SKT to face off against EDG in MSI Championship

SK Telecom T1 (SKT) is set to play against Edward Gaming (EDG) in the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) Championship on Sunday after an intense tournament all weekend.

The Mid-Season Invitational saw plenty of electrifying play in it’s debut through three days. NA LCS fans were extremely disappointed as their representative, Team SoloMid (TSM), failed to make it past the group stage winning just one match. SK Telecom was rivaled by few all tournament to notch a berth in the 2015 MSI Championship game. They will meet Edward Gaming (EDG) there on Sunday in the knockout final round in a five game series. Although the road for each team was different, this is sure to be an intense battle to take home the trophy in the last international tournament before Worlds.

SKT saw few who could rival their strategic and precise play throughout the group stage. They went 5-0, beating each team who they faced with ease. It wasn’t until the first round of the knock out semi-final round that they actually saw any threat of being eliminated.

Fnactic (FNC), met SKT in the semi-finals and was thought of to be heavy under dog. It was evident they were in the first game of the best of five as well. Faker played “god-like” with Ezreal, going 2,1,14 and leading the field in cs with 303. The best part of watching Faker harness the ability of his champions is nailing his skill shots. During Game 1, Faker was flawless in his execution and led SKT to an easy Game 1 victory.

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/TRLH1/1001140302?gameHash=5b1bcbd84bce75c2&tab=overview

If FNC planned on competing with the best mid-laner in the world they were going to need someone to start making plays. And who better than the loveable top laner, Huni? Rumble was the champ of choice for FNC’s top laner, and boy did he turn the whole series around. Teleporting into 2 v 1s, critical usage of Zhyonas, and stalking Faker’s Ahri play, proved to be the charm that FNC needed to get back on track. FNC took game two.

Game’s 3 and 4 traded back and forth to lead up to an epic battle in Game 5 that would send the winner to the Championship. Huni went back to his roots and tried out his luck with Rumble once again. Faker decided to throw a curve ball at FNC and play Cassiopeia in mid-lane. An unorthodox play, but ended up working out in the favor of SK Telecom as they advanced to the finals. A hard fought battle by all that made everyone more excited about the prospect of these two teams meeting in Worlds.

On the other hand, Edward Gaming couldn’t have had an easier route to the finals. They swept the likes of AHQ eSports Club with absolutely dominating play. From the time each team stepped on the rift, the series was virtually over. It wasn’t just one carry each game either. The guys from EDG just straight up outplayed the fellas from AHQ. They continually caught AHQ out of position leading to tower diving kills in the early game, fed junglers, and snow balling champs everywhere. EDG put on a league of legends clinic for AHQ, who looked as if they had just downloaded the game last week.

The end screen for the final game between EDG and AHQ is below.

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/TRLH1/1001140318?gameHash=4aa1b8936c3ad6ca&tab=overview

It will be interesting to see who comes out on top during the championship game on Sunday. SKT proved to be the best team in the group stage, but struggled in the semi-finals. EDG stumbled a few times in group play, but simply demolished AHQ in the semi-finals. While they are riding heavy momentum into the final game, SKT is far from the opponent that AHQ is, so they should not be taken lightly. Whatever ends up happening, I am sure we will see breath taking action on the rift in the finals for the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational.

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