On July 22nd (KST), Kingzone DragonX (KZ) and Gen.G Esports (GEN) both earned a precious win in the 2018 LCK Summer split day 29. KZ defeated MVP 2:0 and proceeded to 3rd place and GEN defeated Afreeca Freecs (AFs) 2:1.

For the first series of the night, KZ went against MVP. On game 1, KZ GorillA’s Tahm Kench gave away the first blood to MVP. However, Khan and Bdd managed to gain the advantage in both lanes. This made KZ much easier to split push in the mid-game. MVP eventually lost vision control and gave away most of the Rift objectives. KZ assassinated the opponent Alistar and soon consecutively killed Galio and Ezreal.  This led them to secure the Baron buff and they quickly closed down the game.

Game 2 was one-sided for KZ. With Khan picking his signature champion, Jayce, he earned a double kill early in lane phase. He soon solo killed Maha’s Karma as well. Once lane phase was over, Khan’s Jayce roamed throughout the map and impacted the whole game. Eventually, KZ secured their Baron on the 21-minute mark and started to destroy MVP’s inhibitors. After winning a huge teamfight, they destroyed the Nexus and closed down the series.

Gen.G went against Afreeca in the second match of day 29. The two teams put up quite a competitive fight in game 1. The main focus was on global ultimates. With numerous global ult champions on both sides, GEN managed to get a fresh start using the ‘Nocturne-Taliyah’ composition. However, AFs fired back by killing Ryze near the Baron. After that, they secured the Baron buff right away.

AFs destroyed GEN’s bottom inhibitor. Although it was tough, GEN did defend well. It was AFs' third Baron attempt where the team collapsed. After getting their third Baron buff, AFs won a teamfight near the Dragon pit and soon won the game.

The teams again managed to put up a competitive fight in game 2. The kill score was even 5:5 and the gold difference was only 300 up to the 25-minute mark. However, the game ended rather quickly when GEN killed Kuro’s Vel’Koz. They consecutively took down AFs’ Nocturne, Vladimir, Leona and destroyed AFs’ Nexus.

On game 3, AFs managed to kill Kennen and earned first blood. However, Fly delivered some unbelievable performance with his Orianna. While he was evading every ganks, GEN’s Trundle-Ashe gained 3 kills.    

Despite losing a fight near mid, GEN soon won a teamfight near the Dragon pit. With Orianna hitting her power spikes early, they started to advance to AFs’ bottom tier 3 turret. Fly’s exceptional Shockwave was the highlight of this game. With Fly dominating the fight near the bottom inhibitor, GEN finished the series.

Series 1: MVP vs. Kingzone Dragon X < 0-2 >

Game 1: MVP (L) vs. KZ (W)
Game 2: MVP (L) vs. KZ (W)

Series 2: Afreeca Freecs vs. Gen.G Esports < 1-2 >

Game 1: AFs (W) vs. GEN (L)
Game 2: AFs (L) vs. GEN (W)
Game 3: AFs (L) vs. GEN (W)


▣ 2018 LCK Summer Split Standings

1. Griffin 9-3 (+10)
2. Gen.G Esports 9-3 (+8)
3. Kingzone DragonX 8-4 (+7)
3. kt Rolster 8-4 (+7)
5. Afreeca Freecs 7-6 (+5)
6. Hanwha Life Esports 6-6 (+2)
7. SKT T1 5-7 (-3)
8. MVP 4-9 (-10)
9. Jin Air Green Wings 3-9 (-11)
10. bbq Olivers 2-10 (-15)