Frokat
The hottest rivalry in LCK has seen a new page turn today as GEN.G take down the ruling LCK champions, T1, for the first time in more than a year. Previously, T1 had triumphed over GEN.G seven times in a row – most notably taking down GEN in Worlds 2021.
Summer 2022South Korea, Seoul, LoL Park
Gen.G
T1
Liiv SandboxThe long-awaited match peaked at 270 thousand viewers on Twitch and YouTube – effectively becoming the most-watched match of the Summer Split.
This has certainly been a must-watch match. However, if you have been unlucky enough to miss the event on the livestream, here’s a very short summary of what exactly went down in the games:
Game One: The Close One
GEN.G open up with a niche Akali counter pick against T1’s Gwen. A great choice considering how important Zeus is for T1’s win condition. Somehow T1 generate a 1K gold lead pre-5 without taking any plates or objectives. T1’s global ult combo made GEN Doran’s life pure hell, completely invalidating Akali’s sidelane presence.
GEN’s Chovy issued a grand challenge for the status of the best midlaner in the world with his performance in this match. Photo by Riot Games.
A crucial Skarner ult – another new pickup on LCK arena – on T1’s Zeus turned the game around. Since GEN.G were able to take down 2 of T1’s carries, they were able to secure the Hextech Soul and Baron unopposed, taking a firm lead in the game. At that point the game was in GEN.G’s bag.
TL;DR: T1 put all their eggs into a single “early roam” dominance basket with picks like Nocturne and TF. These picks worked great early on, allowing them to accrue a 3K gold lead pre-15. However, a series of positioning mistakes by T1 Gumayusi and Zeus eventually turned the game in favor of GEN.G – and they didn’t let go of their advantage until T1’s Nexus exploded.
Game Two: The Not So Close One
After the crazy picks we saw on map one, both teams reverted to more traditional compositions with the good old Azir, Gnar, and Ahri.
Both teams played a traditional safe LCK game – that was broken wide open on the 20th minute. A standoff over the Mountain Drake ended in a massive teamfight victory for the GEN’s side; Ruler added another Pentakill (followed shortly by a Quadrakill in the next teamfight) to his trophy shelf – this time on Zeri.
Ruler is, without a doubt, the best ADC in LCK – and perhaps the world. Photo by Riot Games.
This was all me! – [Ruler’s in-game comms]
TL;DR: A classic KARAM (or, rather, Korean Dragon Standoff) ended swiftly in GEN.G’s favor. In but one moment T1’s formation was utterly destroyed, and the game could’ve been declared over at 20 mins.
The Aftermath
GEN.G now firmly take the lead in LCK Summer 2022 leaderboard. Ruler’s performance earned him another POG (Player Of The Game) title, and he is now tied with T1’s Zeus in the first place on the POG leaderboard. Last but not least, members of GEN.G team have vowed to give a karaoke performance at T1’s headquarters if they win this match – so expect some silver voices coming.