The LCK 2020 Summer Split featured the highly anticipated match of T1 vs Gen.G. Both titans in the LCK fought for the second time during LCK 2020 on July 18th. During the Spring Split, T1 won two to one against Gen.G.
The Summer split ended very differently.
Gen.G swept two to zero, resulting in disappointed T1 fans worldwide. With T1’s victory in the Spring Split, many assumed the same for the Summer Split. Even English speaking castors narrated the game with T1 as the prospective winner. They highlighted the win conditions for T1 rather than emphasizing Gen.G’s methodical plays.
T1 vs GEN.G: Game 1
Gen.G’s team composition during the first game consists of:
Kwang-hee “Rascal” Kim as Neeko Top
Tae-Min “Clid” Kim as Volibear Jungle
Bo-seoung “BDD” Gwak as Orianna Mid
Jae-Hyuk “Ruler” Park as Ezreal AD Carry
Jeong-min “Life” Kim as Tahm Kench Support
T1’s team composition during the first game consists of:
Chang-dong “Canna” Kim as Karma Top
Woo-chan “Cuzz” Moon Jax Jungle
Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee as Akali Mid
Jin-Seoung “Teddy” Park as Kalista AD Carry
Sang-ho “Effort” Lee as Rakan Support
Team Composition Break Down
Gen.G’s team focused on peeling. The Orianna and Neeko provide massive Area of Effect Crowd Control lockdown. Tahm Kench eats up at risk carries to give invulnerability and repositioning. Volibear front lines, soaking up damage for the damage dealers while attempting to lock down enemy front liners.
These aspects allowed Ruler (Ezreal) to flourish. With so much insurance, Ruler comfortably sat at aggressive positions, out-poking and out-playing the enemy team. If ever at risk, he could arcane shift out, get eaten by Tahm, or simply receive barriers from Orianna. The rest of the team was sure to follow up with crowd control to help him out.
In contrast, T1’s team composition consisted of heavy dives. Akali is an assassin champion, excelling in getting picks. Akali excels in one-shotting the enemy backline. With Rakan’s knock up alongside Kalista’s ultimate, the bot lane combination is characterized by engage. Alongside Jax’s jump stun, the team’s main objective centers around forced engages on the enemy team.
But against a heavy peel team, T1 was left making desperate plays throughout the game. Akali’s assassinations come at a price, as one-shots were near impossible. These initiations, at best, had a 40-60 chance of succeeding.
After taking too many gambles, T1 lost the first game.
T1 VS GEN.G: Lane Comparisons
ADC
Both Teddy and Ruler played phenomenally, dealing massive damage at opportune moments. The Team compositions handed Ruler the win. His fail-safes and crowd control heavy teammates made his role more successful. Keep an eye on these two players, as they both reached the pinnacle of the role of AD carry.
TOP
Canna and Rascal played even for the laning phase. They are at the whim of jungle and mid, the difference between the two only showing once team fights started. Canna’s Karma provided utility, but Rascal’s Neeko’s lockdown proved invaluable to Gen.G. Rascal’s Neeko, debatably, influenced the game more heavily.
MID
BDD showed why he, instead of Faker, should be the MVP for the Summer Split. BDD (Orianna) outpoked Akali and took Faker’s outer turret. Doing so handicapped Faker early and gave mid priority to Gen.G’s jungle.
JUNGLE
With mid priority, Clid looked for picks bottom. He was also able to comfortably set up dragon fights, resulting in Cuzz fighting desperately for jungle objectives. Life’s unsealed spellbook also added to the jungle priority, as he utilized smite and helped secure the dragon.
SUPPORT
Life vs Effort was a classic case of engage vs disengage. With Rakan’s knock up and ultimate, and Tahm Kench’s invulnerability eating, it was hard to compare who did more. Both were essential to the backbone of their respective team compositions.
GEN.G VS T1: Game 2
Gen.G’s team composition during the second game consists of:
BDD as Zoe
Rascal as Ornn
Ruler as Kalista
Life as Leona
Clid as Lee Sin
T1’s team composition during the second game consists of:
Faker as Neeko
Canna as Camille
Teddy as Ezreal
Effort as Nautilus
Cuzz as Olaf
Team Composition Break Down
T1 attempted to take picks from Gen.G. The first game, Neeko and Ezreal on Gen.G experienced much success, prompting T1 to take these picks from Gen.G. Similarly, Gen.G took Kalista.
Gen.G’s team composition prospered in the early game.
A very popular pick in Korea, Lee Sin’s mobility and damage are unrivaled early. The Zoe’s bubbles and poke, especially in the hands of BDD, made early fights unbearable for the enemy team. The solid crowd control provided by Ornn gave the topside of Gen.G’s team crowd control facilitating the damage dealers’ job.
On the other hand, Kalista thrives in the mid to late game. Leona’s great early game, thanks to her crowd control and tankiness, allows for Kalista to survive the laning phase and carry the late game. Kalista was Gen.G’s key after early laning phases.
T1’s team composition plays similarly.
Cuzz’s Olaf provides early game backbone, one of the strongest initiating early jungle picks. Camille is a great split pusher, especially compared to Ornn. This pick wave clears, allowing the jungle to set up objectives.
Neeko, as mentioned before, provided Area of Effect Crowd Control. The Neeko pick functions best during mid and late game. Ezreal carries the late game. Nautilus, similar to Leona, is very much an early game pick. The support functions to help bring the AD carry safely out of the laning phase.
GEN.G VS T1: Lane Comparisons
MID
BDD dealt 23.1k overall damage, compared to Faker’s 11.7k. Faker was outmatched.
BDD solo killed Faker in the bot lane, but died to the rest of T1. Gen.G capitalized on the solo kill, picking up two more kills. This play cemented BDD’s MVP standing for the Summer Split.
Not only that, but BDD also got to the Rift Herald sooner than Faker. He dominated the first blood fight, killing Cuzz and setting the momentum for the entire game. BDD continued to pressure the game, poking T1 from incredible distances. His bubbles snuck onto the enemy backline, crippling their health. This allowed Gen.G to push objectives with little resistance.
Faker, on the other hand, could not find the right angle to lock down Gen.G. With T1’s frontline weak, Faker couldn’t perform his job as a carry. This is a classic case of mid difference.
JUNGLE
Because both teams utilized early game junglers, first blood became essential to the jungle momentum. Unlucky for Cuzz, BDD was faster to react and more impactful in the early rift herald fight than Faker was.
This caused Cuzz to become useless in the early game, having to follow Clid’s pace. Cuzz spent the game running rather than engaging. This is quite unfortunate for an Olaf.
Clid easily gained dragon control and therefore control of the game.
TOP
Canna is known to play near perfectly in one vs one matchups. But this reputation was tainted by Rascal. Rascal (Ornn) fought Canna (Camille) in the bot lane, completely outrading and outmaneuvering Canna. Canna fled with a sliver of health, only to be picked off by Ruler.
Without the ability to one vs one Ornn, Canna’s split push ability was crippled. He could not wave clear comfortably, diminishing T1’s map control.
After picking up the kill on Canna, Ruler snowballed easily.
ADC
Ruler and Teddy both, once again, played phenomenally. Teddy dealt more damage, with 19.0k overall compared to Ruler’s 14.6k. But Teddy definitely got the shorter end of the stick. He simply did not have enough resources to win the fights.
Thanks to the Ornn upgrades and the built-in peel with Kalista’s ultimate, Ruler grew uncontrollably strong. He was protected by a beefy Ornn and Nautilus.
In the game-winning ace, Ruler acquired a triple kill, surviving with around 50 health. He survived thanks to the Ornn upgraded Blade of the Ruin King and built-in peel from his ultimate. Meanwhile, Teddy dealt massive damage but died soon after T1’s front line crumbles.
Gen.G pushed the nexus off of this ace.
SUPPORT
There are so many other factors, rather than the supports, that characterized the fights in this match. The support difference was, once again, hard to gauge.
Both Life and Effort were meat shields for their team’s carries. They both performed their role effectively, reflected by Ruler and Teddy’s performances. The supports walked so the carries could run.
What does GEN.G’s Win symbolize?
Gen.G typically lose the matchup against T1. This sweep shows the momentum Gen.G is gaining, securing their position in the LCK Summer Split.
Faker, the once undisputed best mid laner in the world, can no longer hold onto that title. He is still a great player, but BDD’s era has begun.
T1’s loss symbolizes a power shift in the LCK. Though undeniably still a strong team, the validity of T1 as a team weakens, while Gen.G’s grows.
But, T1 still have time to redeem their name. Will they come back from this loss stronger? Or will this be the conclusive end of the reign of T1? Can Gen.G keep up their momentum? Having bested T1, can Gen.G win against the next titan, DRX?
Stay tuned to LCK 2020 Summer Split to find out!