Worlds SPY vs SKT recap: SKT overcome Splyce to book a spot in semis

In the first series of Worlds Quarterfinals Day 2, Splyce took on the South Korean dynasty SKT T1. In typical 2019 Worlds fashion, the series ended in four games, with the team that won the first game winning the series. Did Splyce even have a chance against the LCK first seed?

Game 1

This game certainly gave SKT flashbacks to Worlds 2017. Splyce opted for the Blitzcrank support, a pick that gave SKT many troubles in their series against Misfits Gaming. Even though SKT started the game off strong with a kill in the top lane, Splyce held up pretty well. This was mostly due to the Blitzcrank securing some kills around the map. However, after a brilliant trap by SKT’s Lee “Effort” Sang-ho in the mid lane, SKT completely took over the game. Splyce had no answer as SKT effortlessly secured baron and some other objectives, snowballing their lead even further. Eventually, they obtained another baron, cracked into Splyce’s base and finished them off in 29 minutes.

Game 2

This game’s draft was pretty standard, with Splyce’s Tamás “Vizicsacsi” Kiss going for his signature Poppy in the top lane. Once again, SKT took initiative early with a dive in the bottom lane that resulted in two kills for both sides. The action didn’t stop there as Splyce successfully killed SKT’s top laner in a gank. SKT stayed slightly ahead in gold for the remainder of the early game with Splyce right behind.

The South Korean representatives were firmly in control of the game by the 20-minute mark. However, a few picks in the middle lane brought some hope to Splyce fans. Unfortunately, it didn’t really matter as SKT acquired baron and confidently pushed into Splyce’s base, destroying the mid inhibitor. Splyce were left running into their base as SKT obliterated their structures, pushing this Worlds series to match point.

Game 3

In their possibly last game, SKT T1 decided to swap their support players. Effort was replaced by none other than the former Worlds MVP Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong. Not only that, Mata chose to pick Thresh, a champion which has a skin dedicated to him winning worlds with SSW. On the other side, Splyce opted for Ornn, a pick that paid off tremendously. Both teams were very active in the early game, acquiring kills through dives and ganks. While the gold was almost even, Splyce already secured themselves two infernal dragons by the 14-minute mark. SKT fought back with a collapse in the middle lane, nearly acing Splyce with Draven picking up the triple kill.

With Ornn’s powerful ultimate, SKT simply couldn’t fight Splyce when they were grouped. After securing baron, Splyce slightly overreached and SKT managed to fight them off. However, this didn’t stop them for long. They secured another baron, pushed into SKT’s base and ended the game after winning another fight.

Game 4

SKT was determined to end this World series in game 4. After their loss in the last game, SKT decided to swap Effort back in. This game brought another explosive early game with both teams trying hard to gain an advantage. Splyce forced many early fights using the Taliyah wall as an engage tool. However, SK Telecom T1 fought back fiercely, not letting the Europeans take them down. Splyce fell completely apart in the mid game as their members got picked off left and right. SKT safely acquired objective after objective while Splyce tried to counter with their engages time and time again. While the Splyce players chased down Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, the remaining members of his team broke into their base and ended the game. With that, SKT qualified for Worlds Semifinals for the chance to revive their dynasty.s

The Worlds Semifinals begin November 2. Make sure to catch the action live on Twitch!

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