It all comes down to this. After four weeks of play and three different European cities, we're down to the final two teams in the 2015 World Championships: SK Telecom T1 and the KOO Tigers. But before we get into our Grand Finals preview, let's take a moment to remember the 14 other teams who fell just short of their dreams of lifting the Summoner's Cup .

Remembering the Fallen

The International Wildcards were the first block to be knocked out of the tournament. The Bangkok Titans, from the Southeast Asia region, couldn't stand up to the actual titans in their group, as they fell out of the competition without a single victory to their name. Brazil's shining light, paiN Gaming, solidified their place in the history books as being the best IWC team to ever compete on the world stage. They barely missed making the Top 8 on the final day, but ended the tournament on a high note after handily defeating North America's champion, Counter Logic Gaming.

Speaking of North America, they were the second region to have their championship aspirations crushed. Following a first week that saw two of their teams, CLG and Cloud9, get ahead in their groups and appear to be on the verge of making it to the quarterfinals, their second set of games left much to be desired. The three North American teams all failed to record a win in the second week of the group stage, with Cloud9 being the last to fall by losing all three of their games on the final day as well as a tiebreaker to ahq e-Sports Club that knocked them out of the tournament. Wanting to make a positive statement at the 2015 World Championships to substantiate their successful run last year, all that will be remembered about North America this campaign will be two numbers: 0-10.

The next region to fall out of the World Championships were Taiwan. Despite only bringing two teams to the competition, both of their squads exceeded the expectations that were set by many of their non-Taiwanese followers. The Flash Wolves exited the world stage as the only team that can say they had a winning record against Korean teams, as they beat the KOO Tigers twice in the group stage to claim the first seed in their group. Their group victory would be short-lived, though, as they lost to Europe's Origen in a closely contested 1-3 series loss. The champions of the region, ahq e-Sports Club, made it out of groups following a tiebreak win over Cloud9 on the final day of the first round, but that's where their good fortune ran out — as they drew into a quarterfinal match against SKT. The rest, as they say, is history.

China, the country that many thought housed the best lineup of teams coming into Worlds, left the world stage with more questions than answers. Invictus Gaming and LGD Gaming both bombed out in the first round, as neither squad was capable of getting through the group stage. All of China's hopes were thrust on the shoulders on EDward Gaming, and the former domestic and reigning Mid-Season Invitational winners couldn't deliver anything after their pedestrian performance in the group stage. EDG met with Fnatic in the quarterfinals, which marked the end of China's Summoner Cup dreams as the back-to-back European titleholders sent the free-spending region back to the drawing board.

The last region to fall would be the tournament's hosts. In the semifinals, the two European squads faced off against Korea's best, as the Final 4 became a war between the region that won the last two world championships and the one that controlled the early days of League. Ultimately, the three-peat was realized and Europe was eliminated from the tournament before they could play in front of their home fans in Berlin.

SK Telecom T1, the empire. The greatest franchise in South Korean eSports history and possibly in all the world. The best organization that League of Legends' has ever seen. Two-time finalists, vying for their second championship. Led by a team of all-stars that is capped off by the game's greatest player, Faker, and coach, kkOma. SKT T1 are the epitome of class, prestige, and, may capture their second Summoner's Cup Finals while going through the entire tournament without a single loss.

KOO Tigers, the misfits. They weren't supposed to be here. Hell, they weren't even supposed to be in Korea's Champions this year. The team is made up of players that were thrown off their main teams when organizations could only field one League team. The Tigers have gone through three different name changes, experienced the biggest upset of all-time by losing to Team WE at the IEM World Championships, and were seen as one of the weakest teams South Korea has ever sent to Worlds. Now they're here, defying all the odds as five friends who play the game they love together on possibly borrowed time.

Welcome to the 2015 Summoner's Cup Finals.

The Chess Grandmasters: SK Telecom T1

The word perfection doesn't only sum up SK Telecom T1's record thus far, but it symbolizes how they play the game. For SK Telecom T1, League of Legends isn't a game about killing your opponent through magical spells or powerful ultimates. It's about dissecting, suffocating, and stretching your opponent apart until they tap out. When SK Telecom T1 get a small opening in the early-game, they bounce from one objective to the next and snowball that advantage to the 20-to-25 minute mark where they can comfortably take Baron with their superior vision and objective control.

My favorite saying coming into this tournament was that a lot of teams that came into Worlds play checkers while SKT play chess. You have squads like ahq e-Sports that thrive on chaos, but that's now how SK Telecom T1 play League of Legends. They're cerebral, cunning, and most importantly, calm. Whenever SKT T1 find themselves at a gold disadvantage, they don't sweat or make irrational decisions. They'll gladly slow down the game's pace and let the other team take small leads for the first 30 minutes, waiting for them to make one mistake that will flip the switch that put them back in the driver's seat. As we saw against Origen in the semifinals, one mistake, regardless of how well you play for the majority of the game, is all SK Telecom T1 need to break you.

To beat the current iteration of SKT T1 you need to play a flawless game. After losing to EDward Gaming by a close 2-3 scoreline at the Mid-Season Invitational, SK Telecom T1 evolved. They fixed their teamfighting weaknesses and refused to be cornered in the pick/ban phase again. Following their only loss to CJ Entus in the summer regular season of Champions Korea due to CJ's ability to stretch the map themselves with mobility and teleportation, they adapted and didn't lose another match for the rest of the season and playoffs.

One of the lowest rated teams coming into Worlds when it came to Kill Participation between team members, SK Telecom T1 don't usually win games off their teamfighting or grouped up tactics. They're most comfortable when you have three different sectors of the map you need to keep your eye on and become too much to handle. T1 will make bold shot calls in the jungle to begin the skirmish style they excel at, pick off a few members from the opposing team, and then translate that victory into a string of objective accomplishments: jungle buffs, towers, Drakes, and Baron. When SKT T1 claiming the Baron buff has served as a death knell for their enemy. With how well Telecom push the side waves during the game, the Baron buff allows them to take their map dominance and push forward into the opponent's base without much of a fight.

The Pieces

Faker and Easyhoon: The King(s)

The most important piece on the chessboard is the king. However, it isn't the strongest. Heading into the competition, Faker was the face of the team and the player expected to put up all the big numbers at Worlds. That hasn't been the case at all, as Faker, along with Easyhoon, hang back for a large majority of their games and let their side lanes do the carrying.

Through the first 12 games, no team has forced SK Telecom T1 to really move their king on the map. Faker has mostly played Ryze in the competition, not really needing to change up his style since no one has been able to stop him on the mage champion. Until someone can actually get to the king and take a game from SK Telecom T1, we might see Faker or Easyhoon play the same champions in the final round without ever having to show anything new from their arsenal.

MaRin: The Queen

The queen is the strongest piece on the map, being able to move pretty much anywhere on the chessboard without restriction. That is what MaRin has been for SK Telcom T1 this tournament. Once a background character for a team that was known for having Faker, MaRin has nearly put himself on the same level as his co-shot caller, only needing three more victories to win his first Summoner's Cup and, most likely, the MVP award.

MaRin, along with Faker, is possibly the strongest all-around player in the world. Before Worlds started, my biggest critique against the SKT T1 captain was that he was an amazing tank and engage-style player that we hadn't seen play at the level of split-pushing top lane carries like Smeb and Ssumday. So far this month, he's shown that while also being the best Maokai player in the world and adept at playing tanks, he can also be the ace of a world-class team with his split-pushing and solo carrying performances on champions like Fiora.

Faker might be the player that you hear the most about heading into the Finals.

MaRin is set up to be the player that you remember when the Finals are over.

Bengi: The Rook

SK Telecom T1's defensive wall, Bengi has been the team's backbone. Historically, he's a player that can go on long streaks depending on his form, and his summer's streak of playing at an elite level has transferred to the world stage. In a tournament where the jungler field didn't look to be at its best compared to last year, Bengi has asserted himself as tournament's best jungler, getting his team ahead early with smart jungle pathing. If Faker, MaRin, and Bang are the stars of the team, then Bengi is the one that stands in front of all of them, protecting them from harm and allows them to reach their full potential.

Bang: The Knight

Often overlooked on a team that is filled with premiere carry talent, Bang has quietly had one of the best performances by an AD Carry in Worlds history. His Kalista still stands undefeated after teams have continually given him his strongest champion throughout the tournament. While a topnotch mechanical player in his own right, consistently having two accounts in the Top 10 of Korea's Challenger ladder, this current SKT T1 team is perfect for him to shine. He's a skirmish maestro who uses his micro talents and positional know-how to rip through teams in spontaneous fights across the map. When Easyhoon is playing, Bang takes on one of the main carry roles. If Faker is starting at mid, his role switches to utility and he is routinely put on champions that can siege well or help with SKT T1's pushing in all three lanes.

Simply put, versatility is what makes Bang a perfect piece to SKT T1's overall masterful configuration.

Wolf: The Pawn

The one regular person grouped up with masterminds, legends, and solo queue beasts. Don't get me wrong, Wolf is a good player. On a lot of teams, he would be a star support. But SK Telecom T1, at least this year's version, is not a decent or even a really good team. They're an all-time great squad, and Wolf is the pawn that sacrifices himself admirably to make sure that the rest of his superhero teammates can get the job done. Going into the final against KOO, Wolf's been decent but hasn't performed like the rest of his teammates. If there is one weak point on this team that the Tigers can exploit, it'll be Wolf.

When EDward Gaming beat SK Telecom T1 at MSI, Wolf was the player they picked on to win the series. Since his failures in Florida, Wolf's been on the rise, playing well in the summer season and keeping himself above water throughout the World Championships. As long as Wolf can sacrifice himself for the betterment of his friends and win the Summoner's Cup, it'll be worth it for the one mortal on SKT's roster.

The Outlaws: KOO Tigers

The ultimate underdogs weren't Fnatic or even Origen. Fnatic are one of the biggest and proudest franchises in League. They've made it to the most semifinals in Worlds history, won the first Summoner's Cup, and have five of the six European domestic championships to their name. After falling at last year's Worlds, they rebounded by signing two Korean players that almost made it onto SK Telecom T1's roster, grabbed a can't-miss prospect from H2k Gaming in the mid lane, and were captained by a man who had played the most World Championship games in history. While the story of SKT T1 vs. Fnatic would have been a great one, it wouldn't have been one of a scrappy western side against the giants from the east. It would have simply been two behemoths with prestige and fame battling each other for ultimate glory.

The KOO Tigers are the ultimate underdogs. As I mentioned at the start of the preview, they're a group of five friends that were cast away from their pro teams during the offseason. They began as the Huya Tigers and then became the GE Tigers before donning the KOO Tigers name we know them as of today. Even with a new sponsor and a high place at Worlds, there are still questions surrounding their organization after the tournament concludes. KOOtv, the streaming site they promote, has apparently been closed down for a while, leaving the Tigers in a possible purgatory situation after the Summoner's Cup Final if they can't find a new sponsor to keep the entire team together.

When NaJin dropped most of the current KOO squad before the 2015 year, the members didn't give up. Kuro, Hojin, and Gorilla brought back PraY from his apparent retirement. For their last member, they picked up Smeb, a top laner that was known for losing lots of games during his two year stint on Incredible Miracle. ZionSpartan said that himself and the rest of Counter Logic Gaming had all felt like "losers" at one point or another following their win at Madison Square Garden. The KOO Tigers came to fruition because they were all labeled as losers from their former teams and considered not good enough to start on an established Korean squad. Think about that for a second: the Tigers were deemed not to be good enough to start in a Korean scene that was in flux after 20 plus of their best players and prospects left for better contracts in opposing regions.

Coached by NoFe, another former NaJin player, the Tigers are the outlaws of Korean League. While the rest of the elite teams in Champions Korea are recognized by KeSPA, the KOO Tigers aren't a part of the organization and operate to the beat of their own drum. While other Korean teams can be considered stoic or methodical during their communication in-game, the Tigers live up to their namesake — they're wild, yelling at the top of their lungs and playing the game like they would if they were in an internet cafe after school with their best friends. KOO are the team that wore school boy outfits and cat ear uniforms early in 2015 to stand out from the rest of the pack in Korea. They were unique, boisterous, and colorful, and they wouldn't have wanted to be seen any other way.

All you really need to know to understand KOO and how they work is that they play together because they love the game. That translates how they play the game, as well. On the surface, they aren't that strong individually and are one of the weaker teams in Korea when it comes to playing the early-game and having to mechanically outplay their opponents. But when it gets into the mid-to-late-game where they come together as a five-man unit, there arguably isn't a better teamfighting team in the world. It doesn't matter if they're down 3,000 gold at 20 minutes or 6,000, all KOO needs is one well-timed fight around the Drake pit and that will open the gates for a comeback where their teamwork can beat any other team's overall skill or technical ability.

By themselves, KOO have two all-star players (Smeb and Gorilla) along with three supporting characters that wouldn't be considered elite at their position.

Together, the KOO Tigers are one of the Top 2 teams in the World, fighting against the face of the empire they thumb their noses at. SK Telecom T1 are the definition of a reputable organization, their roots spanning over a decade. If KeSPA were to pick one team to represent the entire nation of South Korea, it would be SKT T1 and their illustrious development, scouting, and class.

KOO don't even know if they'll be playing for the same sponsor a month from now. SKT T1, win or lose, will continue being the cream of the crop when it comes to eSport franchises in the world. For the Tigers, this is a match that could secure them a new big name sponsor that hasn't step foot in League yet, or the final games they'll play together as best friends before they have to go their separate ways when bigger money teams open their wallets for stars Smeb and Gorilla.

World champions or not, the Tigers will leave the tournament as they came in — noisy, fun loving, and happy to play alongside their best friends.

The Underdogs

Smeb: The King of Losers

If you're a person reading this that doesn't feel like they'll ever make it in life, be it in a job field or something fun like a video game hobby, look at Smeb and realize that you can improve if you work hard enough for it. A year ago, Smeb was considered one of the worst players in the Korean professional scene. He was a weak player on one of the worst teams in the region, Incredible Miracle #1, and his career was essentially losing a lot albeit with a few moments of brilliance that were quickly smashed by the enemy.

Today, he is arguably the best player on the planet. He destroyed Huni in the semifinals and carried his misfit team to the Summoner's Cup Finals. Mostly used a tank player on IM, he's been released from his shackles on KOO alongside the newly implemented patch that favors top lane carries, playing as the team's ace player. Quickly becoming the world's most feared Fiora player, banning out or taking away the French duelist won't be enough to stop the Tigers' star carry. When it comes to innovation around top lane picks, Smeb has been on the forefront this year, first bringing out the Riven early in the year, and then most recently bringing Malphite back into the mix during the Champions Korea summer playoffs.

Hojin: The Captain of the Misfits

Like Smeb, Hojin was no one's first choice for a jungler coming into the 2015 season. He had a forgettable rookie season with NaJin Black Sword, and he was left off the NaJin roster heading into the new year in favor of veteran Watch and young prospect Peanut. Unlike Smeb, however, Hojin still isn't the first choice for teams when it comes to junglers. Hojin is a player that you'd consider solid but not a game-changer like Smeb or pretty much everyone on SK Telecom T1. What Hojin lacks in early-game jungle pathing, overall pressure, and farming he somewhat makes up for in teamfighting, the key to KOO's victories. After Gragas got disabled heading into the semifinals, Hojin went for a Zac pick in two of KOO's victories over Fnatic, sacrificing the first 15-to-25 minutes of the game for a chance to make a different in late-game teamfighting.

Kuro: The Pillar of KOO

Going to the mid lane, Kuro is a player that you won't have much too much to say bad about. But he's also a player you will also have a hard time praising too much, as well. He's the central figure of KOO, being the calm middle while his side lanes can act all impulsive and chaotic. A good game for Kuro is when he's allowed to play Viktor, easily his best champion, and farm for a large part of the game, only doing anything else when a teamfight occurs around Drake where his team can set up a few kills for him to get going into the late-game. As a player before this year, Kuro was on the NaJin Black Sword just like Hojin but was passed over for White Shield's Ggoong, a more aggressive and assassin-oriented player that had seemingly more influence on the map.

Now in the World Finals, the battle between Kuro and Ggoong is like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Ggoong is capable of having a higher ceiling than Kuro, with his ability to make huge outplays on assassins, but he also showed the tendency this year to crumble when his champions weren't in favor or if he didn't get an early lead in a game. While Ggoong burned out over the course of the year, the slow and steady Kuro kept taking small steps towards his goal, ultimately landing in the biggest match of his life on the grandest stage possible.

PraY: The Zombie Carry

For all intents and purposes, PraY was retired before surprisingly coming back into the scene this year with the KOO Tigers. He was long past his Korean all-star days of 2013 when he was considered one of the best carries in the world. 2014 was the year where he eventually vanished from the scene, apparently to never be heard from again like many other topflight pros that couldn't hang around after Faker and his new generation of stars took over the Korean scene.

We're now in the Summoner's Cup Finals and the man once thought to be retired and gone is now starting for a chance to win a world title. With Smeb as the star carry of the team and even more so now with the top lane centered meta, PraY has found himself in the role as quintessential utility AD for his squad, primarily playing champions like Ashe where he can use his veteran leadership to scout the map for the rest of his team with a spell like Hawkshot or start a perfect teamfight with Ashe's ultimate.

Gorilla: The Redeemer

The one outlier of the Tigers starting five, Gorilla wasn't considered a loser, washed up, or a bad player heading into the year. He was actually one of the best supports in the world by the end of 2014, and even though he lost to OMG in a sweep to end his World Championship run last year, Gorilla was one of the only bright spots on that NaJin White Shield squad. That's why it was so surprising to see that he wasn't kept on with the NaJin team heading into the new year, the organization deciding to go with the bottom lane pair of Ohq and Cain to start their preseason.

NaJin currently, seeing how everything played out, will now look back on the past year as a missed opportunity, seeing their former star support lead another team to the World Championships and this time advance past the quarterfinals to the championship game. Gorilla has nothing to prove in the finals against SK Telecom T1, already solidifying himself as one of, if not the best support in the world. All that is left is the chance to take down SKT T1 and win his first world title.

The Conclusion to Worlds

It'd be dishonest to tell you that this is an even match. SK Telecom T1 are heavy favorites not to only win their second Summoner's Cup but do it in flawless victory, winning the world title without ever dropping a single map. But, in a sense, that's what makes this final so great. It's the establishment of SK Telecom T1, the perfect eSports franchise, against a team of rejects that weren't picked to fit the mold of their former teams. The KOO Tigers aren't only playing for a world title — this could be the match, in front of millions of viewers, to coax a new sponsor into sponsoring them for the 2016 year if the KOO organization crumbles following this tournament.

In my mind, there are two ways that the Tigers can win the Summoner's Cup:

1. SK Telecom T1 play into KOO's hands. That means that SKT teamfight against KOO, the only part of the game where I'd say KOO are the favorites over the Korean champions. When it comes to head-on 5v5 teamfighting, I believe KOO are the superior team, Gorilla's playmaking and peeling better than Wolf's. SKT are a skirmishing team that spread the map and don't stay grouped up for too long.

If KOO can somehow lure SKT into playing their style of game, they can beat SKT in a game of who can fight together better. SKT are stronger when they're separated, and KOO are stronger then they're fighting as one.

2. Smeb takes over and plays the greatest series a top laner has ever played. To be fair, this isn't impossible, seeing how well he dissected Fnatic in the semifinals, but he's facing a stronger and more calm opponent in MaRin this time around. Smeb lost to MaRin during the 2015 Champions Korea spring finals, but that was during a team when the game wasn't all about top lane carries.

If there was ever a meta where this current KOO team could beat this current SKT team, this would be the time. In a meta where the mid lane was more focused and the top lane was forced on a tank, I'd just write this off as a 3-0 series for SKT and not look back. Nonetheless, we're in a situation where Smeb, if he can get rolling and can grab some kills in the early-game, can explode with a 13/2/7 game and single-handedly carry his team like Faker sometimes did back in his rookie year of 2013.

As for my prediction, I'm leaning towards a 3-2 for SK Telecom T1. The KOO Tigers will, I hope, be able to steal a game off SKT T1 like Origen and ahq did in their matches but failed to close. And after winning that one game, I can see Smeb snowballing early and ravaging through everyone to a victory for the Tigers. But it's hard for me to see a way that KOO can win this series unless SKT T1 play well below their Worlds level or Smeb ascends to heights we've never really seen before.

SK Telecom T1 are three straight wins from immortality.

The KOO Tigers will do everything in their power to make sure that if they do fall to the omnipotent Korean empire, that their final stand will never be forgotten.

Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger is a staff writer for theScore eSports who covers the North American LCS and Korea's Champions. You can follow him on Twitter.