The LCK Finals is upon us as T1 faces DAMWON KIA tomorrow for the 1st seed at Worlds.
The LCK Summer Split Playoffs has had some good series to watch so far. With all the series done and dusted, the finals is set to be hosted tomorrow between defending champions DAMWON KIA and a renewed T1. Let’s talk about the matchup and the magnitude of winning it.
The Series
T1 vs DK has always been a lot of fireworks as a series. In this split and even last split, the series often went the distance with DAMWON KIA mostly getting the better of T1. With that said, let’s talk about the teams starting with DAMWON KIA.
DAMWON KIA
This iteration of DK has had a relatively troublesome regular split. They started off with a lot of role swaps shifting ShowMaker to bot lane and Canyon to Mid Lane. That experiment did not work well, and they switched back to the usual squad. With the meta shifting to more of a weak side bot lane system, this has suited DAMWON KIA a lot. Beryl likes to roam a lot and that is what he was mainly known for. Thus, in the later stages of the split and their series against Nongshim RedForce, we saw a better and improved version of DAMWON KIA.
However, that is not the full story as well. A lot of their success in this split is down to Khan, their top laner. Khan has surged once again in his career as one of the best top laners in the LCK possibly the best even. Canyon and ShowMaker both had relatively quiet splits, but they are still the best players in their positions at the moment. The main concern with DAMWON KIA is always their bot lane in Ghost and Beryl. Ghost has been better than of late with many of his comfort champions coming back into prominence. Beryl on the other hand, is a complete wildcard. He could have an excellent game or just run it in.
Nevertheless, this is such a team that is going to be hard to beat in the LCK. Their top side of the map is the best in the LCK and Beryl’s roams can cause a lot of mismatches for the opponent team. They are definitely not as strong as 2020 DWG, but they are still a strong team worthy of being a top 3 team in the World.
T1
Let’s move to T1, a team that has found its footing after the removal of coaches Daeny and Zefa. This team has stringed a lot of good wins on the back of their bot lane, particularly Keria. Keria has been a one-man army in the bot lane irrespective of the ADC beside him. Undoubtedly, Keria is the best support in the World right now. What’s worked even well for them is Teddy showing up in the playoffs. Teddy has been an absolute standout so far and this T1 bot lane is going to give teams fits.
However, the team has not quite been tested as much as we would like. Their series against Gen.G left a sour taste with Gen.G being so passive and willing to take chances. T1 simply played it at their own pace and Gen.G did practically nothing. Hence, it’s really hard to judge where T1 would land among the best teams currently. Their series against DAMWON KIA should shed some light on that and that will definitely be the toughest series they have played in these playoffs.
Faker has played well in these playoffs and Oner has been a good jungler for them. For Canna, he has had some excellent games, but some questionable games are there for him as well. Against DK, T1 will have to be at their best in order to beat them.
DK vs T1
DK vs T1 in our opinion is a 5 game series unless DAMWON KIA blow T1 out of the water. This series could very well determine the strength of the region as a whole as other regions have looked slightly better in the playoffs thus far. Regardless, this should be an interesting series to watch and there is a lot to see in this series.
Their strengths match well against each other with T1 being strong in the bot side and DK being strong in the top side. This will be Canna’s biggest challenge so far facing Khan, who is at the top of his game. On the other side, Ghost and Beryl will need to hold their own against Keria and Teddy so that they don’t lose hard. Whichever side loses could determine the game and possibly the entire series. However, we should not count out both ShowMaker and Faker roaming around and impacting the entire game. For us, we are definitely going to give DAMWON KIA the edge based on the team they have and how well they play.
The Importance Of Winning the Finals
It goes without saying that winning the finals is going to guarantee the first seed for Worlds, but there is more to that. For T1, this series is more significant that people may realize. If they win Worlds, they go as the 1st seed to Worlds. However, if they lose, they slot into the Finals of the Regional Qualifiers. So, in that situation, they can be 3rd or 4th seed depending on that series result. It is a big difference from 1st to 3rd/4th.
Also, If T1 loses, Gen.G gets 2nd seed automatically due to Championship points and DAMWON KIA is 1st seed for winning the finals. On the flip side, if T1 wins, DK is 2nd seed and Gen.G is either 3rd or 4th based on regional qualifiers. This series could determine a lot of placements for the LCK teams going to Worlds. Thus, this is a series worth watching just for that.
In Conclusion
This is one of the most important series that the LCK has had in a while. This series could very well determine their regional strength along with Worlds seedings. DAMWON KIA and T1 are definitely two of the strongest teams in the region, so this should be a cracker of a series to watch.
The LCK Finals kicks off tomorrow, to check the time it starts, visit the LoL Esports Website.
