The 2017 League of Legends World Championship semifinals’ first match-up has an air of déja-vu, as SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up face off Saturday, Oct 27, live at Shanghai. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and Jian “Uzi” Zi-hao have faced one another twice in the world championship bracket stage before. The first time they had met, Faker’s team had swept Uzi’s Royal Club Huang Zu in the 2013 World Championship finals.

Since then, the two players’ legacies have grown and somewhat diverged. The same can be said about their surroundings.

Faker had gone on to assert himself as the best League of Legends player of all-time, or at least of this generation, should League outlast the Unkillable Demon King long enough for another player of similar prodigy to emerge. It is hard to imagine anyone else replicating his (and SK Telecom T1’s) dominant streak since 2015, as the team won five domestic split titles in a row until the 2017 summer split and claimed the world cup twice in a row, at the expense of ROX Tigers, Samsung Galaxy, kt Rolster and many more.

In the meantime, Uzi had returned to the world championship a year after his demise at SKT T1’s hands, only to lose to Samsung Galaxy White 3-1, then undergo a gradual transformation from a talented player with a tricky character (on OMG) to a reliable moral anchor today. However, he was still considered one of the best AD carries in the world, even in his defeat against SK Telecom T1 in the World Championship quarterfinals in 2016 3-1.

Why the third time could be the charm for Uzi (and Royal):

Unlike its previous iterations, Royal Never Give Up has the talent to take on SK Telecom T1 on a positional standpoint. Since the 3-1 defeat against SKT in 2016, Liu “Mlxg” Shi-yu and Li “xiaohu” Yuan-hao have asserted themselves, one as an assertive jungler, the other as a stable and proficient mid laner. Yan “LetMe” Jun-ze’s promotion from the LSPL squad also helped the team stabilize a top lane that suffered from Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok’s departure to North America, and Shi “ming” Sen-ming accepted the mission of keeping Uzi safe.

The latter’s mission is of vital importance if RNG is to move past the SKT T1 roadblock, especially in an Ardent Censer meta where Uzi has thrived to the tune of an 11.3 KDA ratio (highest for AD carries at Worlds) and 79.6 percent kill participation ratio (second among AD carries). Combined with xiaohu’s impact across the map and Mlxg’s willingness to help his lanes thrive at his expense (-5.1 cs differential at the 10-minute mark and -202 gold), cracking the Royal code has proven even more complicated.

The result of RNG’s growth over the year is a squad whose team fights have been on point, as the front line has been able to buy enough time for Uzi to wreak havoc on Twitch and Tristana despite occasionally being a flanker. The matter says volumes about RNG’s ability to reach that point (rather than getting obliterated in lane), whether it involves picking front-line combinations such as Galio and Jarvan IV, or the ever-reliable jungle Sejuani (5.8 KDA and three wins over three games) to pair with damage-centric options in the mid lane such as Syndra and Ryze – the latter providing more flanking opportunities and possibly becoming a contested pick.

Considering the squad’s heavy emphasis on scaling during the laning phase and on objective takedowns (sometimes involving Teleports from the solo laners), RNG ought only to set Uzi (and xiaohu when applicable) up. However, the team is not without flaws, as it has occasionally overstayed – a matter that spelled its undoing against Fnatic in Game 3 of the quarterfinals, and that spelled Edward Gaming’s undoing against SKT on Week 2 of Worlds.

Moreover, its reliance on Uzi has been tested against G2 Esports in the group stage, when G2 ensured that its roaming parties in the bottom lane were left uncontested long enough for him to be neutralized. The latter’s flanks in convoluted terrain (e.g. blue-side jungle) have occasionally been predictable, resulting in his inability to provide damage in a timely manner. More importantly, the team has had lapses in vision over opposite teams’ jungle sides, at times in dramatic manners, a matter that a top-caliber jungler would exploit mercilessly.

Why SK Telecom T1 is fully prepared (and then some) to murder RNG:

SK Telecom T1 has gradually become more threatening as time went on in the World Championship. Despite its apparent bouts of weakness in the group stage (e.g.: its match-ups against EDG) and the massive scare it received against a Misfits squad that was 150hp away from going to the semifinals, SKT T1 is ready for anything RNG may have prepared for it and might even consider upping the ante in terms of bot lane aggression.

For SKT T1 to have an easier experience, it may have to resort to Kang “Blank” Sun-gu’s prowess from the start. Blank’s vision control over the river in the early game allows Faker to play aggressively in a safe manner, opening him for interventions in the side lanes (one of which is Uzi’s domain). The matter would benefit SKT T1’s bot lane if Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan selects a teamfight-oriented option such as Braum and Alistar or the pick options that nearly undid SKT against Misfits (i.e. Blitzcrank, Leona and Thresh), instead of the Ardent Censer picks.

However, the biggest benefactor is Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon, who would be free to pick damage-oriented picks such as Jayce (4.4 KDA in victories) and Rumble (on which he has an 83.7 percent career win rate), as well as play more aggressively in lane on Trundle (unless SKT T1 flexes it to create mismatches for Huni to begin with). Considering LetMe’s overreliance on front line picks (minus Camille and Renekton), SKT T1 could pave the way for Huni to establish dominance in lane and Teleport to a lane in need in order to initiate an irreversible snowball effect.

Should SKT T1 still face heavy opposition in the top lane (in the shape of constant lane-swapping to mirror Huni’s location past the laning phase), it has the ability to recover from deficits as heavy as 10k gold, as it has consistently established vision around relevant objectives when the time called for it, or cleared enough vision to set up flanks. Considering its top-notch team-fighting prowess (with Wolf or Huni initiating fights, and with Bae “Bang” Jun-sik and Faker exploiting gaps in enemy formations), SKT T1 would be able to slow down the tempo of a game and throw it back to team fights.

The challenge, for SKT T1, would be to prevent Uzi from taking over, taking under account RNG’s Teleport-happy demeanor when the latter is in danger. Considering the wealth of options in its hands (Blank interventions, Faker roams on Taliyah and Ryze, Huni Teleports when ahead, and Misfits-like support options), the task is less arduous than it sounds.

Disclaimer : The following article was written freely based on the author's opinion, and it may not necessarily represent Inven Global's editorial stance. 

About the Author :
Adel Chouadria is an esports writer by day, and a jack-of-all-trades by night. In the League of Legends scene, he has worked on projects ranging from live ticker updates to statistics gathering, but his calling has always been writing. Once a Counter-Strike fan, he has moved on to appreciate all types of games, including LoL, Rocket League and StarCraft II. Adel seeks to serve his audience by providing a different look into players, coaches and teams, as well as interacting in silly and personable ways on Twitter at @AdelChouadria.