Welcome, callers. Preparing for the climax of LCK Spring with our betting tour of the Gen.G - KT Rolster match in the small final of the South Korean split.
In the run-up to this match, we didn't just scour all of the contestants' play-offs and refresh our memories of Gen.G and KT Rolster's success in the group stage, we even played a couple of games in Solo Que. Didn't enjoy the latter very much, but the match analysis went in.
Sharing our opinions on the upcoming top match and betting on who can qualify for the grand final, where the great and terrible T1s are already. Let's start the showdown.
The form of Gen.G Esports - the second LCK team after T1
And we begin with an analysis of Gen.G Esports' playing form. The team will be playing as favourites.
The pre-match position of Gen.G are confirmed by the bookmakers. On the victory of the champions of the summer split give odds in the region of 1.8.
The gap between the teams is minimal, and there is an explanation for that. The cornerstone of LCK Spring 2023 is the T1 team.
Gen.G is the favorite with such a minuscule lead only because they offered almost no resistance to T1 in the upper grid final. The team managed to squeeze out 1 card, but that doesn't compare with the vigorous League of Legends that KT Rolster showed us in their match.
However, as the season progressed, Gen.G played the group stage better than their future counterparts. In the group stage, the team finished 2nd.
To be in the top 2 of the LCK Spring 2023 is already a success. Their best line-up of LCK Summer Split champions in 2022 helped make it possible.
- Gen.G: Doran, Peanut, Chovy, Peyz, Delight.
The main star of Gen.G remains Chove. The venerable mid laner has managed to become the regular season MVP 8 times. In the play-offs, the other team leaders joined him - Peanut and Delight on the bot line showed solid play in the first match of the main stage, thanks to which they sent Hanwha Life Esports to the bottom of the net.
They did so with a standard pool of champions. This is another of Gen.G's strengths.
Gen.G's most popular champions
- Top line: KSante (9 games, 66% wins), Gnar (9 games, 77% wins).
- Jungle: Vi (11 games, 81% wins), Wukong (11 games, 81% wins).
- Centre line: Taliyah (6 games, 66% wins), Azir (6 games, 66% wins).
- Shooter: Zeri (13 games, 76% wins).
- Sappers: Lulu (9 matches, 66% wins).
A win for Gen.G in this match may be due to the team's experience of playing at the highest level. The squad has seen minimal changes since World 2022, and new arrivals Delight and Peyz fit in well with the overall scoreline.
However, given the odds before the match, I wouldn't rush to pick Gen.G as the winner of this match. KT Rolster has something to answer for, and now for more details on that.
The form of KT Rolster - T1's only rival
We continue our review of the LCK Spring 2023 top play-offs final with a breakdown of KT Rolster's playing form. The team, purely on paper, is in underdog status.
Bookmakers give odds of around 1.9 for KT Rolster to win. Such a quotation says about the parity of the teams and it is confirmed in practice.
In the new season KT Rolster look like a team worthy of passing to the grand final. They started to show their mettle in the group stage, finishing on level terms with Gen.G. 13-5, and then went on to the play-offs.
In the main stage, KT Rolster came as close as possible to beating T1, playing that game with a 2-3 score, and they also ran over SANDBOX and HLE without too much trouble.
Getting 2 wins and almost beating T1 was thanks to a serious roster. In terms of naming, the roster is not inferior to Gen.G.
- Gen.G: Kiin, Cuzz, Bdd, Aiming, Lehends.
Cuzz, Kiin and Bbb have already earned three MVP titles each in the play-offs, but that's not even the best part of the International. The highlight is Lehends' transfer to KT's lineup at the Long Conger of the season.
KT's snapper Rolster has transferred to the lineup from Gen.G Esports. The way I see it, this will play to KT Rolster's advantage.
KT Rolster's most popular champions
- Renekton (8 games, 87% win rate) takes the top spot.
- At the position Jungle (14 games, 50% wins).
- Azir (7 games, 85% win percentage) is the most common at the centre.
- On the shooting guard: Zeri (13 games, 76% of wins).
- Most popular support: Karma (10 games, 80% wins).
KT Rolster will battle Gen.G for Zeri and Wukong + Sejuani. On the ground the performers are in no way Ledgea Gen.G, and possibly superior, at least in creativity.
The main argument for KT Rolster winning is their play against T1. The younger "telecoms" almost managed to outplay South Korea's title team and potential spring split winner T1.
The last game against Gen.G. also speaks in favour of KT Rolster. There, KT Rolster turned out stronger than their opponent, but there's a nuance.
History of head-to-head encounters
The teams have played each other twice - complete parity. The teams have exchanged pleasantries, playing the two series with scores of 2-1 and 1-2.
Predicted match result
In this match, the most potential outcome will be the overall total on the cards. Gen.G and T1 are worthy of each other, as we can see from the overall and face-off performance.
I'll give the win to KT Rolster, as they in the final LCK Spring 2023 will be able to show the game and play about equal with T1.
Bottom line: victory for T1.
