Three teams that were in Champions Korea in 2018 took part in the 2019 LCK Spring Split. They didn’t just hold their own, they dominated, and after Griffin finished the regular season with the best record while Sandbox Gaming and DAMWON Gaming made playoffs, there is plenty of attention on this year’s LCK Summer Promotion tournament.
Through two series, the Challenger teams have yet to win a game though. KT Rolster smashed VSG in their series on Tuesday, and Jin Air Green Wings overcame an abysmal regular season to beat a shaky ES Sharks side. Both KT and Jin Air have taken their first steps towards reclaiming their spots in the LCK for the Summer Split, while VSG and ES Sharks know they need to win two straight series if they want to make the LCK.
KT and Jin Air will square off in the winner’s bracket of the promotion tournament with the winner of this series locking up a spot in the LCK Summer Split. VSG and ES Sharks will meet in the loser’s bracket with the loser of that series being condemned to another season in Challenger.
League of Legends LCK 2019 Summer Promotion Betting Odds
KT Rolster -526
Jin Air Green Wings +296
KT is a heavy favorite over Jin Air in this series, and they should perhaps be an even bigger favorite. Jin Air was the one LCK team that KT had no trouble with in the Spring Split, sweeping them in both regular season series.
However, the most recent series three weeks ago was significantly closer than you might expect, and Jin Air actually registered more kills than their opponents. Route and Kellin were popping off in the bottom lane on Lucian and Braum, and they continually got the better of Gango and SnowFlower.
BDD came up huge for KT against VSG, and he is the main win condition for KT against Jin Air. The mid laner has been the one bright spot on KT throughout the season, and he posted a 27 KDA on Azir and Akali on Tuesday. He is likely to take a champion he know can win against Grace in the mid lane.
The top lane battle will be very interesting too. The last time these teams met, kingen played in the top lane for KT instead of Smeb, and there’s no doubt that Smeb is a significantly tougher challenge for Jin Air to counter. Lindarang has had a rough season, and Smeb’s performance on both Jayce and Kayle was a reminder that he can still flash in the top lane.
ES Sharks -169
VSG +116
ES Sharks were the top team in Challenger during the regular season, and that earned them the top Challenger spot in the Summer Promotion tournament. A lot of people are down on them after a disappointing performance against Jin Air, and they aren’t big favorites against VSG. These teams met each other twice in the regular season with each side sweeping the other once in the same week.
It should be very interesting to see what ESS top laner Jisu takes into the top lane. He has taken a lot of off-meta champions like Kled and Renekton into the top lane, but he performed dreadfully on Sion against Jin Air and wasn’t much better on Gangplank.
It’s very tough to know what to expect from VSG. This team is a combination of two separate teams, and they make wholesale changes to their starting lineup constantly. That has made it hard to build chemistry, but opponents have been unable to key in on tendencies either, so that’s a positive.
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