KT Rolster will have to play the LCK promotion tournament to maintain its place in the top flight of the Korean League of Legends. Since the Korean side finished the spring split at 9th place.
In this promotion tournament KT will be accompanied by another team from the LCK, Jin Air Green Wings, who finished in the last position with only one victory to its name and seventeen defeats. The remaining two will come from Korea Challengers. The four teams will play in a double elimination format to see which two teams will be competing in the LCK next season.
Former Champions Of LCK
It is the first time that KT Rolster is seen in this situation. The club is one of the veteran teams of the Korean League of Legends and a regular in the fight for the title. They have won only once, two if we count the victory of KT Rolster Arrows in summer 2014. The team was runner up for the title on five occasions.
GET EXCITED:@KTRolster_tw win the 2018 #LCK Summer Finals after a 3-2 win over Griffin! pic.twitter.com/xV2xAheLu8
— lolesports (@lolesports) September 8, 2018
This fight for survival is surprising because it occurs only a few months after proclaiming the LCK champion in summer. After a bad campaign in the World Cup, this lineup underwent major changes and was renewed around two of his most recognized players. The top laner Song ‘Smeb’ Kyung-ho and the jungle Go ‘Score’ Dong-bin.
Disappointing From Start To Finish
Although KT Rolsters sits at ninth place, it is not so surprising. Since throughout the split, the team was struggling at the bottom of the table. In spite of everything, this situation was not certified until the last game of the regular phase. since a victory or even a defeat by a minimum margin against DAMWON Gaming would have been enough to avoid the relegation battle. If they had won then Afreeca Freecs would have taken the place of KT in the relegation zone.
The 2019 #LCK Spring Split returns at 1AM PDT with @JinAirGW vs @TeamGriffinLoL followed by @DamwonGaming vs @KTRolster_tw!
? https://t.co/UNRhCEvKOm pic.twitter.com/7eMmMMcBzN
— lolesports (@lolesports) March 31, 2019
Yet, KT Rolster could not do anything and ended up falling 2-0. Now they will have to give its best to stay in the LCK. As the two teams promoted from Challengers have shown that they will be no pushovers. The Korean League of Legends may be about to witness the fall of a giant.
Who Will Win The LCK?
At the top of the table, DAMWON Gaming and SANDBOX Gaming will play the first round of the playoffs. The winner will face KINGZONE DragonX. Then the winner of the previous encounter will face SK Telecom T1. In the Grand Final, Team Griffin will have to win just one series to be crowned the champion of LCK Spring 2019.
LCK has shown impressive quality in the fight for the top spots. Now in a few weeks time, we will see what SK Telecom T1 has in store for us. Will we see Griffin lifting the title? Or will SK’s repeat its former success of reigning supreme in Korean soil? Only time will tell.