KSV 2 - Kingzone 0KSV eSports (formerly known as Samsung Galaxy) dispatched Kingzone DragonX easily at the end of a 2-0 series during the opening night of the 2018 League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Season on Tuesday. KSV's easy victory over KZ (formerly known as Longzhu Gaming) echoed the equally surprising upset that they managed against KZ during the Worlds 2017 semifinals, where KZ found themselves swept right out of the tournament despite being the current LCK champions. Many of the strengths that allowed KSV to triumph on the world stage were in play during this opening series, as in the end it was the disciplined and, above all, coordinated play from the veteran KSV lineup that took the series. Early advantages were a dime a dozen for KZ -- their counterpicks of Vladimir and Sivir in Game 2 were especially cunning, if ill-fated, attempts to break KSV's rhythm -- but all the early gold leads in the world couldn't overcome the simple fact that KSV remain the strongest team in the LCK once the clock ticks past 30 minutes, largely thanks to one man: Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong. Ambition took home the MVP award for both games, and there's no doubt that he earned it in both cases. It was his clutch decision-making that was responsible for bringing each game to its close, even if the two games had very different endings. Game 1 ended in a flash of fire and blood, as a five-man Cataclysm into one of the most amusing uses of Commencing Stopwatch we're likely to ever witness gave KSV the ace they needed to win the game. On the other hand, Ambition looked to win Game 2 via economic warfare, and it was his split pushing while his team held off 4v5 that eventually drew the game, and the series to a close. KSV will look to build on their early strong start against the Jin Air Green Wings on Thursday at 6 a.m. ET, while Kingzone will matchup with the Afreeca Freecs next Tuesday at 3 a.m. ET. -- James Bates Kongdoo 2 - MVP 0In Kongdoo Monster's return to the LCK the team walked away with a dominating 2-0 victory over MVP on Tuesday. While this may have been the first day of the split, Kongdoo certainly looks like they are back with a vengeance. A one-two punch of top laner Kim "Roach" Kang-hui and mid laner Lee "Edge" Ho-seong from Kongdoo almost allowed the team to walk away with a perfect game; MVP tallied no kills, towers, or dragons, but stole one Baron in the 29-minute loss. The action was somewhat closer in the second game, but it never truly felt like MVP had a chance to come away with a win. Many of the team's deficiencies from last season, namely a lack of teamwork and cohesion, were on full display once again. This was in stark contrast to a Kongdoo squad that was playing as one incredibly strong unit from start to finish. A standout player of note from Kongdoo that bears mentioning was Edge, who was playing at a level we haven't seen for quite some time. He was a whopping 11/2/10 by the end of the series, as his Zoe and Azir picks were leaving MVP scrambling. His 8/2/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and 33,696 damage as Azir in Game 2 was especially strong. MVP wasn't exactly the most formidable of competition, but this was a strong start to the season nonetheless. Kongdoo will look to build on this start with a matchup against bbq Olivers on Thursday at 3 a.m. ET, while MVP will hope to bounce back against KT on Saturday at 2 a.m. ET. -- Wyatt Donigan
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