A perfect game by Afreeca Freecs and a fantastic bounce back by KT Rolster set the stage for an action-packed 2-1 victory for KT that kicked off the Week 1, Day 4 League of Legends Champions Korea action in Seoul, South Korea.
Afreeca Freecs (1-1, 3-3 match record) looked to stretch KT Rolster top laner Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho's champion pool by throwing four bans in his direction. The top lane eventually became the focus for Afreeca, but it was jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Elise who propelled the Freecs ahead early on by giving consistent pressure and first tower to top laner Jang "MaRin" Gyeong-hwan's Jarvan IV. The game calmed down, and was mostly illustrated by Afreeca rotating to knock down towers and finding some occasional kills while KT (1-1, 2-3 match record) simply looked lost. After breaking into the KT base, Afreeca took down Baron at the 37-minute mark and earned a 4-for-0 teamfight en route to going up 1-0 in the series with a perfect game.
Instead of rolling over and dying, KT came out revitalized in Game 2, most namely through support Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong's Thresh by forcing engage after engage to put its bottom lane ahead. A five-man dive in the bot lane led to an ace for KT to further solidify its lead. KT proactively moved around the map to pressure the Freecs all around, with a 27-minute Baron allowing KT to push into the Afreeca base. After effectively utilizing its pick team composition to relentlessly pressure Afreeca on the back of the numerous advantages all around the map, KT locked up the 29-minute win to force a decisive Game 3.
The first 10 minutes of the deciding match were action-packed, with Afreeca barely coming out on top in the early game. As the game continued, Afreeca seemed a little stronger at every point. The game blew wide open after a sneaky Baron attempt from Afreeca went south and was stolen by a surging KT Rolster. Re-energized by the Baron buff, KT stormed into the Afreeca base, quickly knocking down towers that eventually destroyed the Nexus to pick up a 2-1 series victory for KT.
Afreeca Freecs will return to the Rift to face Samsung Galaxy on Tuesday, June 6 at 4 a.m ET, and KT Rolster will play the very next game against ROX Tigers at 7 a.m ET.