KINGZONE DragonX’s 14 game win streak has ended after a surprise defeat to bbq Olivers, ending the first half of the LCK Spring Split.
This was set to be an easy match for KINGZONE. They were considered to be the best team in Korea, if not the world, boasting an impressive 14 game win streak. Meanwhile, bbq sat at the bottom of the standings, having previously lost to MVP. MVP being the worst team in Korea according to many analysts.
game 1
After a week off from play for the Korean Lunar New Year, bbq came back ready to take on whatever challenge faced them. KINGZONE, on the other hand, seemed to look down on bbq and let them draft incredibly strong snowball picks. Handing over power picks such as Zoe and the recently popular Skarner. KINGZONE were quick to regret their decision.
Bbq began to snowball the game as quickly as possible. Sending mid-laner Kang “Tempt” Myung-gu along with jungler Kim “Trick” Gang-yun to bot. They repeatedly did this, snowballing their bot lane very quickly. KINGZONE was unprepared for bbq’s uncharacteristically relentless aggression and ended up handing over many kills. KINGZONE, having drafted a late game team fight composition, found themselves unable to recover, giving over game 1.
game 2
Game 2 saw KINGZONE come back into their own, after a top lane substitution of Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee for Kim “Khan” Dong-ha. Bbq tried to play a very unusual pick in Kassadin Top and was punished heavily for the pick. KINGZONE used bbq’s own tactics against them, putting the Kassadin severely behind in gold after multiple top lane ganks. They then extended their side lane lead to the rest of the map, gaining full control and taking the game. With KINGZONE back on form, with a tied up series, it seemed like there was no hope for bbq.
game 3
However, game 3 saw KINGZONE revert to their strategies from game 1. An early pickup of Orianna in the first round pick phase caused a lot of controversy. Orianna is a champion that is normally picked in the second round pick phase due to its versatility as a safe counter. KINGZONE’s pick felt very much out of place, in-game and in the draft.
KINGZONE mid-laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong’s performance on the champ was one of the most unimpressive showings in a long time. Bdd repeatedly failed to miss ult after ult during team fights, and was constantly out of position, making himself a massive target. One particular example of this was during the Baron team fight at around 26 minutes. Bdd was so far away from his team and was getting caught out, forcing out the ult from KINGZONE’s Support, Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon on Tahm Kench just to get him out. This resulted in GorillA dying and KINGZONE losing the fight. The mistakes kept adding up, eventually leading to KINGZONE’s untimely demise.
KINGZONE are set to face the Afreeca Freecs next. Will KINGZONE be able to fully address their issues and once again show that they are a top-tier team that is to be feared, or will they end up flopping?
CREDITS
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