T1 wins 2020 LCK Spring Split final, Faker earns 9th domestic title

On Saturday, April 25th, the 2020 LCK Spring Split Final took place at LoL Park stadium. Despite complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LCK finals did not lack any excitement or drama. With an opening ceremony, cardboard cutouts of fans, and even AR pengus, the LCK kicked off its first ever finals of the 2020 season. 

However, before the games could officially begin, some controversy was found at the doorstep of the 2nd-seeded T1. Due to some unforeseen misunderstandings, the team was running late to the arena, and suffered two ban losses as a punishment. T1 CEO Joe Marsh took to Twitter to release his frustrations at Riot Korea’s verdict.

Despite the early drawbacks, T1 would surge ahead of their opponents in game 1. The 1st-seeded Gen.G used their advantages in the drafting phase to ban out three jungle picks, forcing T1 to first-pick Graves as a result. This led to Gen.G securing top-priority champions in Ornn and Aphelios as a response. However, T1 would get the better of their opponents in the first match, with ADC Jin-Seong “Teddy” Park dealing over 40k damage on Varus. 

Gen.G continued to use their ban strategy in game 2, but once again, to no avail— T1 jungler Woo-Chan “Cuzz” Moon took control of the match with a powerful 4/0/5 performance on Olaf. Midlaner Bo-Seong “BDD” Gwak’s Zilean simply wasn’t impactful enough for Gen.G, and the 1st-seeded team couldn’t seem to win any mid-game teamfights. 

Down the hole two matches, Gen.G opted to draft an unconventional combination of Kalista/Volibear for their botlane duo while picking Jayce for toplaner Kwang-hee “Rascal” Kim. While Rascal’s Jayce was set to take an early lead against his lane opponent, Ornn, it was T1’s former trainee toplaner Chang-Dong “Canna” Kim that ended up victorious in the laning phase. With a massive 4/1/10 performance, Canna was able to support his team alongside Teddy’s monstrous 11/1/6 Aphelios play to secure game 3 and win the title for T1.

With the 2020 LCK Spring Split championship secured, T1 earned its 3rd consecutive title, and has yet to lose a best-of-five series in the LCK since the organization’s rebranding. Star midlaner Sang-Hyeok “Faker” Lee earned his 9th domestic title while T1’s jungler Cuzz earned the MVP award for his consistency throughout the series. 

Watch the highlights from the LCK finals here on YouTube!

Stephen No

Stephen "Steph" No is a communications major and esports journalist. Currently covering the LCS and the OWL, Steph is aiming to become a prominent Asian-American voice in Western esports media. You can follow his twitter @kdpanthera for more LCS and Overwatch League related content.

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