The
League of Legends Champions Korea is the last league that has not yet decided on all the teams it will send to Worlds.
T1 and
Dplus KIA faced off on Thursday in a directly qualifying BO5 in the Regional Finals upper bracket. Hwang "Kingen" Seong-hoon and his team came out on top in a very entertaining and explosive series (3-2). Dplus KIA
will be the LCK's 3rd seed at Worlds. T1 will have another shot in two days against the winner of KT versus FearX.
Showmaker's 6th Worlds in a row
Before the series, the two teams had met six times this year, with T1 holding a perfect 6-0 record. Heo "ShowMaker" Su, who had been on a 15-match losing streak against Faker and T1, was determined to break the curse. In the end, just one crucial victory was enough to secure Dplus KIA a well-deserved 3rd seed at Worlds, while ShowMaker finally ended his streak of consecutive losses. As usual, the player was one of the pillars of the team's success this year. As always, he pulled out a flashy pick in game 5 with his LeBlanc to lead his team to victory. He was named MVP of the series.
This series holds even more significance for Choi "Lucid" Yong-hyeok. The brilliant young jungler qualifies for Worlds in his first year in the LCK. His performances garnered him the "Rookie of the Year" title, adding to the excitement of seeing fresh talent shine on the world stage.
The series itself was particularly entertaining due to the numerous mistakes made by both sides, each capitalizing on the other’s errors. For sure, T1 is not in the best shape they have ever been. This defeat comes after a mixed Summer Split, during which the team never managed to regain the same level of synchronization as last year.
With Dplus KIA now qualified, only three teams remain for one spot: KT Rolster, FearX, and T1. KT Rolster and FearX will face off on Friday at 10am CET to determine who will meet T1 in a final showdown for Korea's 4th seed at Worlds.
Header Photo Credit: Riot Games/LCK
