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Bbq Olivers 2 -- SKT 1 Bbq Olivers closed out Wednesday's action by taking down SK Telecom T1 in a drawn-out 2-1 victory in the postseason of League Champions Korea. At the end of one of the longest days in recent memory, bbq (5-10) threw a wrench into the postseason plans of several teams by taking down SKT (6-9). This means KT Rolster (10-4) has now secured a playoff berth, while SKT will have to fight for its life in the final three games as it's now sitting one game outside of the final playoff spot. In its previous losses, one could point to SKT under-performing in key areas, but bbq simply played spectacular League of Legends today. From mid laner Kang "Tempt" Myung-gu breaking out a pocket Ziggs to help win Game 1 to phenomenal play from AD carry Jang "Ghost" Yong-jun's Tristana in Game 3, bbq Olivers looked better lately, playing teamfights and macro incredibly well. The Olivers didn't just end games strongly, though, as jungler Kim "Trick" Gang-yun did a good job of getting his team ahead early in the game and keeping the pressure on SKT throughout the series. On the other side of things, this loss might just be a spirit breaker for SKT. In need of a big win, SKT only managed to take Game 2 with a hard-scaling late game composition that relied on mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Kassadin to carry. SKT's bottom lane was unusually quiet, while the top side of the map couldn't find consistency or even basic effectiveness against bbq, showing that the problems that plagued this team early in the year still remain. It'll be hard for SKT going forward with these weak points on full display, but it needs to figure out its act quick, or risk missing out on the postseason for the first time in LCK history. Bbq Olivers takes on KT Rolster at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday, while SKT prepares for a must-win match against reigning World Champions KSV Esports at 3 a.m. ET on Sunday. --Noah Waltzer MVP 2 -- Kongdoo Monster 1 MVP survived a war of attrition against Kongdoo Monster on Wednesday, taking a 2-1 win and keeping its slim playoff hopes alive in League of Legends Champions Korea. Just like that, Kongdoo Monster (2-13) has locked in a spot in the upcoming Spring Split promotional tournament, losing in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable. In Games 1 and 2, Kongdoo grabbed early leads, capitalizing on MVP's (6-9) poor teamfighting. Kongdoo even looked like a somewhat decent, potentially middle-of-the-pack team with how it moved around the map in the early-mid game, running circles around MVP. Mid game objective control also went in Kongdoo's favor more often than not, securing five Baron buffs throughout the series, even leading to a whopping 10,000-gold lead at 32 minutes in Game 2. Just as things were looking up for Kongdoo, though, the cracks started to show. Kongdoo's inability to close out games was somehow stronger than MVP's inability to grab an early lead, giving MVP ample time to recover from horrendous deficits. Jungler Kim "Beyond" Kyu-seok had a particularly poor game in Game 2 as Skarner but, for the most part, dominated the objective game well, grabbing a few Baron steals when MVP was on the back foot, and being decisive when MVP was in control. In the end, it was Kongdoo's indecisiveness that was its undoing, as it simply couldn't commit to any kind of decision late in the game. While Kongdoo took a sloppy Game 2 win, once MVP put together an early game that was halfway decent in Game 3, MVP ripped Kongdoo apart. Kongdoo has plenty to work on if it wants to keep its spot in the LCK, especially with some Challenger teams looking strong heading into the end of the split. MVP, meanwhile, is still mathematically in the running for a playoff spot, but several things out of MVP's control has to happen for that unlikely scenario. MVP has a tough test ahead of it when it plays Afreeca Freecs at 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, while Kongdoo Monster prepares to take on ROX Tigers at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday. --Noah Waltzer
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