LoL World Championships News - SKT T1 defeats RNG, Returns to Worlds 2017 Finals: News

October 30, 2017 Taku Bou LoL World Championships News 0

Following a nailbiter in the quarterfinals, SKT defeats RNG in another grueling best of 5 series, 3-2. Their win brings them back to this year's finals.

Shanghai, China – SKT and Royal Never Give Up (RNG) underwent a highly-competitive Semifinals match which saw the reigning champs win against the LPL powerhouse, 3-2. During the first three games, RNG looked poised to finally topple the LCK Juggernaut, but a crucial player sub from SKT,  as well as some stellar play from their Ace Mid-Laner were the keys they used to punch in yet another ticket to the Finals in this year’s Worlds.

Game 1: RNG Makes their Presence Felt

RNG started the game strong, putting pressure on top lane with LetMe picking Shen against Huni’s Gangplank, as well as the bottom lane with Uzi’s Twitch and Ming’s Janna versus Bang’s Tristana and Wolf’s Blitzcrank.

Meanwhile, Faker and Xiaohu duked it out in the mid lane with the former manning Galio and the latter playing Malzahar. Finally, rounding out the match ups, Mxlg manned Sejuani, while Blank used Zac as their team’s respective Junglers.

For the better part of the game, mlxg’s Sejuani provided good ganks against Huni, which resulted in a First Blood kill. This drastically hindered Huni’s Gangplank’s split-pushing power. In the bot lane, Wolf’s Blitzcrank, which had a 100% win rate during this Worlds, couldn’t deliver with any timely play-making hooks. As a result, Uzi got his core Twitch items and dealt massive damage in the mid and late-game team fights, securing the first win against the defending champs.

Winner: RNG

Game 2: SKT Strikes Back

SKT bounced back in Game 2 following their game 1 loss. The defending champs took advantage with an odd Nocturne pick from RNG – they were keen on keeping Mlxg from reaching level 6 early through proper warding and some counter-jungling from Blank.

The Faker of old also showed up during Game 2, choosing Galio and having his presence felt throughout the entire match. He was always in striking range and used Grand Entrance to secure key fights and team objectives, as well as maintain his lead against his lane opponent in CS.

Finally, SKT’s Galio-Camille combo worked wonders, as their dual Ultimates helped take down RNG’s Uzi and Xiaohu down the stretch. With these factors working in SKT’s favor, they handily won Game 2.

Winner: SKT

Game 3: RNG’s 23-Minute Win

Game 3 saw Xiaohu’s Ryze battle Faker’s Galio. Again, it was a heavily contested match in the mid lane, but unfortunately for SKT’s Ace, his heroics weren’t able to carry his team this time. Xiaohu was able to kill Faker early, netting First Blood for the Chinese team.

RNG was also quick to give Mlxg’s Sejuani another go, and it paid dividends right off the bat. Mlxg had great ganks in bottom lane, which helped Uzi’s Vayne get Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Phantom Dancer. These picks contributed to 6 kills for Uzi and no deaths for RNG, resulting in a resounding 23 minute-win. The time was a record against the defending champs this season, as RNG found themselves one win away from going to the Finals.

Winner: RNG

Game 4: SKT’s Blank Out, Peanut In

On the brink of elimination, SKT subbed in Peanut for Blank as their Jungler. Peanut chose Gragas, while Huni went with Gnar. Faker still manned Galio, and Wolf and Bang went with the Lulu-Kog’Maw combo. RNG was quick to counter, with LetMe picking Rumble for top lane, Mlxg choosing Jarvan IV for jungle, Xiaohu holding mid lane with Ryze, and Ming and Uzi opting for Soraka and Twitch, respectively, for their bot lane.

While the Gnar vs. Rumble match was standard in the top lane, SKT’s Peanut proved to be instrumental during the team fights. He was relentless in invading Mlxg’s jungle and stealing some neutral monsters. RNG managed to win a clash 27 minutes by thwarting a Baron-powered SKT mid lane push, but SKT regrouped and stormed RNG’s mid lane again. In the final salvo, Bang sniped down Uzi right after taking down the turret.

This final kill sealed the victory for SKT, and they were one win away from returning to the Finals.

Winner: SKT

Game 5: SKT vs. RNG: Endgame

The deciding game saw both SKT and RNG go all-out and try to outplay each other even at the start of the picks and ban phase.

Faker still got to play Galio, which he had been playing throughout the series. Wolf and Bang went with Lulu and Caitlyn, Huni played Gnar again, and Peanut chose Jarvan IV.

RNG drafted Shen for LetMe, Corki for Xiaohu, while Uzi and Ming chose Tristana and Taric,respectively. Mlxg then chose Lee Sin to close out their lineup.

For a better part of the match, Peanut’s killer instinct was apparent – he netted early kills by ganking his teammates’ lanes. Mlxg was also quick to match Peanut’s aggression. In one instance, there were dual TD plays for SKT and RNG which gave them kills in both lanes.

However, Mlxg’s Lee Sin was outclassed by Peanut’s Jarvan IV. At one point, Mlxg was taken down by Peanut, Wolf, and Faker near the Baron Pit, which seemed to demoralize RNG.

SKT sealed the deal after they secured a late-game Baron and Elder Dragon, and a team fight between the two teams occurred. Huni hit a massive Gnar Ultimate against RNG to end the game in their favor.

Winner: SKT

Click on our Worlds 2017 Championships page for more news and updates.
All highlight videos taken from lolesports Twitter account.

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