SKT T1 overcame RNG in a close back-and-forth game that was full of action. Placing priority on aggressive early-game skirmishes is a strategy that is rarely seen taken by SKT, and it made for an exciting game to watch. SKT drafted a strong split-push team composition, snagging Renekton and Twisted Fate for side-lane pressure. The following is a breakdown of SKT’s day 2 victory over RNG.
Early-Game Aggression
RNG started the game with a lead over SKT with two Infernal Drakes secured by Hung “Karsa” Hao-Hsuan on Lee Sin. Shortly after the first dragon was secured, a 5v5 skirmish broke out in the bottom lane. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok on Twisted Fate used his ultimate, Destiny to start the play, but gave up first blood. The fight ended in an even three-for-three trade. Shi “Ming” Sen-Ming looked incredibly practiced on Blitzcrank, finding impressive hooks in the early stages of the game to secure kills. The aggressive play-style that these teams decided to execute continued to play out into the mid and late-game. Lee “Effort” Sang-ho on Thresh was caught out multiple times, but his teammates were usually able to trade back with a kill.
Faker’s Masterful Escapes
There were two instances in this game where Faker looked like he had no chance of survival, but escaped with just a sliver of health. Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao on Zoe nearly found a solo-kill on Faker, but an impressive Flash and Stopwatch to prevent the last tick of Ignite allowed him to escape with his life. Later in the game, SKT was forced to pick an unfavorable teamfight to steal the third Infernal Drake. After killing Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao on Xayah, Faker was on the retreat. He was able to sidestep Karsa’s Q, and use a gold card to yet again escape with a sliver of health.
Triple Teleport Backdoor
While RNG were looking to slowly push in against SKT, Faker maintained his split-push in the top lane. Catching RNG off guard, Kim “Khan” Dong-ha on Renekton and Park “Teddy” Jin-seong on Ezreal teleported into RNG’s base to help Faker take down the nexus. Xie “Langx” Zhen-Ying on Mordekaiser was the sole defender against the backdoor, and he was only able to take out Faker before losing the match. If RNG delayed their push and sent more members to deal with Faker, they may have been able to wait until the next Baron or Elder Dragon to force a play.
Conclusion
SKT and RNG both look strong moving forward into the group stage. Faker continues to prove why he is considered one of the best players to ever step onto the rift. Uzi still had an impressive performance despite the defeat, and should continue to perform well in future matches. While the game remained fairly even throughout, the superior macro decisions from SKT were too much for RNG to respond to in time. It’s refreshing to see a team like SKT that usually sticks to a calculated plan try a new play-style and force early aggression. Backdoor victories are some of the most exciting moments in League of Legends, and the action in this game certainly didn’t disappoint.
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Featured photo from Riot Games
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