KOI locked in the second-to-last spot for the LEC Winter Split Group Stage after demolishing Astralis. The two teams faced off on the last day of the regular season fighting for one of the last two spots for the second stage of the competition, and after, KOI stood alone on top.
After slowly building their strength in the early game, KOI decimated their opponents during critical fights that put the reigning LEC title-holders in a favorable position in the game. At the 30-minute mark, KOI were more than 10,000 gold ahead of their enemies, and with the Baron buff, they started tearing down Astralis’ base.
It took some time for KOI to reconnect with their past selves and create the winning synergy LEC fans saw in Malmö last summer. In fact, at the beginning of the regular season, they seemed too “complacent,” as their top laner Szygenda said in the post-game interview.
The 2022 Summer Split winners were playing “really bad” in the first scrims the team had with the new top laner, but according to Szygenda, they will only improve from now on and the team will reach the title “if [KOI] start to play like last year.”
Hopes for Astralis are not all dead yet, they might have to play a tiebreaker game today against Fnatic if the latter secures a win against SK Gaming in their upcoming match.
