With two weeks left in the group stage of the League of Legends Korea 2018 Summer Season it is still all to play for as every team has either the chance to make the play-offs, or the opportunity to avoid relegation.
SKT surging
SK telecom T1 have shot up the standings, with four straight victories and five out of six in total. This momentum for SKT came off the shocking benching of star Mid-laner Faker, with Pirean stepping in.
At first met with questions, concerns and outrage by many, all of a sudden Pirean and company have begun to prove the naysayers wrong, playing a more team-focused brand of League of Legends.
Not only have the likes of Blank seen a startling improvement but Pirean himself has shone during his time in the spotlight, playing a wide variety of champions and bringing consistency for SKT.
The most-recent victory for SKT was the most impressive, taking down Gen.G in a three-game set to bring themselves one step closer to the play-offs.
The strength of schedule in the run-in is an obstacle for SKT, one which sees them face three play-off teams to close out their year. One wonders whether Faker would return to the line-up were a pivotal game with a play-off place on the line arrive.
Afreeca in trouble
The most inconsistent team in the league the last few weeks has been the Afreeca Freecs, with their play-off hopes subsequently up in the air.
Afreeca have shown the ability to defeat the likes of top-seeded Griffin, while also falling to basement boys bbq OLIVERS.
The concern for Afreeca comes from their recent skid which has seen them lose two of three matches, with the lone victory being a three-game series against an MVP side using their Support players in the Top lane due to a medical emergency. In all likelihood, MVP would have come out on top in that series had ADD been able to play, given just how poor Afreeca performed.
The good news for Afreeca is their schedule is more favorable than SKT’s, playing two borderline play-off teams in SKT and Hanwha Life Esports before a match-up against the Jin Air Green Wings.
The player who needs to shine for Afreeca to perform is Top-laner Kiin, who at times this year has been considered the best in his position in the league.
Griffin flying high
With an incredibly favorable schedule down the stretch, Griffin will be looking to secure the top seeding and, with it, an automatic place in the Finals.
Griffin have been the clear break-out team of the Summer split, with a set of players new to the largest stage in Korea shining.
Griffin were able to emerge from their difficult stretch in the middle of the season at an 11-4 mark, with matches remaining against Jin Air – for which they are hot 1.123 favourites with Dafabet – SKT, and bbq.
This past week Griffin showed a willingness to try new things, selecting Teemo for the Bottom lane in a shocking selection. Long considered one of the most difficult champions to use due to his limited mobility and short range, Griffin pulled off the risky composition and put the world on notice with their ability to experiment, even in competitive matches.
MVP’s favourable schedule
MVP do not technically own their own destiny in terms of relegation, but they do currently sit a half game above the second-to-last Jin Air Green Wings in the fight to stay in the league.
MVP showed signs of creativity and solid mid-to-late-game shot-calling even without starting Top lane ADD. While not an easy schedule by any means, MVP do have a more lax schedule than their stiffest competition in Jin Air, with a solid chance at avoiding the relegation tournament.
All to play for
With every team having something on the line, this should be a highly competitive and exciting Week 7, one which starts on Tuesday (July 31).
The late surge of SK telecom adds a lot to the intrigue of the final two weeks as they have the ability to not only snatch a play-off place, but also make a serious run at the title.
