GAME 1

We said that if Misfits wanted to have a chance, it was in the draft phase, and it was true. Before a single champion appeared on the Rift, this game was SKT’s. The trouble started when Misfits let Galio through, which is just something that should not be done against any Korean team. Galio is too strong a pick and too good in the hands of these teams. Especially under Faker’s skill, he became an ever present threat that MSF could not answer. But it wasn’t just here that Misfits failed.

SKT also chose Trundle, perhaps in reading that Misfits were known for brining Tank Busters onto the Worlds stage, but if MSF hoped to answer Trundle with Rumble, they were mistaken. SKT instead flexed Trundle to the bottom lane and put Jayce against Rumble. At this point, it was obvious that SKT’s real draft was a hyper early-game comp. They had expertly predicted that MSF’s path to success was in the early game, and it was here that they challenged them where they were strongest and then soundly defeated them in just 25 minutes.

GAME 2

This was the game everyone was waiting for out of the Misfits. Their paths to success this Worlds have been in their aggressive, unique comps, and a Karma mid, Blitz bottom, and Gnar top fit that perfectly. Instead of retreating from the early game, they doubled down on it. Though they had some shaky moments – like an early turret dive that gave two kills for one – Hans Sama’s Tristana became a monster, constantly chasing, rocket jumping, and blasting through SKT.

But the all-star was IgNar’s Blitzcrank. There were questions of whether he could step up and challenge the greatest team in the world, but by the mid-game, IgNar’s grabs had caught SKT again, and again, and again. He grabbed into fog of war, from it, and even snatched Faker out of a Valkyrie on Corki. It was these picks that constantly had MSF in an advantageous position and was ultimately their win condition.

GAME 3

If Misfits Game 2 draft was surprising, their Game 3 draft wasmadness. Fortunately, it was brilliant madness. Just as Misfits had lost Game 1 before entering the Rift, SKT had lost the game the moment that MSF drafted Leona.

Leona simply not been played at this level in this meta, and certainly not at Worlds. When MSF pulled out this pick, it was the first moment of sheer panic ever seen on the faces of SKT. They seemed to almost reactively choose Vayne – a potential counter to Leona – but MSF wasn’t planning on this being all SKT had to deal with. They followed Leona with an Ivern pick, and this was where the true genius came in. Not only could SKT not answer or strategize against the bot lane, they couldn’t do it against MSF’s jungle pathing, and it was Ivern that arrived time and again to help Hans Sama and IgNar secure kills and turrets.

The game that followed was pure magic. IgNar on a Fervor of Battle Leona was a monster, one which SKT had no clear answer against. Combined with an insanely fed Tristana – Hans Sama was up 2.5k gold by ten minutes – SKT struggled to find any strategy whatsoever. For a team that had never shown fatigue or frustration, SKT finally felt the fear that they have instilled in every team at Worlds for three years running.

GAME 4

In a traditional composition, SKT simply has the advantage, and that’s what happened here. That said, a war was still waging in the draft phase. SKT finally identified Tristana as the huge advantage it has been for Hans Sama – something all the Group Stage teams learned about TSM – and stole it away from them. With Tristana gone and many of Misfits crazier comps already done, MSF drafted a fairly traditional composition, and with both sides playing more meta teams, SKT had the advantage out of the gate.

But even with the obvious advantage, SKT nearly lost his match. If MSF had not pushed too hard in the mid-lane and gave away a full five kills to SKT, then the game surely would have been theirs. It shows that MSF has depth as a team, far more than their silly and bizarre team comps might first impart, but they also made the crucial mistake so many teams have against SKT – they overaggressived.

Like their match against EDG, SKT has shown that one mistake in over aggression will be punished severely, but MSF did not respect this, and they made too many mistakes that SKT immediately capitalized on and swung in their favor.

GAME 5

When the pressure is on, SKT always comes out on top. Time and again, this team’s greatest strength is that they simply work better under pressure. By Game 5, Misfits had not yet beat themselves, but they played straight into SKT’s hands.

SKT has always been strongest in the late game. They have always been able to outlast any enemy that tries to compete with them in a battle of attrition. But a fear of failure had clearly settled in on MSF, and their fear of making a mistake made them play completely unlike the team that had dominated SKT for two games in a row. They had known success playing like AHQ had in the Group Stage, it was about out aggressing SKT, and it was this that spelled MSF’s doom

Even playing into SKT’s hands though, MSF almost had them. When Power of Evil began roaming the map to 1-v-1 Huni, it looked like a game they could still take home, but SKT was rotating slightly better and was still pressuring them hugely with split-pushes. SKT simply let MSF set themselves up for failure, and it was during an Elder Dragon push that SKT snatched the buff, the kills, and ultimately the game.