SK Gaming defeated the top seed in the LEC regular season once more and moved to the 2023 Winter Split Playoff round. They defeated Team Vitality 2-0 in a game that was life or death, securing a top four position in the European region for the first time in eight years.
SK previously demonstrated during the regular season that they could defeat Vitality when they handed them their first loss of the year. With a playoff berth for the Winter Split on the line, they accomplished it once more. While Vitality took the advantage early in the opening game of the series, SK was able to come back by acing Vitality following a Baron fight.
The Match Recap
After reaching the Soul milestone, eliminating all of SK's towers outside of their base, and expanding their gold advantage to over 5,000, Vitality had the game well under control.
They were unable to predict SK's precise placement during pivotal teamfights, which eventually determined the outcome of the game, not even with Vitality's increased field of vision. After obtaining another Baron boost for the group, SK advanced on Vitality's base and swiftly destroyed their Nexus.
When they advanced to the second and the last game in the lead, SK put together an aggressive squad with the goal of securing a sizable lead in the early going as their winning condition—and they were successful.
SK dominated right away, winning the first blood, capturing the game's first herald and drake, and eliminating several Vitality players without losing a single player.
The game's first 20 minutes saw SK establish an enormous quantity of advantages that put Vitality in a precarious position and forced the match's favorites to make a number of errors.
After acing the opposing team and receiving the Baron boost, SK made a move to end the game and the match by closing in on Vitality's base.
What’s Next?
After this victory, SK returned to the top four of the standings for the first time since 2015 and guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoff round of the 2023 LEC Winter Split.
The teams they will face in the next round have already been determined, with MAD Lions taking on Astralis immediately following SK's victory against Vitality.
