SKT extended their win streak in the 2019 LCK Summer Split to eight games today by taking down Kingzone DragonX in a 2-0 sweep. This win against Kingzone marks SKT’s seventh 2-0 of the season as they climb to third on the LCK ladder after only dropping one game in their last 17.
Game one between the two veteran squads was close for the first 20 minutes. No one garnered a lead of more than 1,000 gold, and most of the kills and objectives were traded back evenly. But SKT made some clean rotations through the mid game and really started dictating the pace of the game, claiming two Infernal Drakes and multiple towers.
This lead was enough to put SKT ahead of the gold curve, hovering around the 2,000 gold mark. The two Infernal Drakes bolstered SKT’s stats over the Kingzone squad who were playing the long game with Yoo “Naehyun” Nae-hyun’s Azir and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu’s Sivir.
As Park “Teddy” Jin-seong’s Ezreal started to ramp up, Kingzone were slowly bleeding out. With the game in the balance, Kingzone forced a Baron play at 31 minutes and were able to shred it down before SKT could steal it. But SKT slid in just in time for the collapse. Teddy nuked Deft with just a Trueshot Barrage and one Mystic Shot.
Kingzone went for one audacious push up the mid lane but they crumbled once Deft got picked once again. SKT took their three-man advantage and stormed up the mid lane, taking down Kingzone’s Nexus at 35 minutes.
With the series in the balance, Kingzone went for a full-on brawl composition for game two. Putting Naehyun on the Vel’Koz mid lane, grabbing the hyper-aggressive lane bully Leona for Park “TusiN” Jong-ik, and Lee Sin for Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan, Kingzone were looking for picks early and often.
SKT dug in their heels, though, carving out an early lead after Teddy picked up first blood. But Kingzone were slowly starting to choke SKT off the map, sieging down towers in the mid game with Deft’s Xayah.
SKT’s objective-focused comp with Kai’Sa and Azir melted down key objectives like Dragons and Barons before Kingzone could set themselves up for picks, however. On top of this, Kim “Khan” Dong-ha’s Sylas dominated Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee in the side lanes. The Vladimir never got a chance to blow up SKT’s backline.
The game swung back in SKT’s favor before exploding at one big teamfight around the second Baron 35 minutes in. Deft managed to pick off Kim “Clid” Tae-min, but SKT grabbed a pick of their own before zoning out Kingzone from the Baron. SKT took down the purple worm without their jungler before catching out Naehyun at the base gates, ending the game in one clean push.
This methodical mid-game control that SKT exerted over Kingzone is a classic example of the champions of yesteryear. They’ve managed to dominate every team in the LCK through the mid-game and they look to continue their rise to the top against the best in the league as the end nears.
For Kingzone, however, this loss wasn’t as harsh as it could have been. There were moments of greatness and they managed to keep their heads above water for most of the game. But they found themselves out of position a couple of times and those slight mistakes were enough for SKT to pounce and snowball the game out of control.
SKT will face Afreeca on Aug. 3 to try to keep the win streak going, while Kingzone will round out the week’s action on Aug. 4 when they play Sandbox.
