The most decorated team in League of Legends history and one of the most hyped newcomers ever are the two favorites entering the 2019 LCK Korea Summer Split. SK Telecom T1 need no introduction. The only team to be crowned World Champions three times regained their place atop the LCK in the spring, and they are slight favorites to repeat as champions. Griffin are looking to stop them. The team that burst onto the scene one year ago has finished runner-up in each of the last two splits, and they are hoping the third time is a charm.
2019 LCK Korea Summer Split Betting Odds
SK Telecom T1 +135
Griffin +149
KT Rolster +755
Kingzone DragonX +808
DAMWON Gaming +1114
SANDBOX Gaming +1318
Gen.G +3091
Hanwha Life Esports +3091
Afreeca Freecs +3091
Jin Air Green Wings +40000
SKT finished second to Griffin in the regular season, and they lost both of their series against them. However, they made quick work of Griffin in the Spring Split Finals, sweeping them 3-0 to win another split title.
That justified the organization’s decision to blow everything up and rebuild around Faker. SKT’s four new starters all played better than the players they replaced. Khan was the top lane carry the team needed at times, while Mata proved he was still one of the elite supports in the game. Teddy showed everyone that he was more than just a 35-minute win condition, but the biggest difference maker was Clid.
As the meta continues to favor aggressive teams that like to brawl in the early game, the jungler is more important than ever. SKT didn’t have a great jungler last year, and that hurt them time and time again. Clid has fixed that problem. He is one of the best at knowing when to gank a lane, and his invades have been top notch.
There are a couple reasons to doubt SKT’s chances of repeating though. First, Clid and Teddy relied a little too much on certain champions last year. Teddy played Ezreal in 15 games, triple the amount of games that he played any other champion, and Clid was heavily dependent on either Lee Sin or Jarvan. Clid played one of those two champions in more than 60 percent of SKT’s matches, and teams might decide to target ban him.
The other concern is Khan. While Khan was able to carry in the top lanes at times, he can be far too aggressive for his own good. That’s a common trait among top laners, but he needs to play a little more cautious than he has in the past.
Griffin are my pick to win the LCK this summer. They started off the Spring Split 12-0 and looked set to go down as one of the greatest teams ever. However, they stumbled towards the finish line as they failed to fully grasp the meta and their top laner was exposed.
Doran was added to the roster to give Sword competition in the top lane. Sword is largely fine when he is on a tank in a meta that favors top lane tanks, but he has struggled mightily on top lane carries. His inability to win match-ups that top laners normally win cost Griffin mightily in the spring, yet I think he has refocused his efforts over the break and will have found one or two strong champions he is comfortable playing.
If the top lane problems are solved, Griffin are the team to beat. Chovy was phenomenal in the mid lane in the spring, racking up a 10.7 KDA per Games of Legends, and Tarzan, Lehends, and Viper all posted KDAs above eight.
There is way too much hype surrounding KT Rolster. It’s more than a little optimistic that they are the third favorite to win the LCK Summer Split considering they had to fight their way through the promotion tournament to avoid relegation at the end of spring.
KT’s major problem last split was the play of the bottom lane. Zenit was arguably the worst bottom laner in the region, so Pray coming out of retirement to replace him is a significant improvement. Pray is one of the game’s greats, but will he really make that much of a difference after taking a split off?
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