After in-depth analysis from the analyst desk and a wonderful opening ceremony, the Grand Finals for the 2016 League of Legends Worlds Championship started. We had the defending world champions, SK Telecom T1, face off against their Korean brothers, Samsung Galaxy.
Here is how it went down:
Game One
SSG SKT
TOP: CuVee-Poppy Duke-Trundle
JNG: Ambition-Lee Sin Bengi-Olaf
MID: Crown-Viktor Faker-Orianna
ADC: Ruler-Caitlyn Bang-Jhin
SUP: CoreJJ-Zyra Wolf-Karma
BANS: Ashe/Syndra/Cassiopeia Nidalee/Miss Fortune/Ryze
Early Game: Chaotic Battles and Traded Kills
Not much happened in the early game. There were a lot of kill attempts but they all ended in blown summoner spells and no kills. However, after a strong push towards bot, Bengi secured first blood, but then SSG traded back a kill. After this, SSG turned up the pressure as Crown solo killed Faker, while Ambition downed Wolf. Bengi sought revenge and traded back for two more kills with a solid ult. With all the chaos over, both teams reset back to a standoff of farming, while Ambition secured a Cloud Drake.
Mid Game: SKT Push SSG Around
Knowing they had very strong engage, Bengi and Faker caught out Crown and Ambition to get two easy kills, resulting in first tower gold and a 4k lead. Bengi now had three kills, so he knew he could apply his pressure wherever to gain map control. SKT followed Bengi around as they slowly pushed SSG towards their base. Despite being behind in pressure, SSG was managing to deny the presence of SKT in hopes of gaining some footing.
Late Game: SKT Manage To Finally Close the Game
SKT made a push towards obtaining an Infernal Drake, but Ambition was able to steal it and get out with his life. At this point, SSG had the drake advantage, but SKT was still 6k gold ahead and was ahead in everything else but drakes. Like we are all used to seeing, SKT slowly and methodically shutout SSG while growing their gold lead. Seeming to get impatient, SKT tried to force a kill onto CuVee, but they got caught out and gave SSG two kills.
As SKT respawned, they took another Baron and used their newly acquired buff to break open SSG’s base. Now everyone had full build, so the game fell to pure skill. SSG found continuous kills on SKT to force them out of their base and secure Baron. Following a very chaotic fight in the base of SSG, SKT secured game one in this best-of-five series after 54 thrilling minutes.
SKT 1 – 0 SSG
Game Two
SSG SKT
TOP: CuVee-Kennen Duke-Gnar
JNG: Ambition-Kindred Bengi-Lee Sin
MID: Crown-Cassiopeia Faker-Ryze
ADC: Ruler-Caitlyn Bang-Jhin
SUP: CoreJJ-Karma Wolf-Nami
BANS: Syndra/Ashe/Nidalee Jayce/Olaf/Elise
Early Game: Fights All Around the Map
Similar to game one, both teams focused more on CS in the first couple of minutes. Laners traded here and there, but not much came out of it. When both teams hit level six, they made their way down to bot lane and broke out in a fight. Ambition secured first blood, but Faker quickly traded one back.
After everything reset, SKT three man ganked top lane and gave Faker yet another kill. Not even three minutes later, another 5v5 fight broke out in the bottom lane. It looked like SSG had a clear advantage, but SKT fought to the end and made the fight even. Now, SKT started to make plays around the map, which netted them three more kills and gained the gold advantage.
Mid Game: SSG Tries to Fight Back
Despite being behind a few kills and 2k gold, SSG still managed to secure two Mountain Drakes over SKT. For the third time in this game, SKT made a move to dive CuVee top for yet another kill. At this point, Faker was everywhere, giving SSG no room to move around the map. Anytime someone from SSG tried to walk through the jungle, a member or two from SKT met them halfway. SSG was behind 8k gold and down 12-3 in kills when SKT secured their first Baron.
Late Game: In SKT Fashion, They Dismantle SSG
With their newfound buff, SKT pushed SSG into their base as they took every second tier turret, which ended their Baron power play at a 6.5k gold lead. This left SSG cowering in their base, which let SKT mow down turrets and inhibs. SSG had no chance as SKT destroyed everything and secured game two in 35 minutes.
SKT 2 – 0 SSG
Game Three
SSG SKT
TOP: CuVee-Poppy Duke-Trundle
JNG: Ambition-Lee Sin Bengi-Elise
MID: Crown-Aurelion Sol Faker-Orianna
ADC: Ruler-Ezreal Bang-Jhin
SUP: CoreJJ-Zyra Wolf-Nami
BANS: Syndra/Ashe/Cassiopeia Nidalee/Olaf/Ryze
Early Game: Misplay From SSG Gives SKT the Lead
Similar to the past two games, this game started slow. The gold lead shuffled back and forth a few hundred gold but no team was able to take a solid advantage. Crown made a roam towards bottom lane and caught Bang out, but a good exhaust from Wolf and good CC gave SKT first blood. SSG reacted and secured an Infernal Drake. Once again, the game slowed down and returned to a farming battle, but Bengi broke the silence and gave a kill to Duke.
Mid Game: SKT Further Constricted SSG
SSG tried to catch SKT out in every lane, but they couldn’t manage to find an opening. Everywhere they went, SKT was one step ahead of them. SKT turned the pressure around and got three quick kills on Crown, Ruler and CuVee as they were trying to farm back into the game. Now up 6k in gold and ahead 5-0 in kills, SKT’s pressure grew to be too much for SSG to fight back. Samsung was forced to wait for a mistake, but SKT showed no signs of faltering.
Late Game: The Clown Fiesta to End All Clown Fiesta
SSG managed to get a kill on Wolf, but it wasn’t without repercussions. A risky Baron call from SKT allowed SSG to get three kills and the Baron buff. With this buff, SSG was able to take map control and give SKT a taste of their own medicine. After a crazy ult from Ambition onto Faker, SSG took two towers bot lane. However, SSG overstayed their welcome as SKT traded back a kill and forced SSG back.
As the game reset, SKT secured an Elder Drake, which allowed them to take back some map control. Once again, SKT tried to make a risky Baron call and SSG punished them for it. The next five minutes consisted of non-stop fighting for Baron, with neither team securing the objective. The play that broke open the stalemate was SKT taking their second Elder Drake, which gave them Baron, but SSG reacted in securing map control, as well as all three inhibitors. Both teams met in the top lane, which left SKT on top, but the fight went on too long for them to capitalize.
The game fell into a state of constant fighting with no one team getting a large enough advantage as the game hit the 60 minute mark. After six minutes of fighting over Elder Dragon, SKT almost took it, but Ambition came up with the clutch steal, so SSG made a move towards Baron. After SSG chunk SKT down, they took Baron and looked to push with the buff. With a 1-3-1 split, SSG took all three inhibitors and forced SKT to defend the Nexus. With no chance of stopping the Baron minions, SKT fell to SSG in game three in an exhausting 71 minute game.
SKT 2 – 1 SSG
Game Four
SSG SKT
TOP: CuVee-Kennen Duke-Gnar
JNG: Ambition-Lee Sin Blank-Zac
MID: Crown-Viktor Faker-Orianna
ADC: Ruler-Jhin Bang-Ashe
SUP: CoreJJ-Karma Wolf-Nami
BANS: Syndra/Ryze/Nidalee Jayce/Zyra/Olaf
Early Game: SSG Create Strong Map Pressure
Once again, the game started very slow, with the key difference being Ambition forcing both summoners out of Faker. Ambition had a focus on mid lane, but Blank met him at every turn. There were many gank attempts around the map that resulted in nothing but summoners being blown. Knowing Ambition has the stronger dueling jungler, SSG forced SKT off of an Infernal Drake to secure it for themselves. After a 3v3 fight mid lane resulting in no kills, CuVee solo killed Duke for first blood. Shortly after, SSG turned a Curtain Call from Ruler into another kill on Faker. SSG pressed their advantage into the top lane for first tower gold.
Mid Game: SKT Try To Hold On To Hope
A 2k gold lead gave SSG the ability to brute force SKT out of objectives. With their two drake advantage (one Infernal and one Mountain) SSG kept up their running trend of securing key drakes. After both teams met mid lane for the first real 5v5 fight, they managed to trade one-for-one. However, SKT managed to catch out Ruler and chase down Crown and brought the kill and gold lead to their advantage. After hitting their mid game power spike, SKT started making use of their “Ball Delivery System” with Orianna and Zac, and secured more kills.
Late Game: Samsung Look To Keep The Dream Alive
With Blank over extending his boundaries, SSG made a quick turn and nearly aced SKT. Afterwards, SSG secured Baron and an Ocean Drake. The clear advantage SSG had over SKT allowed them to secure two inhibitors, which gave them a 5k gold lead. However, on SKT’s respawn, they managed to punish a bad engage from Ambition to force SSG back. With their sheer amount of CC, SKT managed to find picks around the map. However, SSG was still able to brute force their way into taking out the third inhibitor.
The game looked to return to the style of game three, with both teams trading kills back and forth without gaining any clear advantage. SSG quickly looked to shut SKT out with a huge fight at Elder Drake. After taking out three members of SKT, SSG took control of the base. No amount of CC from SKT could stop SSG from destroying them under their Nexus turrets, resulting in SSG taking game four in quick fashion.
SKT 2 – 2 SSG
Game Five
SSG SKT
TOP: CuVee-Poppy Duke-Trundle
JNG: Ambition-Olaf Bengi-Lee Sin
MID: Crown-Cassiopeia Faker-Viktor
ADC: Ruler-Jhin Bang-Ashe
SUP: CoreJJ-Tahm Kench Wolf-Braum
BANS: Syndra/Ryze/Karma Nidalee/Zyra/Aurelion Sol
Early Game: Early Chaos Leads To Early Mistakes
Right off the bat, Crown tried to solo kill Faker, but could only force both of his summoners. At the same time, Bengi ganked bottom lane for first blood. Ambition tried to react by diving Faker under tower, and although he got the kill, he also died to tower aggro. As Crown was retreating, Bengi came from the side to get a third kill for SKT at the four minute mark. After the chaos died down, Bengi and Ambition looked to counter jungle each other to try and get the upper hand. Bengi got caught out at Ambition’s red and died to Ruler, which gave SSG’s bot lane a huge advantage. As if this game wasn’t crazy enough, SKT managed to secure the first drake of the game, which happened to be a Cloud Drake.
Mid Game: SSG Turn Up The Heat
With a large amount of pressure, SSG dove behind Bang and Wolf to get two free kills on their carries. As SSG rotated top, SKT followed in secrecy, which baited SSG into thinking they had a free kill. SKT quickly flipped the fight on its head and secured a kill on CoreJJ, which brought the game to an even 4-4 in kills. Once again, with the strong dive of SSG, they caught out Bang when he least expected it, giving them another kill. In response, SKT traded Bang’s death for a second Cloud Drake and two turrets around the map. SKT looked to make a move but SSG’s peel for their carries proved to be too strong. As Faker tried to solo kill Ruler, the rest of SSG came from the jungle to turn it into two kills and a Cloud Drake in their favor.
Late Game: Faker for MVP
After a long standoff, SSG tried to find a pick with Curtain Call, but it went to waste, giving SKT the chance to fight. After catching Ambition out and forcing his ult, SKT secured an Infernal Drake and peeled back with their small victory around the 30 minute mark. Despite only having a 2k gold lead, SSG kept trying to force Baron, but SKT was prepared to prevent it. A cross map Ashe arrow hit CoreJJ, which gave SKT a free kill. Bengi saw an opportunity to kick Ambition into the team, which gave SKT another kill and a clear advantage to push. SSG tried to refute SKT’s aggression, but it only ended in deaths.
After SKT got Baron, they tried to brute force into SSG’s base, but they couldn’t gain footing. At this point, everyone except the supports were at full build, so both teams started taking their time and played defensively. However, an Ashe ult forced Ambition to ult, which gifted SKT free reign over Baron. The new found power from Baron gave SKT what they needed to pick up two inhibitors and get out of SSG’s base without a scratch.
After a small breather, SKT returned to SSG’s base to take the last inhibitor and made a move towards Elder Drake. With Elder Drake, SKT had nothing to stop them from securing their third world championship in League of Legends.
SKT 3 – 2 SSG
Congratulations to SKT on winning the 2016 League of Legends World Championship.
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