SK Telecom T1 Wins 2019 LCK Spring Split Championship
By Wyatt Fossett ·
In an absolutely crushing manner, the rebirth of a dominant SK Telecom T1 took place on Saturday, as Faker and Company won the 2019 LCK Spring Split Finals.
Earlier today, the League of Legends Championship Korea held their 2019 Spring Finals where the royal SK Telecom T1 faced off against the league-leading Griffin in a best-of-five to crown the Champions.
The Korean League of Legends scene was stunned this year as Griffin took hold of the top spot in the standings in Week 2 and refused to let it go for the rest of the year. With teams like SK Telecom, DAMWON Gaming, Gen.G, KT Rolster, and Kingzone, no one would expect them to easily fall to the new-look Griffin.
With the first-place seed heading into the postseason, Griffin got the free-pass to the Grand Finals, where they would meet the iconic Faker, Mata, and Teddy of SKT. Favored heavily to win the series, and claim their first-ever LCK Championship, Griffin had the votes. They also beat SKT 2-0 in their regular season series. Unfortunately for them, SKT had the momentum.
Just the week prior, the seasoned SKT squad swept Kingzone DragonX and entered the Grand Finals in full swing. With Faker in the mid-lane, no SKT team will ever rely on the data. Who cares if this exact Griffin has had their number all Spring Split long?
Even though Game 1 looked to be leaning in Griffin’s favor through the first 20-minutes, the collective experience of SKT came flying through the windows and destroyed the nice comfy home that Griffin kept as their seat atop the league.
With the momentum from a 3-0 sweep of KZ in the Semifinals and the reversal of fates in Game 1, things got a little embarrassing for Griffin. It turns out that SKT Mata was right, and Faker was off his game a bit earlier in the year, but not anymore.
Game 2 saw them lose a sub-30-minute game that ended in a staggering 16-3 in the kills department. Almost no moment in the entire turn on the rift looks to be going right for Griffin, making them look more like a lottery winner than the LCK-leading team.
No matter the time, no matter the year, no matter their record, teams across the globe fear SK Telecom T1. It’s Faker’s game, and we’re all just playing it. Heading into this LCK Grand Finals, there was a chance the “real” SKT would show up, and they did.
Game 3 didn’t fair any better for Griffin. They could have picked anything in the draft. There was no slowing or stopping a steamrolling Teddy at ADC, and the outstanding team support from SKT as a whole. The team play was near flawless all the way through both games 2 and 3.
With the win, SK Telecom T1 will qualify for the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, where they will play against the world’s best for international glory.
The new-look SKT didn’t have the kind of expectations that previous incarnations of this team had, especially after a now-defunct line-up for SKT completely flopped in 2018. Faker shed a tear in his post-game interview for his inability to win with old teammates and friends.
“I have a huge affection to the old gamers. I miss Doublelift,” said Faker when asked about who he wanted to face on the international stage. Calling out the 2019 LCS Spring Finals MVP in a very respectful way, it sets up the tension and excitement for MSI in a big way.
As for Griffin, it’s going to be an uphill battle to earn the respect of their fans back. It’s not about the fact that they lost in the finals to one of, if not the best player in League of Legends history. It’s about how they lost. “Imposters” they were called by LCK shoutcaster PapaSmithy and they looked it. Come the Summer Split, this team will have a lot to prove.
Hopefully, we see this version of SK Telecom at MSI, because both Korea and Faker deserve to return to their international glory.
Only a few games of League of Legends have yet to be played in the Spring. The LPL has a few weekends left to go, while the LEC will crown their MSI representative and Spring Split Champion tomorrow.