With the LCK gauntlet underway and Kingzone DragonX demolishing Afreeca Freecs 3-1 to move on, Korea is one step closer to finding their last representative. Now Kingzone is set to face off against SANDBOX GAMING who enter their first match since being blown out by SK Telecom T1 in the playoffs. Which team will move on to face DAMWON for a spot at Worlds? Which team will start their vacation? Take a look and find out.
Courtesy of: LCK Flickr
It’s amazing what a few weeks can do for a team. After looking like one of the worst teams in Korea to finish off the split, Kingzone finally looks like the team that dominated China at Rift Rivals. With players like jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan and ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu dominating and playing at a MVP level once again, Kingzone are in a great spot to make it to Worlds.
While their recent match has restored some faith in the team, it was just that, one match. Now Kingzone must prove that they will remain at this level for the rest of the gauntlet and further down at Worlds as well. If they revert to their late split form once again, a quick exit from the gauntlet at the hands of SANDBOX Gaming will be their fate.
Courtesy of: LCK Flickr
After a disappointing showing in the playoffs, SANDBOX will be looking to turn their momentum around with a solid showing against Kingzone (and hopefully a win). After playing six straight games against SK Telecom T1 (with a 1-5 record across those games) a new opponent could be all SANDBOX needs to reset and have a strong showing.
In the upcoming match, look towards the top half of the map in top laner Park “Summit” Woo-tae, jungler Kim “OnFleek” Jang-gyeom and finally mid laner Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon to be much better than they were against SKT. But on top of that the bot lane tandem of ADC Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun and support Cho “Joker” Jae-eup will need to show that they can keep up against an incredible bot lane tandem in Deft and support Park “TusiN” Jong-ik. If not then SANDBOX could still easily lose and end their dreams of Worlds.
Overall this match will depend on which team shows up on either side. Will the Kingzone that demolished Afreeca Freecs show up? Or the Kingzone that lost to KT Rolster in the final week show up instead? On the other side, will a SANDBOX that lost all confidence from matches against SKT show up? Or will it be a SANDBOX that looked better and better as they tore through the regular season?
In the end, the prediction for this series is SANDBOX by a score of 3-2. While the series should be a close one, SANDBOX has been the more consistent team to end the split. No matter which way this series goes, it should be an entertaining one to watch for the fans of Korea as the race for Worlds continues.
To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings, and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/category/league-of-legends/.
Featured image courtesy of LCK Flickr.
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