DAMWON KIA and KT Rolster face each other in Round 1 of the LCK Summer 2022 Playoffs tomorrow to further progress in the bracket.
LCK Summer 2022 Playoffs continue tomorrow with KT Rolster and DAMWON KIA facing each other off for different goals. For DAMWON KIA, it’s to meet expectations and be that team that can contest the likes of T1 and Gen.G. On the other hand, KT Rolster finds themselves in really good form. Also, KT will want to keep using this momentum to cement their spot at Regionals and beyond. Let’s talk about the series and what to expect tomorrow.
- Read More: LCK Summer 2022 Playoffs Bracket and Teams
DAMWON KIA vs KT Rolster
It’s not farfetched to say that DAMWON KIA has been one of the most inconsistent teams this split. They have the star-studded roster with Nuguri, Canyon, and Showmaker leading the charge. However, DK sometimes finds themselves with a lack of identity. They have struggled to find consistency in the bot lane, and all their players have had their off-days more often than not.
On the other side of the rift, KT Rolster has just grown throughout the split. Aiming has been one of the best ADCs in the LCK this split, and VicLa has changed how this team functions. With Cuzz stepping up and Rascal doing his usual thing, KT Rolster is a formidable team now. The only downside is their current position in the championship point leaderboard. They have to push DK and potentially win this series with their spot a bit flimsy.
Let’s discuss the players and the teams in more detail by breaking down the series in each lane and determining which team has the edge in this matchup.
Top Lane: Nuguri vs Rascal
Here, we have Nuguri vs. Rascal. Nuguri is the player everyone touted to be the difference maker for DAMWON KIA, but that has not panned out. Meanwhile, Rascal has grown as a player since he left Gen.G and is proving his worth for this KT Rolster squad. When you look at the individual stats for both players, it’s quite similar. Their champion pool is somewhat similar, except that Rascal has played a lot more Gwen than Nuguri has, and it’s the same for Nuguri with his amount of Gnar played.
However, given the current meta, Gnar is hardly a pick, and we will generally be seeing more of Sejuani, Gwen, Ornn, etc. As of late, Nuguri has leaned a lot into Sejuani, and we can expect to see more Renekton as well, particularly from Rascal. Overall, their champion pool kind of lines up.
The one thing that sets these players apart is their stats in the laning phase. Rascal is one of the leaders in solo kills, while Nuguri is the better overall laner with solids leads in most stats at 15 minutes. Other than that, there is not a huge difference between the stats of both players. Hence, our verdict ends in a toss-up.
Verdict: Top Lane is a toss-up, and either player could win this lane.
Jungle: Canyon vs Cuzz
TOn a normal day at the office, this wouldn’t have been a conversation, but Canyon has not been the greatest this split. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but those have not been as prevalent as this team needs. The positive things about Canyon is that he has gotten better at the end of the split, and he has played a variety of champions.
On the other hand, Cuzz has relied on Wukong and Viego a lot, which uses the solo lane advantages of his team and gets them leads. Cuzz fits in with the team well and has been very good.
It’s a bit of a conversation at the moment, but ultimately Canyon has enough cachet to favor him in this matchup. Considering Canyon has played many different champions, and he has been trending upwards later in the split, we will lean towards Canyon for this series.
Verdict: Canyon is Slightly Favored.
Mid Lane: ShowMaker vs VicLa
Another thing that should not be a conversation is ShowMaker vs. VicLa. However, ShowMaker has been so quiet this split, and at the same time, VicLa has been a difference maker for KT Rolster. The difference between having Aria and having VicLa has been massive, and that has been one of the factors that propelled KT to playoffs.
Both players are very important to their teams, and they play a similar roles in their teams. Both mid-laners like to roam and make plays for their respective teams. However, in that regard, ShowMaker does it better at the moment. On the other hand, VicLa’s impact has been tremendous, and he has not played the entire split as KT Rolster did have their mid-lane swaps at the start.
Regardless, this will be a very good lane matchup, and if we have to pick an individual, it has to be ShowMaker right now, even though he does not look like he is at peak form.
Verdict: ShowMaker is Slightly Favored.
Bot Lane: Deokdam/Kellin vs Aiming/Life
While mid lane and jungle went in DAMWON KIA’s favor, bot lane will easily go to KT Rolster’s favor. Aiming and Life have been the better bot lane without a shred of doubt. In that regard, Aiming has been a top 3 ADC in the LCK, and it bodes well going into playoffs. Life has also stepped up since he departed from Gen.G. Together. They are a very good bot lane going into the playoffs.
Deokdam and Kellin, on the other hand, have looked inconsistent, for lack of a better word. While there have been games where Deokdam is performing well, and the duo is excelling during the laning phase, they still struggle in team fights. This is a problem DK tried to fix when they brought in Bible, their academy support, while Kellin had Covid, and that did improve their teamfights a little. However, given that Deokdam and Kellin in lane is a better fit, they chose that option for this playoffs.
Regardless, Aiming and Life have proven to be the better bot lane, and we should see a lot out of them in this series.
Verdict: Aiming & Life has the advantage.
Team Synergy
Team Synergy is where we feel that KT might have the edge because they play much better as a team in most cases. In their last series against Gen.G, they showed they could utilize their win conditions and play to their strength.
Meanwhile, DAMWON KIA is very good in the laning phase, but they fall short during fights. They tend to give up leads during objectives, and other teams can outfight them. Whether that has changed in the last few days is interesting.
Conclusion: KT Rolster has the better team synergy right now.
In Conclusion
All in all, this is going to be a very good series. We expect the series to go 5 games, given how both teams perform. DAMWON KIA is the more experienced team in the series, but KT Rolster should pack a punch. This series will be exciting to watch for everyone as World’s hopes are on the line. For the full schedule, check out the LoLEsports Website.
