This is a state of emergency.

The SKT that had put a stop to their 5-loss-streak with the deployment of Blossom is now back at it again. Currently, SKT is in a position where they can't guarantee a spot in the playoffs on their own; their future in the Spring Split will depend on how well the other teams perform. If SKT had lost to teams such as Kingzone or KT, the criticism they've been facing would not be so severe.

Although Bang has recovered from the slump he fell into last year, Untara and Blank, the top-jungle combination of SKT, are showing no signs of recovery. When not on Alistar, the support player Wolf is not as prominent as he used to be. Lastly, Faker, the player that acts as the backbone of the team, has been making a lot of needless plays and consistent bad habits. 

In 2018, cCarter stepped down from the head coaching position and passed the baton to kkOma. Along with this change, coach Poohmandu and Bengi returned to the team. At a glance, SKT may seem to have a strong coaching staff -- lined with members who have played vital roles in claiming the Summoner's Cup in the past -- but with repeated losses and a drop in performance, many fans question their leadership capabilities and their role in the team.

Is this new SKT on the right path?

■ The winning equation of SKT, unchanged since 2015

After taking the World Championship title in 2015, SKT's toplaner, Marin, left the team. As a result of Marin's departure, the core of the team moved from the top to the bottom. At the time, everyone feared Faker since he played a wide variety of champions and used them like assassins. Bang and Wolf, on the other hand, had a much simpler appeal to the fans -- they were mostly responsible for the late-game carry.

During the earlier parts of 2016, SKT did falter once or twice, but those stumbles were forgotten as they went on to win both the LCK Spring and MSI. Although they were disqualified during the Summer playoffs with the points that they have accumulated throughout the year, they attended Worlds and won again to claim their 3rd championship title. In 2017, although SKT failed to protect their championship title, they left a trail of success -- reaching the Finals of Worlds, winning LCK Spring, MSI, and making it to the Finals of LCK Summer. 

Throughout the years, SKT's winning equation almost always stayed the same. The toplaners played defensively -- buying time for mid and bot to scale, then taking over the game through teamfights in the mid-to-late game. SKT's playstyle was the source of many unbelievable in-game moments -- and was the biggest reason why fans never doubted or voted against SKT, even when the situation looked very dire for them. 

▲ The symbol of SKT: beautiful teamfights that turn the game around

SKT's victory equation was very simple: "Play as planned while making no mistakes." There is also a pattern in their picks and bans; instead of picking and banning reactively, they often times picked champions that the players wanted to play. As a result, they frequently left enemy "signature" picks open and suffered for it. 

But in 2016 and to a certain extent, 2017, their style of drafting didn't cause too much trouble -- because the players overcame their laning phase with superior individual performance. Both Faker and Bang played extraordinarily well, gaining CS leads as big as 30 even when playing in an unfavorable matchup. 

But as the Rift Herald arrived in patch 7.9, the simple additions of SKT's equation became miscalculations. The once reliable macro strategy of leaving the toplaner alone ended up becoming a weakness of leaving the Baron area too open. Because of this, SKT's percentage of securing Rift Herald was very low when compared to the other LCK teams. All the teams focused on and used the Herald to their advantage by opening up the map with it -- all except SKT.

The situation turned worse for them when SKT's reliable botlane started underperforming as well. Bang and Wolf, the duo that used to overwhelm their opponents more often than not, started having issues dealing with most mid-tier teams' botlane. With the towers being pressured at "top lane island" and the bot lane, securing objectives such as dragon and/or Baron became nearly impossible. There were many moments where Faker roamed to aid the two lanes, and there were just as many moments where SKT would lose the midlane tower in exchange. 

This was the face of SKT from last year's Summer to the World Championship. They played defensively until a certain point in the game, only for a well-farmed Faker to make some super plays to lead his team to victory -- and if he failed, SKT lost. As Faker-reliant as the playstyle was, it proved effective for them, as SKT had reached the Worlds Finals. Unfortunately, they played against Samsung Galaxy, who had made themselves well-aware of SKT's patterns.

However, the main problem came after. Even during both the KeSPA Cup and the LCK Spring, SKT's pattern pretty much remained the same. The other LCK teams had fought against the same pattern for over 2 years -- and with Faker's drop in performance, SKT saw even more continued losses. 

There were moments where SKT drafted team compositions that required an early snowball to function -- but they often still ended up losing without being able to do anything. The fans took notice and started criticizing SKT, asserting that "SKT is drafting while unaware and failing to acknowledge their drop in performance." 

In the past, whenever criticism surrounding picks and bans were mentioned in an interview, players and coaches of SKT all responded, "The picks and bans of SKT don't only come from the coaches but the players as well." However, considering the fact that it's a coach's job to persuade the players to step away from bad picks and build well-balanced team comps, many people began wondering if the SKT coaches were truly doing their job. 

There was one match in particular that made fans doubt the coaches:  SKT's series against bbq on the 14th of March. In game 3, top, jungle, and mid picked early-game snowball champions while the bot duo was given champions that needed to reach late-game to shine. Onlookers were not impressed, as the comp lacked consistency, had no solid CC, and just didn't seem very strategic in general. On the other hand, bbq Olivers had a solid theme going on; they rocked a nice combination of knockbacks and other CC abilities.

SKT's composition needed the players to do well in the early-game, but considering how SKT's top-jungle had been performing recently, the plan seemed difficult to execute. The plan did not go well. Instead, Faker died many times after being caught in CC chains, and ended up dealing less damage than the team's support. The game might've gone better had SKT utilized Sejuani jungle or Karma mid to support Bang. 

▲ Faker has recently been looking for kill opportunities without thinking of his own possible death

■ SKT’s Top and Jungle, Bound to the Procrustean Bed.

As mentioned before, SKT likes to have a stable early game and take the initiative via teamfights after mid-game. They prioritize the mid and bottom lanes over top lane, so the toplaner usually suffers more than the other lanes. Until 2017, SKT preferred tank champions like Maokai and Trundle, or champions who have strong ultimates after 1-2 core items like Rumble.

Until 2016, when Duke was playing, this strategy wasn’t bad. After all, they did win the world championship; Duke endured upon his island until the mid and bottom lane carried the team. The problem started in 2017. After Duke left, Huni and Untara took over SKT’s top lane, and Huni was an aggressive top laner who liked to play Lucian. When Huni came to SKT, many fans were worried because his playstyle didn’t match the style of SKT.

It was the same in the jungle. Peanut and Blank succeeded Bengi role, a position that required smart plays and good mechanics during fights. Considering their play style in previous teams and in solo queue, they’re players who like to gradually gain the advantage through fights so they can snowball. However, in SKT, their play pattern changed to taking command of the vision around mid lane and making cover plays. Peanut had some especially bad performance during the Summer Split and was criticized heavily by the fans.

After Huni and Peanut left SKT, they recovered their original style, and their performance became just as good as before. They’re performing in Echo Fox and Kingzone DragonX; both teams are in first place in their respective leagues and both players played a major role in their teams’ success during this Spring Split. Seeing these two players reclaimed their prime performance, many fans began saying that SKT is suppressing the talent of the players and trying to standardize all the teammates. A large portion of fans also believes that kkOma is at the center of it.

In the 2017 LCK Spring Split match against bbq Olivers (18th of March, 2017, Game 1) Peanut evaded Ashe’s off-screen ultimate with an instinctual Flash, then went on to steal Baron. It was a super play that saved a game that seemed lost, but the feedback that kkOma gave after the game was far from positive. “Attempting to steal Baron was a psycho move. It would have been better to give up Baron and endure their attacks.”

▲ kkOma saying “Attempting to steal Baron was a psycho move.”

At Worlds 2017, the players were given even more harsh feedback for not playing safely. In the semifinals against RNG, Huni repeatedly made dangerous plays and put his team in dire situations. During the break, he was told: “Don’t try to make plays, there’s nothing to show off.” The feedback he got was definitely far from pleasant. 

Of course, pointing out the player's mistakes and helping them improve is a duty that belongs to the coaching staff. At the time those videos were revealed, that type of harsh feedback was thought of as a natural thing for professional players, even if the game was won, and many said that the feedback was one of the reasons SKT was successful. Furthermore, if the team was led with a carrot-less stick, they wouldn’t have won 3 world championships.

▲ Huni received harsh feedback after trying dangerous plays in the semifinals against RNG.

In a recent interview with Huni, he said “I don’t think that coach kkOma ever restricted my role” and praised him as the best coach in the world. At the end of the interview, he said “I know exactly how much the [SKT] players will get scolded. I want to make the players feel what I felt when I got scolded.” Based on that, we can only imagine how harsh the feedback was when he was playing for SKT.

If the players’ individual decisions are suppressed, it makes it hard for them to make aggressive plays. The top laners won’t split aggressively and junglers won’t try to make bold plays like going for major objectives or diving under towers. In the 2018 meta, the top, mid lane, and jungle positions have to perform well. This restrictive style of play becomes a huge disadvantage.

▲ There are too many passive plays made when the opponent is going for major objectives
or when a player has an opportunity to make a big play.

In the middle of the season, rookie jungler Blossom changed this type of passive play. Although Blossom may be a bit too aggressive from time to time, his aggression made a crack in SKT’s passive playstyle. Although some people devalue his performance because he did well against the weaker teams, it is true that he played a major role in getting SKT to become contenders for the playoffs after falling to 9th place.

However, following the loss against Kingzone, Blank played jungler again and SKT went back to their passive style, the same one they had during their 5-game losing streak. To make matters worse, Faker's prowess suffered a drop, and they now have to worry about the relegation match again.

■ They need to realize that they are the underdog and have to cast aside the strict structure of their glory days.

With things the way they are, it’s hard to say whether the coaches are properly capitalizing on the players' talents and helping them improve, which is exactly what the coaches are meant to do. Although they have coaches like PoohManDu and Bengi, the situation doesn’t seem that different from when head coach Choi Byeong-hoon was there. kkOma still has the most influence on the picks & bans, and the other coaches opinions don’t seem to matter much.

Watching SKT's present performance, one would hardly guess that they are the same glorious team that dominated many LCK and Worlds tournaments. CJ Entus (Former MIG) was a team that ruled over the LCK in the early days of League but fell from the throne and eventually disbanded; their's is an unfortunate tale, and SKT might suffer the same fate.

Afreeca head coach Choi “Iloveoov” Yeon-sung once said: “A man who is drowned in old glory is a dead man.” SKT must start anew and unchain itself from its past glory and pride, or else it will certainly be drowned in old glory. All members of the team must come together and guide through a collaborative effort. We've seen the potential that the team has, they just need to find the right way to tap into it.