SK wasn’t expected to do well going into 2023, but they’ve managed to best Vitality in a decisive fashion and have secured themselves one of the best runs in the organization’s history.
As an organization, SK has been in League of Legends since the very beginning. They entered LoL Esports in 2010 and have cemented themselves as one of the longest-standing orgs in League of Legends’ competitive history.
But that early investment hasn’t meant long-term success. They were a big name before the LEC rebrand, but they were eventually relegated after losing enough games to get booted from the EU LCS entirely. For over two years, they had vanished.
Since acquiring a franchise spot and clawing their way back into the League of Legends pro scene via the LEC 2019, they’ve had mediocre finishes at best. The organization hasn’t been successful with any of its rosters… until now.
SK dominates heavily favored Vitality in a 2-0 victory
Despite finishing third place in the regular season, SK was considered the underdog. Vitality finished first in the regular season and has a roster stacked with a mix of veteran players and fresh talent in the form of Bo and Photon.
However, SK managed to come together and make their rookie roster work. Besides Markoon, none of the players were standouts before the split started. That has now changed.
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After overcoming a 10k gold deficit to win game 1 against Vitality, they unapologetically slammed VIT in game 2 and secured their playoff spot in spectacular fashion.
I am so happy pic.twitter.com/3RoSQvtfG6
— Daniel Gamani (@SertussLoL) February 19, 2023
Sertuss was the only remaining player from SK’s 2022 roster, and he’s finally been able to find success with new team members around him.
Meanwhile, Vitality has nosedived with a 0-4 record across their last two sets. As of right now, it’s hard to tell whether SK is really that good or if Vitality couldn’t keep it together long enough to get across the finish line.
Either way, this is a historic run for SK Gaming. Astralis is also fighting for a top 4 spot against MAD Lions after their unexpected victory against BDS in what could be yet another historical run for an organization that’s been, up to this point, trapped at the bottom of the standings.
In 2023, it’s almost impossible to predict what will happen in the LEC.
