It was February 11th, and the air lay heavy upon the crowd. With tensions high, it was time for KT Rolster and Samsung Galaxy to face off. As a match between the top three teams in the LCK, it was sure to be a spectacular one. However, not many expected that the game would take such an early and unexpected turn in the draft phase. Unlike SSG's meta-standard composition, KT's composition was anything but standard.

KT had 4 AP champions without a single tank. Even the 'AD' Carry was filled in by Ziggs, leaving Rengar as the only AD Champion on the team. The midlaner was Azir, a champion that seldom appears in official matches and with one of the lowest winrate in the solo queue. On the other hand, Samsung had Poppy on toplane to act as a tank, and every lane was filled with strong champions. At a glance, it seemed like SSG had been handed an easy game.

However, the actual outcome of the match proved that prediction to be wrong: KT did not lose a single kill nor a single turret against SSG. In retrospect, what seemed like a good composition for SSG turned out to be completely neutered by KT's deliberate composition. What did SSG lack that was in KT's draft? What was going on within KT's booth during the draft phase?

Forcing the Enemy's Hand

As the Blue team, KT banned Jhin, Graves and Ashe. Since the Red team is almost always forced to ban the 'trifecta' of LeBlanc, Rengar and Camille, that would allow KT to pick Varus, the most ban/picked ADC in the current season of LCK. However, with Jhin and Ashe banned, there weren't any ADCs left that could go up against Varus. SSG had no choice but to ban Varus while leaving one of the 'trifecta' open for KT to pick. Therefore, SSG banned Camille, LeBlanc and Varus, giving KT a chance to pick Rengar.

As expected, KT picked Rengar, and the reason behind KT banning Graves became clear, as Graves can match up against Rengar in the jungle. Afterwards, SSG picked Caitlyn, who was probably the best choice among the remaining ADCs, and Kha'Zix, a solid jungler and one of Minseung "Haru" Kang's favorite picks. While not as strong as Rengar, Kha'Zix seemed like a good compromise for SSG.

For SSG, Caitlyn and Kha'Zix seemed like the best choice. Truth be told, SSG picking Caitlyn and Kha'Zix was basically the only choice they had. Little did they know, that was exactly what KT wanted, since it allowed them to exploit a weakness in SSG’s composition.

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

When looking at Jhin and Ashe, Caitlyn's crowd-control capability pales in comparison. Jhin and Ashe can both start a teamfight from a distance, while the best that Caitlyn can do is zone out and hopefully snare the enemy with a Yordle Snap Trap. Thus, there isn't much that Caitlyn can do when under fire from a distance outside of her auto-attack range. Considering how Caitlyn is a late game carry, this weakness can really be detrimental during earlier phases.

Kha'Zix had a similar problem. Neither a tank nor a CC machine, Kha'Zix excels at counter-jungling and small skirmishes, but not so much in other situations. However, since Rengar was more than enough to match Kha'Zix's strengths, KT did not have to fear Kha'Zix as long as Rengar properly keeps Kha'Zix in check. With Dongbin "Score" Ko behind Rengar, KT was surely in good hands.

KT's next move was to pick Ziggs. With a weak 1-4 record, Ziggs as an AD Carry was already deemed a failed experiment. However, there was no denying that his lane pushing capability after getting a few core items was among the best. KT's plan was to seize the initiative through Ziggs's superior lane-pushing, and this became more evident as KT picked Zyra. Adding Zyra gave KT’s botlane a strong boost for both the laning phase as well as stand-offs. In addition, Zyra provided a good source of CC, contrasting the lack of CC on SSG’s roster. KT was free to trap SSG under their turrets while chipping away at both the champions and turrets' health from a safe distance - without a proper pick, SSG would be left helpless.

Unfortunately, SSG did not yet realize what they were themselves getting into, so they picked Karma as their 3rd champion. Of course, picking a support is not a bad choice; top and mid should be put off until the second pick phase if possible. However, the problem with Karma is that she is somewhat lacking in CC, leaving SSG still vulnerable to KT's plan. To KT, SSG was like a fish in a barrel.

Red Carpets for Rumble

With just top and mid left for KT to choose, the draft phase moved on to the second ban phase.

Let's go over KT's plan once more: KT wants to trap the enemy under their turrets (which requires a strong lane game) and gradually whittle them down from a safe distance (which requires a good amount of poke). There are two toplaners that fit this strategy - Rumble and Jayce. However, it was quite likely that Jayce would be banned by SSG, especially since KT was known to be adept at split-pushing.

So, KT started to make preparations to pick Rumble. If Rumble was picked, KT's composition would be skewed towards AP-based champions, and that would mean that Maokai would be a significant threat for KT due to his strong CC and strength against AP champions. Thus, KT banned Maokai. Kennen also had to go since he has a strong lane phase with an AD build and is a good initiator with an AP build. Every ban from KT was done deliberately and carefully.

Just as KT had hoped, SSG banned Jayce, and KT was free to pick Rumble. Since there wasn't a champion that could effectively counter KT's composition among the remaining toplaners, SSG picked Poppy - A tanky toplaner with good balance. It wasn't a bad choice, but it wasn't an excellent choice either. Poppy is unlikely to gain the upper hand against Rumble, and there was little that Poppy could do to prevent SSG's backline from being set ablaze by Rumble's Equalizer.

Showing Shuriman Hospitality

At this point, SSG should have realized that they fell into a trap, and that they needed to do something about KT's composition. However, Corki alone couldn't match the supreme poking capability of KT's composition, so SSG's only choice was to pick Ryze and try to breathe some life into other lanes through roaming. It was also one of Minho "Crown" Lee's favorite champions, and would strengthen SSG's CC arsenal.

Unfortunately, KT came prepared against SSG's choice, and the answer to Ryze was Azir. While Azir is not a popular champion due to his weakness during early and mid game, Ryze didn’t pose much of a threat to Azir during the laning phase due to Ryze's short range. In fact, Azir might have an upper hand during ganks since there is little that Ryze can do when facing Emperor's Divide. With Azir's superior range, Azir would be a significant powerhouse during standoffs. With this, the pieces were all in place, and KT’s master plan was complete.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

The rest is history; just as KT had planned. SSG was trapped wherever they went, and soon faced certain death from KT’s long-range artillery. It was difficult for SSG to start a teamfight; with Poppy being the only tank, they couldn’t use her to initiate without leaving the rest of the team vulnerable. It wasn't easy for SSG to exploit KT's AP-skewered composition either, as SSG’s squishy champions were doing their best just to avoid skillshots. It seems as though it was all part of the plan.

Of course, even a perfect plan can fall flat if not followed up with good execution. In the case where the plan is so bold that it forgoes all tank champions, not even good execution may be enough to pull it off. In order for the plan to work, KT needed to keep the upper hand in every lane and macromanage their team perfectly. One slip-up, and KT's unbalanced composition was sure to crumble under SSG's balanced composition.

However, KT's execution was perfect, showcasing how KT's strategies and tactics are among the best - if not the best - of the LCK. Also, while a highly specialized strategy such as this would require the players to pick champions that are seldom picked, it was not a challenge for the KT players, as they have a varied champion pool.

In summary, KT Rolster's draft in that game - stealthily directing SSG’s composition while also creating a counter-composition - was probably the best draft that we have ever seen in an official match. If other teams do not want to be defeated by KT before minions spawn, they'd have to improve their draft game to match that of KT's. Only then they will have a chance to play a game of League of Legends with an equal footing against KT Rolster.