KT Rolster (11-3, 24-12 match record) joined the top of the pack in the LCK on Sunday during Week 7, Day 5 of League Champions Korea when it took down the Afreeca Freecs (8-6, 22-17 match record) at the end of a three-game series.
The match was a crucial one for both teams, as both are vying for playoffs seeding now that the LCK has entered its final few weeks. For the Freecs, a victory would have meant inching closer to a vulnerable SK Telecom T1. For KT Rolster, the victory means taking joint possession of first place alongside Longzhu (11-3, 25-10 match record) and Samsung Galaxy (11-3, 24-10 match record).
Despite how it might have looked, this series was anything but competitive. Afreeca proved completely incapable of handling KT Rolster's early game. The only glimmer of hope for the Freecs came late in Game 2, where a huge play by support Bak "TusiN" Jong-ik, managed to give them the opening they needed to take a surprise victory. Even then, it was still a play that was only enabled due to KT Rolster's reckless abandon, as the team seemed unwilling to patiently sit on its gold advantage and instead opted to foolishly dive towers. There's no question that KT Rolster was in complete control of the series, as it wrapped up the series with a match that was just as laughably one-sided as Game 1 had been.
The man of the hour was KT Rolster's jungler, Go "Score" Dong-bin. He was the primary actor behind KT Rolster's incredible early game, as his pressure out of the jungle was simply impossible for either of the Freecs' junglers to match. It was his Elise that empowered Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho in both Games 1 and 3, as Score took advantage of Jang "MaRin" Gyeong-hwan's aggressive tendencies. Every time MaRin overextended, Score was there and ready to punish. His efforts didn't go unnoticed, as he earned himself the MVP award in both Game 1 and in Game 3. His overall KDA across the series was a spectacular 11/3/19 (kills/deaths/assists).
KT Rolster's greatest test is still before them, however, as they take on Samsung Galaxy on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET in match that will truly decide who the successor to the throne that SKT T1 recently vacated. The Freecs will go on to face Samsung on Thursday, also at 11 p.m. ET.