Every season, LCK fans look forward to seeing the legacy rivalry between T1 and KT Rolster unfold with the Telecom Wars. The last one took place earlier today, in the 2021 LCK Spring Split’s second week.
For KT’s jungler Blank, this matchup was more than a regular series—it was a battle of pride. “I don’t want to fall to T1,” he said with conviction to the LCK staff.
He was also the first KT player to scream his head off when the team grabbed the 2-1 win over T1 after an incredibly intense series. This Telecom War offered everything the League of Legends fans could ask for, including various strategies, clutch plays, exciting teamfights, and some epic fails, too.
Related: Hanwha Life Esports reverse sweep KT Rolster in second week of 2021 LCK Spring Split
KT lost the first game to T1 due to Gumayusi and Keria snowballing the game, becoming unstoppable on Vayne. But this loss also allowed KT to adapt their strategy.
After unsuccessfully giving all of their resources to the top laner Doran, who previously boasted the highest average percentage of the team’s damage this season, in the first game, they decided to camp the bot lane to shut down Gumayusi. They also target-banned his Aphelios in all three games, a champion he’s proved to master.
This change of strategy shifted the dynamic of their next two games. T1 didn’t expect Blank to relentlessly camp bot, which led Gumayusi and Keria to engage in two-vs-two fights and resulted in them dying and conceding the lead to HyBriD and Zzus.
The resources granted to HyBriD didn’t go to waste. He showed incredible performance on Samira, who he played in all three games, backed by the tanky picks of Zzus.
In addition to keeping a clean positioning at almost all times, he dealt great amounts of damage even after his teammates fell in seemingly lost teamfights, almost turning them around.
He also closed a one-vs-one trade against Gumayusi’s Vayne, helped by Ucal’s Twisted Fate ultimate which revealed Vayne even though she used her ultimate. It allowed HyBriD to target Vayne and shut her down using one last auto attack.
HyBriD also won the last game’s MVP title, which was closed off thanks to his performance on Samira. He turned the tide of a crucial teamfight and grabbed a triple kill with a well-timed ultimate, which enabled KT to end the game even if T1 had the Baron buff and several teammates to protect the Nexus. On top of those shiny plays, he boasted a flawless 100 percent kill participation rate in this last game.
His performance was also enabled thanks to great synergy with mid laner Ucal, who earned the MVP title in the second game with his Yone. He bullied Clozer’s Orianna all game and prevented him from landing shockwaves at the right time. He also ended the game without suffering any deaths.
But triumph without peril brings no glory. T1 also showed solid performance and punished several over-extensions of KT’s support Zzus, which granted them the lead in several stages of both last games.
They won several fights even when they were at a disadvantage thanks to strong mechanical plays. T1 mid laner Clozer, who played his second series in the LCK instead of Faker, landed several skillshots on Syndra and Yone that could have brought more kills to T1 if they didn’t fall to the hands of HyBriD.
Jungler Ellim also showed strong performance, especially in the first game where a Jarvan IV pocket pick brought him the MVP title with an impressive 32 percent of team damage dealt. His ultimate combo with Keria’s Galio showed promise and could shut down other contenders further in the season.
T1 will have a chance to bounce back when they’ll play Liiv SANDBOX on Jan. 28, at 5am CT. KT Rolster, on the other side, will face off against DRX for their next matchup the same day, at 2am CT.
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