ROX 2 - KT Rolster 0
ROX Tigers broke into the top half of the League of Legends Champions Korea standings Tuesday when it decimated KT Rolster over the course of a short two game series. The game finally showcased a storm of potential that had been brewing under the surface for this ROX lineup since the beginning of the Spring Split.
That ROX (6-5) took home the victory quickly is surprising in its own right, but the manner in which it won is no less remarkable. The ROX Tigers chose to fight in an arena which has, historically, been the absolute domain of top tier teams like KT Rolster (8-3) and Kingzone Dragon X (8-2): the early game. Both Game 1 and 2 ended within 31 minutes, which is a far shorter match time than what LCK fans have gotten used to as the norm in the 2018 Spring Split. ROX managed this with a combination of smart picks and smart play, as not only did ROX manage to keep Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho locked in the top lane for most of the match, it also found ways to exploit the fact that KT Rolster's nominal leader was far away from the action. Teamfight after teamfight ended solely due to the numbers advantage that ROX expertly wielded against KT Rolster, an advantage that KT Rolster proved heedless of up until the point where it cost them the match.
But it was not solely team play that decided this match, as outstanding individual performances were also paramount to the ROX's victory. Chief amongst those was the performance of Kim "Lava" Tae-hoon, the young ROX mid laner who has been on the ascent this split. He held his ground when faced with his in-lane counterpart, Heo "PawN" Won-seok, and Lava's aggressive, yet controlled, play came to define the series. His Zoe in Game 1 was matched only by his performance on Taliyah in Game 2, a game that saw him destroy his opponent in a fashion that must be compared to the routine defeats that PawN suffers at the hands of his nemesis, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok. With this victory one of the final question about this ROX lineup has finally been answered, as whether or not Lava would be able to surge alongside his young compatriots, specifically top laner Heo "Lindarang" Man-heung and jungler Yan "SeongHwan" Seong-hwan, seems like a moot question after a performance like this one.
KT Rolster's next match will come at 6 a.m. on Thursday when it takes on Kongdoo Monster, while the ROX Tigers will next face down against the bbq Olivers at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
--James Bates
Afreeca 2 - KSV Esports 0
The Afreeca Freecs took sole possession of third place in the League of Legends Champions Korea by defeating KSV Esports on Tuesday. It was a swift two game series that was as one-sided as they come, as Afreeca seemed to be the only team that showed up to play. KSV seemed a shadow of themselves, even by the standards set during a Spring Split that can only be described as disappointing.
Afreeca's (7-4) newest member was anything but a disappointment, however, as this series was the first in which Kim "Aiming" Ha-ram was the starting AD Carry for more than a single game. The former SK Telecom T1 trainee piloted Kalista in both games to success, and demonstrated such synergy with Afreeca's support, Park "TusiN" Jong-ik, that his return seems all but inevitable, as his natural aggressiveness seemed a perfect complement to the traditional Afreeca methodical gameplan. His play was a key factor in Afreeca's one-sided victory in both games, and his name is definitely one that LCK fans should keep in the back of their mind moving forward.
On the side of KSV (6-5), this seemed to be yet another in a string of surprisingly typical defeats. The decision to start jungler Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong was KSV's undoing, as his slow early game squared off unevenly with the Freecs' traditionally explosive early and mid game. The defending world champions simply never found an opportunity to make the series its own, as both mid laner Lee "Crown" Min-ho and top laner Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin struggled in their lanes from the very beginning of the series. Their weakness, when coupled with Ambition's passivity, gave Afreeca the run of the map, and they made good use of it. The few times that KSV tried to make plays of its own, it found Afreeca a step ahead, with better teamfighting to boot. Smart rotations and stellar teamfighting has long been the hallmark of KSV Esports, and when denied the ability to leverage its traditional strengths it didn't just look like the worst team on the Rift - it looked like a bottom-tier LCK team.
The Freecs will challenge a resurgent SK Telecom T1 squad at 3 a.m. on Thursday, while KSV Esports need only worry about defeating Team MVP during its next match at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning.
--James Bates