SKT vs. Longzhu in the LCK final is the can’t-miss esports event of the year

The title match between a dynasty and an up-and-coming power pits the best player of all time vs. an 18-year-old wunderkind.

Whether you like it or not, eSports are rapidly growing in the competitive entertainment space. Follow the money to understand how eSports are rapidly becoming a part of the mainstream sports world: The upcoming Overwatch League, with a $20 million buy-in fee, has commitments from Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the Mets-owning Wilpons, North American League of Legends is franchising with multiple NBA owners already owning teams and a $10-$13 million entry fee, and Riot Games agreed to a $300 million streaming deal with MLB Advanced Media for next season.

Whether it's college football or Dota 2’s The International (this year’s had a $21 million prize pool!), competition is competition. No matter the game, no matter the players, no matter the fan base, compelling narratives will follow. The moments of wonder and sustained narratives that keep drawing us back to the NBA Finals or the Rose Bowl are also inspired by competitive video games, or Ultimate Frisbee, or even a very good cat dapping its roommate.

What I’ve also learned: Just like most traditional sports, the regular season is pretty boring, but playoffs are awesome.

In League of Legends playoffs, teams of five players compete in best-of-five series across three-to-four rounds (different regions have different bracket formats.) This is an expansion of the best-of-three format used by most regions during the regular season to allow for more strategic depth and for more compelling in-series narratives to develop.

Each team gets five picks and five bans per draft in a snake draft format. Selecting among the 138 available champions is an important part of League’s strategy, but it is also only the beginning. The adaptations teams make between games are crucial to winning a grueling five-game set.

As audiences watch these matchups unfold, teams are chosen not just based on which champions are popular or considered strong, but by what the other team has prioritized. If an opponent just played a great game on a surprising pick, do you ban it next game, freeing up something else you previously considered ban-worthy? Do you pick it yourself (assuming one of your players can)? Do you pick something else that you know is good against it? Or do you just run it back, let them have it, and hope for the best?

There’s no better example of the inherent drama in the games as well as between the teams than this week’s LCK final between SK Telecom T1 and Longzhu Gaming. It is a title match between a dynasty and an up-and-coming power that pits the best player of all time vs. an 18-year-old wunderkind.

For those new to eSports, here are a few things you should know before tuning in:

• The LCK is the South Korean domestic League of Legends league, and it’s the top level of competition in the world.
• Winning the LCK is a bigger accomplishment than winning Worlds (basically League’s version of the UEFA Champions League). Even though Worlds features the best teams from each region, the LCK is still more difficult, simply because it has more Korean teams in the tournament. The LCK is like if La Liga also had Paris St. Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Chelsea. There are five Korean teams to defeat in the LCK playoffs, as opposed to the three that represent Korea at Worlds.

Now, let’s talk about how these teams got here. Some of these narratives are probably going to sound familiar to you, Traditional Sports Fan.

SKT is the pre-eminent League of Legends dynasty, having won three of the last four World Championships and four of the last five LCK titles.

The team is led by mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the best League of Legends player of all-time, and the kind of generational talent that makes you wish you could see him play against the players who finally catch up to his level in 10-20 years.

Faker has the mechanical skill to play with anyone in the world, but what sets him apart is his game knowledge. He’s mastered nearly every champion in League’s robust roster and is a threat to pull out any pick at any time. He’s also a calm competitor with a reputation of stepping up his game as a series goes on.

Faker is something of a legend in South Korea and is referred to (with great reverence) as “The Unkillable Demon King.” If you have time and want to learn more about him (and League of Legends culture in South Korea), you should read this excellent feature by ESPN’s Mina Kimes, which by my book is one of the best pieces of sportswriting this century.

Even though SKT struggled during the regular season, with a 13-5 record good enough for a No. 4 seed in the playoffs, there was little doubt of an eventual finals appearance. The best-of-five format is where SKT shines, as its very full trophy case can attest. This year’s playoffs for SKT have consisted of 3-0 sweeps of Afreeca Freecs and Samsung Galaxy in the first two rounds, as well as a come-from-behind 3-2 semifinal victory over KT Rolster.

SKT is known for its calm, collected play and deep understanding of the most effective and popular strategies.

The team has the history, the star power and the game plan to take on any opponent at any time. There’s good reason SKT has been considered the best in the world for years, and why the No. 4 seed is the likely favorite going up against the No. 1.

Just ask Longzhu’s coach:

“To be honest with you... I wanted SKT to lose,” Coach Hirai said. “Whenever they played, I kept thinking to myself, 'Please lose, Please lose.' But in the end, they kept winning. When I was watching them playing against KT, and they were down 2 games, I happily went for a restroom break... but when I came back... I quickly lost my smile.”

SKT coach Kim “kkOma” Jung-Gyun (who, along with Faker, has been the only consistent part of SKT throughout its many titles), is feeling very confident heading into the massive matchup.

“There are many rookies in their lineup and they are all very lacking in stage experience,” kkOma said. “Right now, LZ members are filled with vigor... but soon, they will be stricken with fear and pressure. I want them to feel the weight of losing the first game on a ‘big’ stage.”

Longzhu is one of a few new superteams that popped up with the goal of taking down SKT and ended up with a surprise first-place regular season finish.

This is the first time Longzhu has ever made the playoffs, and a 14-4 record and No. 1 seed granted a bye straight to the finals (the LCK Playoffs are a gauntlet-style tournament). While SKT already took down the other two new superteams — Afreeca and KT — there’s one big reason Longzhu has hope: superstar 18-year-old mid laner Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong, who will play opposite Faker in the series.

At times flashier than the Demon King himself, Bdd burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old solo queue star (the League equivalent of pick-up basketball).

It wasn’t until his 17th birthday that he was given the opportunity to start in the LCK. Bdd (which loosely translates to “Moocher”) has taken full advantage, leading all LCK players this split in kills (188) and Kill/Death/Assist Ratio (a staggering 11.3, way better than next-best 7.1), while leading all mid laners by participating in 78% of his team’s kills. Faker’s numbers, for comparison: 120 kills, a 3.4 KDA, and 65.3% kill participation.

That’s not to say Bdd is better — just like in traditional sports, it’s not as simple as better stats = better player. The two players play different kinds of League of Legends, and operate with different functions inside their respective five-man units.

But this is a unique opportunity to see a rising star take on the king of his field.

Take a look at this exchange between BDD and Faker at a recent press conference:

BDD: He's a player that I really like and respect. Even as a professional gamer myself, I still watch Faker's VODs to learn from him and refine my playstyle. Personally, I'm both excited and nervous at the same time to play against him in the Finals. I will give my absolute best to beat him, even if it costs me my life.

Faker: Thank you for being a fan... but I won't go easy on you just because you are one. During the Finals, whether you are a fan or not, I will play at my full force and defeat you.

If you’ve wanted to try out this new eSports thing, this is as good of an opportunity as you’re going to get to watch top-flight action. The LCK finals will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTube on Saturday, starting at 4 a.m. ET. If you don’t want to wake up that early, fret not: That YouTube link will contain the full series when it’s done, and the LOL Event VODs subreddit and YouTube page are spoiler-free places where you’ll be able to find videos of the games.