Powerhouse Korean team SK Telecom has just earned their third Summoner’s Cup, defeating Samsung Galaxy in the grand finals of Worlds 2016 by a score of 3-2.
This is nothing new for the dynasty that is SKT. No other League of Legends team in the world has ever won Worlds twice, but this team has managed to take home three of these prestigious trophies in the past four years with relative ease. This recent victory was undisputedly their most difficult one yet.
It didn’t look like that early on. Sure, SKT had lost more games at Worlds 2016 than they had dropped in their previous championship runs, but they were still the heavy favorite against Samsung Galaxy. Things appeared to go exactly as planned for SKT as they took a quick 2-0 lead in the series. The second win was much cleaner than the first, leading many to believe the third and potentially final game would be short and sweet.
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It wasn’t. In fact, nothing was short about this series which would go on to 5 games after Samsung Galaxy showcased their ability to keep up with SKT with masterful team fighting and an obvious knack for finding picks exactly when they needed them. Only a single game (game 2) would be shorter than 45 minutes throughout this 5-game series. Game 3, the game which SSG began their comeback, was only 16 seconds short of setting a record for the longest game ever played at Worlds.
#WorldsBigPlays: Ambition with another Dragon Steal! #Worlds https://t.co/zkcklC1a6z
— lolesports #Worlds (@lolesports) October 30, 2016
Samsung Galaxy made use of their full arsenal of tools and tricks to tie the series up at 2-2 and force a final game. We saw Crown solo-kill Faker, Ruler make take an extremely aggressive approach to team fights, and Ambition steal key objectives. CuVee was able to consistently escape ganks and had a number of solo-kills himself, while CoreJJ continued to show his ability to make plays and deal significant damage in the support role.
And then SKT flipped the switch. They decided they were going to impose their cold, mechanical, and calculated style on SSG the way they did in game 2. After a number of chaotic games filled to the brim with aggressive team fighting, they brought things back to how they play the game best. SKT closed out the final game in the series using the slow and methodical play they are known for, giving Samsung no room to outplay their way to a victory.
…when you get to play with your own skin in the #Worlds Finals #JustFakerThings pic.twitter.com/bdmlV1KY5S
— lolesports #Worlds (@lolesports) October 30, 2016
SKT is the greatest team to ever play competitive League of Legends. Faker and Bengi were once again, as expected, the driving forces that led to the team’s third Summoner’s Cup victory. How long they’ve been able to dominate the scene despite dozens of major meta shifts and roster changes is what makes their legacy so epic.
What’s even more scary is that a year from now there is a serious chance that you’ll find yourself back here reading about how SKT secured their fourth Summoner’s Cup. See you then.
