This is a new series of articles where I will be examining and discussing pivotal moments of the Korean League scene. From certain individual matches, consequential moments, and special sets, I’ll be reviewing everything through a more historical lens. This particular match had a lot of consequences in the Korean scene and the Worlds scene as the circuit points system to qualify for Worlds from Korea was still quite unrefined. More than a few events had happened in the weeks prior to set up this very tense situation regarding the Worlds seeding as the NLB finals had occurred a few days prior and the Champions finals occurred days later. This third place match would be the decider for Ozone as they would end up automatically qualifying for Worlds. The consequences of this happening were many and how Ozone won the set was a bit unpolished, which would foreshadow their now infamous Worlds performance.

Najin Black Sword – 570 circuit points (1st place Champions Winter, 1st place NLB Spring, at least 2nd place NLB Summer) MVP Ozone – 520 circuit points (5th-8th place NLB Winter, 1st place Champions Spring, at least 4th place Champions Summer) KT Rolster Bullets – 400 circuit points (3rd place Champions Winter, 3rd place NLB Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer) CJ Frost – 400 circuit points (2nd place Champions Winter, 4th place Champions Spring, at least 4th place Champions Summer) SK Telecom T1 K – 350 circuit points (N/A Champions Winter, 3rd place Champions Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer)

Those were the circuit point standings on August 24th, 2013, just prior to the NLB Summer finals between Najin Black Sword and Incredible Miracle #2. The day prior, SK Telecom T1 K had knocked Spring champs MVP Ozone to the third place match. SK Telecom would meet up with the KT Rolster Bullets in the Champions Summer finals while MVP Ozone were to meet CJ Frost in the Champions Summer third place set. No team had yet clinched either of the two automatic seeds to Worlds. Sword would be the first roster with the chance to clinch.

Najin Black Sword’s Clinching

On the night of August 24th, Najin Black Sword, with their recent roster change in the mid lane from SSONG to Nagne, would meet an upstart Incredible Miracle #2 roster led by KurO. Sword had climbed their way to the finals from the Platinum league of NLB after not making it out of the group stage in Champions. They tore through CJ Blaze and squeaked by Najin White Shield en route to the finals. In the finals, despite the weak performance of their new mid, Sword would take the NLB Summer crown, just as they did the previous Spring. This win would give Najin Black Sword at least one of the two automatic seeds to Worlds as no other team outside of KT Rolster Bullets could earn as many, or more, circuit points.

Najin Black Sword – 600 circuit points (1st place Champions Winter, 1st place NLB Spring, 1st place NLB Summer) MVP Ozone – 520 circuit points (5th-8th place NLB Winter, 1st place Champions Spring, at least 4th place Champions Summer) KT Rolster Bullets – 400 circuit points (3rd place Champions Winter, 3rd place NLB Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer) CJ Frost – 400 circuit points (2nd place Champions Winter, 4th place Champions Spring, at least 4th place Champions Summer) SK Telecom T1 K – 350 circuit points (N/A Champions Winter, 3rd place Champions Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer)

MVP Ozone’s Theft

With at least one trip to the Season 3 World Championship booked, the battle for the second automatic seed commenced. On the 28th of August, one of the most important sets of the entire season happened. CJ Frost and MVP Ozone were to battle it out in the third place set. If Frost won the set, they would have accumulated 450 circuit points and a guaranteed #2 seed in the Regional Finals. Frost winning would have also set Ozone back, ensuring they wouldn’t gain an automatic seed to Worlds as the winner of the Summer finals would have had more circuit points than Ozone to clinch one of the top two seeds. Ozone had entered the third place set as heavy favorites over Frost even though most had acknowledged they had definitely dropped a step down from their Spring finals performance. Ozone had one of the easiest paths to the top four of any Korean team in its history. Being granted the easiest group stage against two new Xenics rosters and a quarterfinal opponent in Chunnam Techno University, they were all but guaranteed a top four placing. However, this set should have been a breeze for Ozone as Frost was still adjusting to a new mid laner in GankedByMom and in other areas they didn’t look too stellar with CloudTemplar on his last legs.

Entering game one, all predictions appeared to be correct. Ozone looked superior in almost every single facet of the game and utterly dominated the first match. Dade, who had slipped in his performance, had acquired his extremely feared Twisted Fate and made plays happen around the map in conjunction with DanDy. CloudTemplar was a step behind DanDy at every turn and Ozone cleanly took the match in under 30 minutes. Game two of the set swung the other way. CJ Frost drafting a team fight centered comp that played to their own strengths and getting their fresh mid laner on one of the two champions he would later be known for, Zed. After Shy on Zac found a pick on Dade in the late game, CJ Frost closed out a game that they had control of for almost its entirety. Suddenly the predictions of Ozone sweeping by Frost on their way to a Worlds berth looked shaky.

Game three saw a back and forth between both teams. Ozone picking out a double AD carry composition while Frost yet again went with a team fight heavy draft. With Frost picking up a sizable early game lead off the back of stellar play by Shy’s Zac, Ozone fought back as their two AD carries rose in power into the mid game. 30 minutes into the game and it had turned into a “who can carry hardest” match between Shy vs Dade and Imp. That match up would turn into Dade and Imp’s favor as the match went later and later. After a spread out baron fight resulting in eight of the ten players dead, Dade and Imp were the only ones left standing as they rushed the Frost base and closed out. Sitting one match away from being in a great position for a Worlds seed, this series had turned into a much tougher fight than most had anticipated. Game four would give everyone a showcase of GBM’s skill on his patented champ, Orianna. With Dade falling into an uncomfortable Karthus pick, GBM brought out the Orianna and showed masterful play all throughout. With Shy split pushing to hell and back on Zed and the rest of Frost completely dominating team fights, an overpowering of Ozone in the fourth game sent this set into blind pick.

Entering game five, Frost were undefeated at 7-0 in blind pick matches through their career. Generally through all of the iterations of Frost, they have been regarded as a very stable and well-rounded team which would give them edges in a highly tense, blind pick scenario. Ozone had never been tested in blind pick up until this match. Two mirror matches were played. In the mid lane, Zed, and at the support role, Thresh. Shy and CloudTemplar would pick two of their signature champions, Jax and Amumu respectively. Space would complete the CJ Frost composition with a Twitch pick, one of his strongest individual picks. On the Ozone side, DanDy and Imp would revert back to their comfort Lee Sin and Vayne picks while Homme would bring out the top lane Nasus. Immediately into the match the Frost bot lane starts to bully the Ozone bot lane in a 2v2, securing first blood with the help of a smart CloudTemplar gank. Action in the mid lane follows right after as Dade and GBM duel with their Zed picks, both mid laners falling when jungle intervention arrives. When both mid laners enter the lane again, they go one on one yet again, solo killing each other. Once again upon returning to lane, the two mid laners go head to head in yet another Zed duel. Both fall yet again. Not even ten minutes into the game and there’s four kills on each team, all four being in Dade’s hands on Ozone’s side.

As the aggression stacks in the mid lane, Shy’s Jax becomes increasingly farmed, not being held down in the early game. In the mid game, Shy presses his split pushing advantage as no one can realistically stop him at that point in the game. As Frost groups and attempts to push down the mid lane, Dade makes a spectacular play going in one vs four and killing off Space’s Twitch, stopping the push down mid. Ozone counters the push immediately after the fight by going down the mid lane. Shy and CloudTemplar carelessly dive in while a man down onto Imp and through some incredible mechanical plays, Ozone flips the poor engage from Frost around taking two kills and the mid lane tower.

The action falls into a lull as Frost starts to set up picks in the jungle with their Twitch, Amumu, and Thresh. Picking off both Dade and DanDy, the Frost lead grows to over 4k gold before a team fight that appeared to be the end for Ozone. A swift engage from CloudTemplar’s Amumu onto Homme’s Nasus immediately after his teleport into the fight allows Frost to instantly blow up Imp’s Vayne. Frost would come out of the fight, losing only Space’s Twitch while Ozone lost everyone except for Mata. Frost’s lead ballooned to 7k gold after the fight as they turned towards baron. The fateful error from GBM as he failed the Living Shadow over the baron pit wall from the red side jungle, which would have allowed Shy’s Jax to enter the pit instead of walking around, gave DanDy the precious seconds he needed to walk from base off the respawn, ward hop into the pit, smite steal as the prince of thieves was known as, and flash out, stopping the Frost win in its tracks.

The 7k gold lead was now cut down to 5k and every Ozone member had the buff applied. All five Ozone members stack mid and push, punishing the lack of wave clear from the Frost team comp. Pressing in and earning an inhibitor, Ozone attempts to disengage and go elsewhere on the map. Instead, CloudTemplar forces an engage for Frost, catching four members of Ozone in his Curse of the Sad Mummy. As quick as the engage was from CloudTemplar, the fight ended in a crushing defeat for Frost. GBM was deleted on his engage, Space eats a Death Sentence from Mata, and Madlife is torn through by Imp’s Vayne. With no wave clear left, Ozone goes for the call to end it right then and there. Down 1k gold at the end of the match, Ozone had stolen the blind pick game five victory from CJ Frost and preserved their hopes for an automatic seed to Worlds.

Najin Black Sword – 600 circuit points (1st place Champions Winter, 1st place NLB Spring, 1st place NLB Summer) MVP Ozone – 570 circuit points (5th-8th place NLB Winter, 1st place Champions Spring, 3rd place Champions Summer) KT Rolster Bullets – 400 circuit points (3rd place Champions Winter, 3rd place NLB Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer) CJ Frost – 400 circuit points (2nd place Champions Winter, 4th place Champions Spring, 4th place Champions Summer) SK Telecom T1 K – 350 circuit points (N/A Champions Winter, 3rd place Champions Spring, at least 2nd place Champions Summer)

KT Rolster Bullet’s Tragedy & SK Telecom T1 K’s Triumph

With the MVP Ozone victory over CJ Frost cemented, they had taken their step into securing the automatic seed to Worlds. Now they were hoping and rooting for an SK Telecom T1 K win as only the KT Rolster Bullets would secure more circuit points with a victory in the finals. If SK Telecom ended up the victor, they would finish with 550 circuit points, 20 below Ozone’s mark, and they would clinch the number one seed at the Regional Finals. This would also send the KT Rolster Bullets to the Regional Finals, guaranteeing one of the two teams being left out of Worlds. If the KT Rolster Bullets ended up victorious, they would finish with 600 circuit points, 30 above Ozone’s mark, and they would tie Najin Black Sword for the number one overall seed to Worlds. SK Telecom T1 K would end up taking the set in a historic five match set.

Najin Black Sword – 600 circuit points (1st place Champions Winter, 1st place NLB Spring, 1st place NLB Summer) MVP Ozone – 570 circuit points (5th-8th place NLB Winter, 1st place Champions Spring, 3rd place Champions Summer) SK Telecom T1 K – 550 circuit points (N/A Champions Winter, 3rd place Champions Spring, 1st place Champions Summer) KT Rolster Bullets – 400 circuit points (3rd place Champions Winter, 3rd place NLB Spring, 2nd place Champions Summer) CJ Frost – 400 circuit points (2nd place Champions Winter, 4th place Champions Spring, 4th place Champions Summer)

Everyone is familiar with the rest of the story. KT Rolster Bullets being up two games to none. SK Telecom T1 K storming back in a phenomenal reverse sweep in pouring down rain. The Ryu vs Faker Zed mirror match. KT Rolster Bullets being stopped in the Regional Finals by their rivals in SK Telecom. However, the story changes if GBM didn’t fail the Living Shadow over the baron pit wall. The story changes if DanDy wasn’t proficient in stealing away gifted barons. The story changes if CJ Frost closed out their 7k gold lead in the game five blind pick. SK Telecom T1 K gain an automatic seed to Worlds. KT Rolster Bullets run through the Regional Finals without SK Telecom T1 K to stop them in the final set. The top two teams in the world end up going to Worlds beside each other and potentially meet up in yet another best of five on the World stage. Dade doesn’t go to Worlds and have the tournament that will undoubtedly taint his legacy. The consequences and rippling effects of that one baron steal by DanDy and that one misplay by GBM are far-reaching. That is why that game five between CJ Frost and MVP Ozone is one of the defining moments of Champions.

VOD for the full series: http://www.twitch.tv/ognglobal/b/452680780 (games 1-4) and http://www.twitch.tv/ognglobal/b/452753460 (game 5)