Champions Ups & Downs - OGN Week 3 Overview

Rebellions by weak teams drive korean communities to a shock, making this season the most unpredictable season of all The Champions yet.

The Ups

Incredible Miracle #2

IM faced their worst summer: to start off, the teams were basically a newborn, the both teams faced each other in the group A, where the previous season's champion Samsung Blue and the champion of Season 3 World Championship SKT K belonged. While many spectators and fans, felt despair to their bad luck, and some even were not interested since IM couldn't even reach to Round of 8 for quite a long time. Anyway, no one doubted the fact that both IM teams will be crushed and act as a stairway for SKT K and Samsung Blue's advance.

That was why, no one counted or even thought that IM#2 will win a match against Samsung Blue. It was barely a week before that Blue showed fantastic battle with SKT K and got victorious. Bu IM#2 this time would not have wanted to lose. The team had already slayed his brother team IM#1, bringing a very slight chance to advance to Round of 8. With his brothers blood on his hands, IM#2 managed to struck a single spear to Samsung Blue, shocking everyone in Korean community.

Tusin's Death Sentence and Frozen's Light Binding finishes Deft, bringing the game towards IM#2​

The match started with a shocking pick of Lux. She was not used for a long time in the Champions or even in the KR Solo Queue. Of course the pick was planned to counter Dade's Jiggs. After Nidalee's Javelin became unsuitable for poking skills there were not much of a option to counter Jiggs. Most of the fans, and even the commentators themselves were not sure about Frozen's pick. However, Frozen showed that you can still carry with Lux if prepared well. Frozen played evenly with Dade's Jiggs, which is a very good news for Lux who's power critically depends on stable growth. Also Tusin managed to cut Deft with his death sentence, bringing the tide suddenly towards IM#2. Then IM#2 quickly snowballed taking out everything they can. As a result even Samsung Blue had to fall to their knees, since IM#2 grew too strong to fight back. Samsung Blue took the second match, but they looked very unhappy due to a sudden and unexpected loss in Round of 16.

KT Arrows

The previous season brought the strongest shock towards the entire League Of Legends community: A perfect victory against SKT K. The critical blow nearly sent SKT K fall from Round of 16. Thanks to this, the team attracted a lot of attention. However, KT Arrows were defeated by a traditional strong team: CJ Blaze. The previous season showed what KT Arrows lacked snowballing. CJ Blaze slowly snowballed showing the difference of solidness the team has. KT Arrows were given a task to complete if they wanted to advance further from Round of 8.

KT Arrows now knows when to fight and take appropriate profits.

​KT Arrows had Kakao, a good jungler who still stands competative in LTC. In the spring season when Arrows were against Blaze, Kakao always dominated the jungle but the team lost when it came to snowballing. But summer was different. Arrows, equipped with probably the best mechanics in LTC, has learned to effectively snowball. Arrows knew when to fight and take profits. They also bullied Flame to stop him growing and be able to do anything. Flame could not damage or even block attacks from his team which brought the entire team to complete defeat. Ambition put up a good fight, using Jiggs to buy more time for his team to grow. This might have worked in the last season, but Arrows had quickly finished the game with no mercy.

Arrows quickly decides to fight after cancelling Flame's teleport. Ssumday quickly joins the fight, bringing victory to his team

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The second match showed how fine KT Arrows grew as a team. In a dragonfight, Flame and Ssumday both teleports. Arrows quickly gain ground for his safety while Hatchani and Arrow quickly blocks Flame, who ends up deciding to cancel his teleport. Then they see Ambition's shockwave being used. They quickly decides to stop hitting dragon and fight. Ssumday immediately activates his ultimate while Hatchani flashes and initiates a fight. Ambition's Oriana was bound to be cut off and without Flame, Blaze lose the fight with a critical damage. Blaze was never able to recover the damage they have received, and their attacks were completely blocked by Ssumday's Mundo. The team constantly lost while giving Arrow a quadrakill, which by then no one expected Blaze to return.

Jin Air Falcons

Previously, the team itself was the reason which brought shock and fun towards the fans of LTC. They were the ones who brought Najin White Shield to hell by creating a draw in Round of 16 in their first match. This time they saved NJWS, but destroyed KT Bullets instead.

Vin's Skarner does not give Ryu a chance to take the baron as his Implate strucks Ryu, completely erasing him from the battle for few seconds which can decide the game.

Falcons put up a good fight against KT Bullets in the first set. But again, they were not able to easily win towards a team which has never failed to advance to Round of 8. Like Rock's surprise Top Gragas pick in their match against NJWS, this time Falcons showed Skarner, who was not used for entire Season 3 of LTC. Vin pretty much did nothing until he learned his ultimate. But the team did well, with Rock taking the first blood. Limit then cut Rock and Pilot with good use of Shyvana's ultimate in dragonfight. It looked as if KT Bullets will take a lot of advantage, but Vin hard carries the team, using flash to avoid Ryu's cocoon and strike Impale on Score's Kogmaw at the same time. Afterwards, Nagne get's struck by Vin's Impale due to the slow Ganked By Mom's Lulu has struck. Basically KT Bullets kept on losing because they had their carries struck by Vin's Impale. Knowing that snowballing of Falcons will bring them defeat, KT Bullets challenge on the Baron. But again, Vin's Skarner strikes his ultimate against Ryu, making him not able to smite and finish off the Baron. Vin easily steals the Baron and Pilot+GBM eliminates the remaining members of KT Bullets.

General Overview

WHAT A GREAT WEEK. This week was the best of all Champions so far, showing new teams prevail against stronger teams. No one has estimated that NJWS and KT Bullets will fail at Round of 16, Samsung Blue lose a match against IM#2, or the powerfull both CJ teams might be able to drop out in Round of 16. This week of LTC sends us a message towards the teams: if you don't adapt, you don't survive. Like in my previous features, the weak teams create new strategy and picks to win against solid teams. Normally picking Lux or Skarner is trolling in Solo Queues, bringing defeat to the team. Many would agree as players in KR HATES picks that aren't used in the Champions. Of course, just because Lux and Skarner carried the teams doesn't make them OP or a first tier champion. They were carefully tested and evaluated with a lot of effort to bring down opponents that were stronger than them. Constant Evaluation and Research is what Korea has above other regions, a original and something which everyone can come up but is very hard to accomplish. Even Samsung Blue was struck down by one of the weakest teams in the World, which shows how strong and important this is. Also KT Arrows finally grew to a next level, becoming one of the teams that all LTC fans look out for this season of the Champions.

The Downs

KT Bullets

KT Bullets was a traditionally strong team since the last year of the Champions. In season 3, they've defeated Blaze and was ranked #2 of LTC and the world in many of the Team Power Ranking. When SKT K was unstoppable, only KT Bullets was there to stop them. This became a old story, as Insec and Kakao left the team and slowly Bullets started to become weaker.

Rock assasinates Score, which ulitmately results Bullets to lose a fight even when they had Baron's buff

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Bullets failed to follow the strategy that Falcons prepared for them. KT Bullets is a strong team, with a lot of experience and mechanics. Also knowing what to do in the right situation was a color which KT Bullets had and why they were so solid. The team didn't lose that color, winning a fight even though Falcons had a huge Global Gold lead. But Score was assasinated by Rock, bringing the advantage that the team had into nothing. This didn't happen because Score became a weak AD Carry. This happened because no one could ever think that a top lane Champion could finish his opponent in a second. Traditionally Top lane was a symbol of Hard-Tanks that saves the team from skills and damages. Renekton, Shyvana was picked to tank, Lulu and Kayle which with their ultimate can save the members of their team. But Gragas is a pick which can unleash a strong damage if carefully planned. Score couldn't predict this of course, since non of the champions above IN TOP LANE used to be incapable of assasination.

To make a long story short, KT Bullets failed to catch up with the effort that Falcons have put to win a single match against them. KT Bullets is yet a strong team, but was outsmarted by Falcons, and for first of their time, failed to advance to Round of 8.