T1 vs. KT: LCK Playoffs Round 2 recap

In an instant classic series that went the distance, T1 won 3-2 against kt Rolster on March 25, the first match day of Round 2 of the 2023 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Spring Playoffs at LOL Park in Seoul, South Korea.

Teams on blue side won all five games.

T1 vs. kt Rolster

Game 1: T1 wins

T1 convincingly won Game 1 against kt Rolster with a 10-1 win in 32:36. T1 bot laner Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong went 4/0/3 on Lucian and earned Player of the Game honors; jungler Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun found a 3/1/3 Elise performance; top laner Choi "Zeus" Woo-je finished 2/0/2 on Gnar; mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok notched a 1/0/4 K'Sante KDA in his first game on the pick; and support Ryu "Keria" Min-seok added a 0/0/8 Nami score. KT's only major objective -- besides their one kill -- was a Baron Nashor. LCK Player of the Game: T1 Gumayusi, 100 points

Game 2: KT wins

With a 23-4 win in Game 2 that lasted 37:26, kt Rolster evened up their series against T1. KT top laner Kim "Kiin" Gi-in finished 7/1/7 on Jax, won the POTG award and led in kills; jungler Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan controlled the game on his 6/3/13 Wukong; mid laner Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong picked a signature champ, Twisted Fate, and went 3/2/14; and bot laner Kim "Aiming" Ha-ram notched a 7/3/12 performance on Varus. In the loss, T1 took one dragon, two Barons, four towers and a Rift Herald, and Gumayusi scored a quadra kill on his 9/4/5 Zeri. LCK Player of the Game: KT Kiin, 200 points

Game 3: T1 wins

T1 won Game 3 against kt Rolster in 30:40 by a 15-5 score. T1 Oner went 6/0/7 on Lee Sin and led in kills; Zeus's K'Sante found a 3/2/7 score on K'Sante; and Gumayusi finished 5/0/2 on Xayah. KT's only major objective in the loss was one tower. LCK Player of the Game: T1 Oner, 100 points

Game 4: KT wins

In a 35:41 Game 4 they led 22-8 in kills, kt Rolster pushed their series against T1 to Game 5 -- and "Silver Scrapes." KT Aiming took over the game and went 11/0/6 on Zeri with the support of Son "Lehends" Si-woo's 1/1/16 Lulu; top laner Kiin finished 3/2/8 on Jax; and Bdd went 4/1/17 on his second Twisted Fate game of the night. T1 found just one drake and two towers in the loss. LCK Player of the Game: KT Bdd, 100 points

Game 5: T1 wins

T1 beat kt Rolster 33-27 in 54:51 in Game 3, the longest and bloodiest LCK game of 2023 so far. The extremely close game was decided by a base race. T1 Faker went 8/7/13 on Gragas and nabbed a POTG award; jungler Oner clutched up on his 7/4/12 Wukong; and Gumayusi and Keria were 12/4/13 on Xayah and 1/7/22 on Keria -- and Gumayusi led his opponent 544-410 in CS.  On the losing side, KT Kiin's Jayce was 6/4/16 and KT Aiming went 12/7/6 on Varus and notched a quadra kill. LCK Player of the Game: T1 Faker, 100 points

Strafe Player of the Series: T1 Gumayusi (31/13/28), 1st

Featured photos courtesy of the LCK/Riot Games.