The 2022 League of Legends Champions Korea summer split is well underway, with games happening five days a week. With every team in the region playing twice a week in a double round robin format, there are bound to be games with higher stakes than others. With the LCK operating on the other side of the world, it may be hard to watch every game. Fortunately, Upcomer is here to give fans a preview of each week’s marquee matchup. This week, the reigning LCK champions T1 take on the last undefeated team in the 2022 LCK summer season, Gen.G, in a battle for first place.
Tale of the tape
Up until a couple of weeks ago, there wasn’t a team in the region that was able to surpass, let alone beat T1. However, coming off a disappointing 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, they definitely haven’t kept up the form that previously allowed them to pull off the first perfect season in LCK history. When T1 saw their 24-0 2022 LCK series record turn to 24-1 at the hands of Kwangdong Freecs, Gen.G saw an opportunity they’ve been waiting for all year.
Gen.G has played second fiddle to T1 up to this point in the 2022 LCK season, but have finally taken sole possession of first place with an undefeated 7-0 record in series and 12-1 game record. T1 in comparison is still an impressive 6-1 in series with an 11-3 game record. T1 have beaten Gen.G each time they have played each other so far in 2022; twice in the 2022 LCK spring split (with asterisks) due to Gen.G playing with substitute players due to COVID-19, but when both teams were at full strength, T1 defeated Gen.G in the 2022 LCK spring finals 3-1.
T1’s path to victory
T1 isn’t quite playing at the level they were in the 2022 LCK spring split but they have still been a step ahead of their competition. Even with the team still trying to capture their form, T1’s jungler Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun and top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je are playing very well. Zeus in particular has been the team’s main carry so far in the 2022 LCK summer split. He is coming into this matchup tied for the league lead in player of the game honors with four and his stats back that up.
According to Oracleselixir.com, Zeus leads all top laners in team kill percentage and damage per minute; he is carrying the top lane, and is doing it well. Oner has been a fantastic facilitator for Zeus as he is second among LCK junglers in kill participation meaning that he is doing a great job at making sure Zeus can get ahead.
For T1 to win this series, they are going to need their strong top side to do the heavy lifting; if Zeus can get ahead and the rest of the T1 roster can go toe-to-toe with the opposition, T1 can definitely take back their spot at the top of the LCK standings.
Gen.G’s path to victory
Although T1 has Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok in the mid lane, the best mid-laner in the region right now is Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon. Heading into this showdown, Chovy leads all players in the LCK in player of the game honors. According to Oracleselixir.com, Chovy has a 16.3 K/D/A through the first 13 games of the 2022 LCK summer season; the mid-laner closest to him has less than half of that. Chovy also leads all mid-laners in virtually every other category, and he’s well on his way to capturing the MVP award if he keeps it up.
The rest of Gen.G matches up well with T1, but with Chovy playing like he is right now, Gen.G has a significant advantage in the mid-lane. In comparison, Faker is in the middle of the mid-laner pack in every category despite his team being second in the standings. If Chovy can play at the level he is playing, Gen.G should be able to push right through T1 and make their claim as the LCK’s best.
Published: Jul 7, 2022 04:47 pm