Does SK Gaming have what it takes to overpower Alliance?

With League of Legends heading to London, all eyes will be on the top two teams—SK Gaming and Alliance. Alliance have mounted a major comeback this year, including gutting their squad in the 2013 post-season and building back up. SK Gaming, on the other hand, have silently built one of the most deadly rosters in Europe, and have situated themselves within striking distance of the top. 

With a better record, Alliance also have a substantial lead in the kill count. But SK have proven surprisingly durable with objectives, and actually come out ahead when looking at both teams’ gold income rates. Additionally, many of the players sport similar stat lines for the split.

The biggest differences, however, lies in who carries the team to victory in the late game. For Alliance, that name is Erik “Tabzz” van Helvert, a marksman on the rise. His 7.08 KDA for the split so far is among the highest in the league, and he also boasts around 75 percent kill participation. If left unchecked, he can quickly take over any game.

But SK have their own secret weapon in the form of Jesse “Jesiz” Le, the mid laner who has been growing in talent ever since his rostering to SK last November. He’s been doing some great work to keep SK in the race for first place. However, Alliance’s own mid laner, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, has shown flashes of absolute dominance in the mid lane, and his 9.6 KDA speaks for itself. With Hansen and van Helvert together, it’s hard to think that SK have a chance in this exciting matchup.