SK Telecom T1 wins 2015 League of Legends World Championship

SK Telecom T1 has won the Season 5 League of Legends World Championship, defeating Korean rivals KOO Tigers 3-1 in the finals on Saturday.

SKT won the first game easily, with strong performances all around. MaRin and Bang combined to go 17/0/19, and Wolf had 19 assists on 20 team kills. Game 2 was much closer, with KOO holding a small advantage for most of the early to mid-game. SKT found a small advantage and capitalized, as the team does so well, quickly turning a Baron buff into a 5-0 ace and a win.

In Game 3, KOO stuck to comfort picks, literally picking champions in position order and becoming the first team to beat SKT at Worlds. Hojin’s Lee Sin went 7/1/18, while Kuro’s Kassadin picked up a double-double, forcing the series to a fourth game. A near-perfect Game 4 gave SKT the win and the Summoner’s Cup.

SKT finished in first place in the LCK, the Korean domestic league, in both the Spring and Summer Splits. With a 17-1 series record in Summer and a 35-6 overall record, the Season 3 World Champions entered this year’s tournament as one of the strong favorites to win it all. Led by mid laner Faker, thought to be the best player in the world (and perhaps of all-time), SKT won the LCK playoffs and was drawn in Group C with Edward Gaming, the Chinese team that beat SKT in the Mid-Season Invitational Finals.

SKT dominated the group stage, sweeping Edward Gaming, H2K and Bangkok Titans for a 6-0 start. Faced with a relatively easy first pair of knockout round opponents in ahq e-Sports Club and Origen, SKT followed up its strong start with another pair of sweeps, improving to 12-0 in the tournament and becoming the first team ever to enter the Worlds finals undefeated.

With the win over KOO Tigers in the finals, SKT becomes the first team ever to win two World titles. Mid laner Faker and jungler Bengi, both on SKT’s previous title team, become the first players to ever reach that mark, as well.