KT reigns in another Telecom War, ends SKT's Cinderella run early in '18 LCK Spring Round 2

GLEE AND DELIGHT FOR THE REDEEMED: KT Rolster (in photo)'s coaching staff showed its extreme happiness on its starting players as they eliminated their archrivals SKT to their lowest placement in LCK history (Round 2), 3-1.

By Ozzy Alaba

MANILA -- And KT's supremacy over their rivals this season simply won't end today.

KT Rolster (KT) put their archrival's quest for redemption in an abrupt end in their famous "Telecom War" as they erased SK Telecom T1 (SKT) out of title contention, 3-1 in their best-of-5 2018 LCK Spring Playoffs - Round 2 date to seal their ticket to the Third Round of the gauntlet at the Seoul OGN e-Stadium on Wednesday evening (Philippine time).

Despite finishing the current Regular Season with a clean 2-0 set record (4-1) over the three-time World champions, KT didn't let complacency devour them as they flashed their vintage form in their most important match, letting veteran jungler Go (Score) Dong-bin shine through trampling SKT's jungler Kang (Blank) Sun-gu constantly, making them the only team to knock SKT into their lowest placement in LCK history (since its reform in 2015), ending their journey in the Quarterfinals of the LCK format.

With this, Go, KT's resident AD Carry from 2012 to 2014 before roleswapping to the jungle in 2015, spearheaded the veteran-equipped roster, amassing the Player of the Series through his combined 10.33 Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) Ratio (5/3/26 KDA) in their three wins, accentuating his efficiency in using Olaf's Undertow, Skarner's Impale, and his signature Gragas' Explosive Cask in the entire series.

Former Worlds semifinalist Song (Smeb) Kyung-ho also proved that his casual lane dominance haven't expired yet as he displayed his flexibility, playing tanks like Ornn and carries like Camille and Gnar effectively, which let him bag a merged 9/9/15 KDA (2.67 KDA Ratio) in the four-game run.

Superstar AD Carry Kim (Deft) Hyuk-kyu and 2014 Worlds MVP  Cho (Mata) Se-hyeong also joined in stepping up, making Kim's Xayah and Kalista and Cho's tanky utility support picks like his signature Thresh a thorn for their adversaries, which let them lead the team in kills (16), and co-lead the assists department with 40 combined assists.

KT's 17-year-old rookie mid laner Son (Ucal) Woo-hyeon also laid quality minutes in resident mid laner and former World champion Heo (PawN) Won-seok as he provided the burst poke damage for the team with his Swain, Taliyah, and Azir  and concluded the entire series with a decent individual 4.71 KDA Ratio (15/7/18 KDA), highlighting his flawless 5/0/6 KDA on Taliyah in Game 3.

SKT, meanwhile, could have the chance of clinching the series as they decisively won the curtain-raiser, with their AD Carry Bae (Bang) Jun-sik shining but KT managed to decimate their jungler from the start till the end of the series, forcing them to call GG and end their redemption quest early.

RELATED STORY: [SKT continues Cinderella story in '18 LCK Spring Playoffs, eliminates current World champs KSV in Round 1]

Having this, Bae, SKT's long-tenured AD Carry concluded his playoff journey with a tournament-best 11.20 KDA Ratio and leading the 10-man squad in kills (average of 3.43).

With their win, KT will be assured of acquiring at least 50 to 90 Championship Points, which are vital for their 2018 World Championship qualification, will face the second-seeded Afreeca Freecs (AFs) in the Third Round and will also seal the third Korean seed to the upcoming 2018 Rift Rivals.

SKT, on the other hand, in spite of their loss will acquire 30 Championship Points, and will join the first-seeded Kingzone DragonX (KZ), and the two mentioned teams in their 2018 Rift Rivals quest.

The updated bracketing of the 2018 LCK Spring Playoffs. Leaguepedia

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