KSV Esports 2 - MVP 0
KSV Esports started off the third week of the 2018 LCK Spring Split strong when it smashed MVP into the dust in one of the shortest series of the split thus far.
It was a match that went as expected. KSV Esports did falter last week when it took a loss to Kongdoo Monster, but remain the top seeded team in the LCK despite that. Meanwhile, MVP has failed to make any sort of impact during the season, and counts itself fortunate to win just a single game in a series (but not this series). There certainly are teams in the LCK that might challenge KSV Esports when the time comes, but no one would have expected it to be MVP, and they would have been right to think so.
The sheer disparity in play skill between the relative teams was the biggest variable in deciding the outcome of the match, as MVP weren't even good enough at the early phases of the game to be able to survive to see KSV's highly regarded late game. Most crucially, top laner Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin succeeded in burying Kang "ADD" Geon-mo all series long, which gave KSV an easy power point to play around. That CuVee wasn't even picking champions to win lane -- his Ornn in Game 1 was, in particular, a dog to ADD's Camille in lane -- simply improved KSV's winning hand, as MVP lacked the option to simply group up to try to minimize its laning disadvantages. KSV's compositions were all superior at teamfighting, while KSV's players were all superior at laning, which left MVP without a viable route to victory. In time, KSV took the series without so much as a whimper, as the few teamfights that took place over the course of the series were laughably KSV favored. There was simply never a point where it looked as if KSV were in anything but complete control -- a welcome sign for fans of the team who were certainly worried about last week's upset to Kongdoo.
Team MVP will be the first of these two teams to next take to the Rift, as it'll take on SKT T1 at 6:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 1. KSV Esports will have to wait until Saturday, February 3 for its next series, when it'll take on the bbq Olivers at 6:00 a.m. ET.
--James Bates
Jin Air 2 - Kongdoo 0 -- Recap coming soon
The Jin Air Green Wings moved up to fourth in the 2018 LCK Spring Split standings after it took down Kongdoo Monster at the end of a surprisingly brief 2-0 series Tuesday.
Both teams were hot off their own individual triumphs last week, and there was nary an analyst in the world who could decide which team was favored entering the series. On the one hand, Kongdoo Monster looked to be having the greatest season in its history, especially after its victory over the defending world champions, KSV Esports. For its part, Jin Air made history in more ways than one with its victory over SKT T1 last week, which included the dreaded 90-minute game that rewrote nearly every record in the LCK.
When it came time for the two to meet on the Rift, however, the outcome was almost immediately clear. The Jin Air Green Wings got ahead early and stayed ahead for the entire series. Both Lee "Grace" Chanju, the JAG mid laner, and Park "Teddy" Jin-sung, JAG's ADC, so thoroughly outperformed their opposite numbers that it was almost embarrassing to behold. Grae's Zoe play in Game 1 was especially disgusting, as some early kills snowballed him into a roaming death machine, one that didn't even need to be on the same screen as its hapless target. While the series wasn't played perfectly -- there were certainly moments in Game 2 where it looked as though Kongdoo had a chance, especially since its primary carries were on even footing with JAG's for much of the game -- it was still a decisive victory for the Green Wings, one that catapulted it into such company as Kingzone DragonX and KT Rolster in the standings, a very unusual place to find the historically underperforming organization.
The Jin Air Green Wings will take on another test to begin the season, challenging KT Rolster at 3:00 a.m. ET on Thursday. Kongdoo's next opponent is no less worthy than Jin Air's, as it'll take on Kingzone Dragonx at 3:00 a.m. ET on Saturday.
--James Bates