Winning is a force of habit for Faker
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Today’s round of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship saw Faker’s SK Telecom T1 take on Uzi‘s Royal Never Give Up.
It was Uzi’s moment in the spot light as he looked to get revenge on Faker for his 2013 defeat and punch his team’s ticket into the 2017 finals in one series.
SKT was pushed to the brink elimination for the second time in a tournament as they fell into a 1-2 deficit. The defending world champions once again proved why they’re the best in best-of-five clutch situations.
The Mindset of a Champion
SKT has successfully bounced back from two full best-of-five series since the beginning of the Worlds 2017 playoffs.
The Misfits pushed SKT to the edge in their quarterfinals match, and China’s RNG did the same to SKT today.
SK Telecom T1 have been competing in championship matches since the beginning of their historic run in 2013. You don’t compete for four years on the highest level of the game and not master the art of the best-of-five series.
If you discount SKT’s three world championships their abundant experience in important matchups still remains. Sure you can see them frustrated when they lose close games. However, I’m sure that a top tier coach such as SKT’s Kkoma has prepared his team for the inevitability of dropping a few games in a possible five-game long match.
There is only one team in the history of the game that defeated SKT on an international stage. No other team has been able to recreate the success of EDward Gaming in the 2015 Mid Season Invitational.
SKT is now waiting in the finals matchup for whichever team between Samsung Galaxy and Team WE wins the next semifinals match. If the grand finals at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing reaches the full five matches, I’ll bet that SKT will be fully in their element.