메이저놀이터 The winds are right. On a winning streak, KT’s roller coaster ride is going nowhere but up. KT has raised the banner of its revival as an esports powerhouse by sweeping its toughest opponent, Genji, and then delivering a blow to its nemesis, telecom rival T1.
KT maintained its sole lead at the top of the standings by breaking the team’s longest winning streak in the eighth week of the 2023 LOL Champions Korea (LCK), which was held at the LCK Arena at Roll Park in Jongno, Seoul, from June 26 to 30. After taking over the top spot in Week 7 with a 2-0 shutout of fierce rivals Genji, KT extended its winning streak to 14 games in Week 8 by pushing Guangdong and T1 into the abyss of defeat.
KT forgot how to lose
KT’s momentum is through the roof, to say the least. After knocking off undefeated Genji in the Summer Regular League, they picked up the pace in Week 8.
Against Guangdong on the 26th, jungler Woo-chan “Curse” Moon’s poppy in the first game resulted in a kill and an assist during a lane raid, and in the second game, long-range dealer Kim “Aiming” Haram’s jerry picked up 11 kills to win the set 2-0.
In the match against T1 on the 29th, which was designated as the ‘New Year’s Day Showdown’, KT showed a dominant performance. In game one, mid laner Kwak “Biddy” Bo-seong, who played as Nico, destroyed T1’s nexus in 27 minutes with his creative use of the ultimate, while in game two, Kim “Biddy” Haram, who was picked up after almost a year in the LCK, dominated the battlefield with five kills in seven minutes.
The two wins came in less than two hours, with KT taking 55 minutes to defeat Guangdong and 53 minutes to take down T1. In the process, top laner Kim “Kiin” Ki-in and support player Son “Richens” Xiu reached 300 career wins in the LCK.
Soo-hwan “Phase” Kim scores his third penta-kill of the summer
Genji’s youngest player, long-distance dealer Kim “Phase” Soo-hwan, recorded his third penta-kill of the Summer Split.
Playing as Varus in the second set of his match against DePlus Gia on the 30th, Kim single-handedly pulled off the “penta-kill,” taking out all five of the opposing team’s champions. Pushing hard with a double buff while hunting down the Elder Dragon and Baron Nasher, Genji was able to complete the penta-kill as Kim’s Varus took out the D-Plus KIA players one by one, finally taking out Kim “Kellin” Hyung-kyu’s Rell.
Soo-hwan tied the record for most pentakills in a single split with his jerry in Game 3 against T1 on June 11 and his kaisa in Game 1 against Live Sandbox on July 6, followed by his barus in Game 2 against DPLUS KIA.
‘Sand Corps’ Reeve San-bak, ‘Spicy Flavor’ Nongshim enter the race to the end of POs
Despite T1’s back-to-back losses in Week 8, five teams are still in contention for one playoff spot, thanks to a bitey fight at the bottom of the standings.
The two teams that have gained the upper hand in the battle for tickets are Liv Sanbak and Nongshim. Both teams took down OK Savings Bank Brion side by side in Week 8 to move to five wins apiece. LIV Sandbox took on OK Brion on the 28th and swept them 2-0 thanks to mid-liner Lee “Closer” Joo-hyun, while Nongshim dropped the first set to OK Brion on the 30th but capitalized on their focus in the second and third sets to come from behind to win the set 2-1 and finish Week 8 with a 5-11 record.
With Guangdong’s eight-game losing streak now over, the team has dropped to eighth place with a record of 4-12, while DRX and OKBryon also remain at 4-12, giving Liv Sanbak and Nongshim an advantage in the fight for playoff tickets.