights, letting SKT take a huge lead in the early game.

By the fifteen mark, the game was already nearing its end, SKT up in CS in all the important roles, and bengji was 4/0/1 on Jarvan IV, showing Nofe how to play the jungle role properly. The final battle commenced at the tier two top lane turret, Shield holding onto to dear life, hoping that maybe - just maybe - a perfect team fight could give them a slight chance to get back in the game. Disregarding the turret shots, SKT surrounded the weak Shield team composition, picking apart each player one by one and then finally taking the turret, forcing Shield to cut their losses and surrender the game at the 21 minute mark.

MVP: bengi on Jarvan IV (7/0/10)

The MVP of the game really wasn't hard to pick. This game was a perfect example of one jungler carrying the game and the other being the main reason why his team lost. bengi played a perfect game on Jarvan, hitting his ultimate at the right times and knowing when and when not to start a team fight. On the flip side, Nofe went 0/5/1, stalling around bushes, not farming, and forcing fights that didn't need to be made. Faker, as always, also had a strong game on Orianna, going 5/0/10, but would be saving his best performance the second game of the series.

Game Two

If the first game was Shield getting beat before the game even started in the pick/ban phase, this was the game they were primed to win. save was able to get one of his staples in Diana, and Nofe, after throwing the first game on Hecarim, was able to grab his trustworthy Jarvan IV. With their two weak links of the first game getting champions they are known to do well on, things couldn't go any worse for Shield in game two, right?

Then Faker happened. Playing on Jayce, Faker gave a display of how to destroy a team on Jayce before the twenty minute mark. Living up to his name as the MVP of the season so far, Faker went on a killing spree in the game, going for a fast Manamune, gaining an extreme power jump in the middle of the game. Starting the game by out dueling save's Diana in the mid lane, Faker bullied everyone around the map, hitting insane shock blasts on unsuspecting Shield members. The play of the game came when Lulu, trying to recall back after getting away from a gank from SKT's bot lane and jungler, was hit by a blind shock blast from Faker, showing that his game sense is second to none currently in Korea.



The carnage continued from there, the bodies falling left and right for Shield. With his early kills and being to grab his early Manamune, Jayce became unstoppable, jumping into team fights and picking up countless kills. After three straight team fights, Faker walked out with a triple kill all three times, completing a hat trick and essentially ending any hope Shield had for tying the score up 1-1.

To be fair to Shield, they did have a few nicely positioned team fights by the end of the game, catching Faker too far in front and killing him before he could unleash any damage, but it was far too late. For every good team fight Shield had, SKT had three, forcing Shield to surrender for a second straight time at thirty minutes, pushing them to the brink of elimination. While the faces of SKT were lit up with laughter at the stomp they just produced, Shield looked stunned, not knowing what just hit them.

MVP: Faker on Jayce (14/3/12)

Who else would it be? He was 50% of his team's damage output in the game, and he was apart of almost every kill in the game. His game sense was out of the world, catching players without vision with his shock blast, and he knew the exact time to go all-in, being able to go behind enemy lines and get a kill without putting himself in any danger. If you're wanting to learn how to play Jayce - damn, if you're a PROFESSIONAL at playing Jayce, this is a game that you need to see. There are some people who don't buy into the hype of the #1 solo queue player in Korea, but this should silent all of his critics with this beautiful performance.

Game Three

With their backs on the ropes, Shield had to go all for nothing in what could be the final game of their season. Getting banned out again with his Diana and Kha'zix taken from him, save opted for Karthus. Taking Jayce away from Faker so they didn't all die again, Expession took him, leaving Faker to play Orianna for the second game in the series. The most important part of the picks and bans was the bottom lane for SKT, Mandu picking up Nunu for support and giving us flashbacks to season two.

Shield had the best game of the series in the third set, but they were simply outmatched. Faker, even without Jayce, was able to pick up kills on Orianna, being able to straight up kill Karthus one-on-one in lane. The bottom lane of SKT were able to take out turrets fast, pushing the lane and forcing Shield into engagements. The game looked close in terms of kills, but SKT controlled the game throughout, grabbing their objectives and pushing down turrets, making Shield react to whatever they were doing.

The tipping point of the game came when Expession tried to bait Mandu and Piglet into a 3v2 situation against Nofe's Lee Sin and a Wolf's Lulu, but the Hundred Acre Woods bot lane were too good on the night, Piglet and Mandu in perfect synergy and killing all three of their pursuers without either dying. This began the slow, cruel death of Shield, having a great composition to poke and keep distance with Kog'maw and Jayce, but not being able to engage or win against a richer, stronger team.

Finally, after grabbing all the objectives they could and grabbing vision at every point on the map, SKT went in for the final kill, rolling up the steps of Shield's base and killing them all in a slaughter. Down 12k gold and having no hope left, the Shield team wasted away to the beefed up SKT team, giving them free reign over their Nexus and the ending of the game.

MVP: Piglet on Caitlyn (10/1/4)

Pulling a Faker, Piglet carried the game through the bottom lane. Shield tried to shut down the Caitlyn and Nunu combo, but Piglet's mechanics shined through, being able to evade numerous ganks and turn them around into kills of his own. Locodoco, who was probably the best player for Shield on the night, wasn't able to keep up with Piglet, losing against his opponent straight up in a one-on-one fight and summing up the night for Shield. In all three games SKT had a different MVP, showcasing their strength in the lane phase and proving to their doubters that while Faker may be the star, he's not the only one on SKT.

Final Thoughts:

They were resilient in the group stage, being able to come back from devastating losses, analyze their mistakes and grab a win in the second game of a series, but it just didn't work against SKT. Nofe was a mess the entire night, not able to make anything happen in the early game, becoming a major negative instead of the positive he was during the regular season. save's comfort champions were banned from him two of the three games, making his tough job of handling Faker even harder. Expession, who has been called one of the best top laners in Korea, didn't have an awful night, but wasn't very good, either. The bottom lane of Shield, Locodoco and a Wolf, the part of their team that had the most criticism in the regular season, were the brightest spots for the team, able to make a few plays before Faker decided to end all their lives.

SKT looked strong, but there are still holes there that better teams can exploit. Their lane phase is right up there with KT Rolster B, but their team fighting is going need to improve if they want to become champions. Faker and impact were caught out in the second game, giving Shield a few kills they had no business getting, but they were already so far ahead that it didn't matter. In a game against KTB or one of the CJ squads, a late game team fight where Faker gets caught and burned down fast could be the difference between a championship and a silver medal.

While there are still things SKT need to do to become best in Korea, they are on their way. A team that was thrown together with solo queue heroes and cast offs of lesser Korean teams are walking down the royal road, hoping to become kings of Champions in their inaugural season.