SANDBOX Gaming vs SK Telecom T1 – LCK Spring Split 2019

The sun is about to set on the LCK 2019, Spring Split. Over the course of the winter, the competition has delivered quite exciting matches. There have been surprising results every now and then but the favorites have shined and reigned supreme in the competition. Owing to this and many more reasons, LCK is arguably one of the best leagues in the world. Let’s have a look at one of the matches.

The reason we have picked this match for you is that it is between two of the top the teams of the 2019 Spring Split, SANDBOX Gaming vs SK Telecom T1. Both teams have come a long way and arrive after comprehensively dominating the competition. So, it will be a great practice for us to predict out which of these highflyers will come out on top.

SANDBOX Gaming vs SK Telecom T1 (LCK 2019 Spring Season, Best of 3 series March 22, 2019, 12:00 PM CET)

SANDBOX Gaming

Known as ” Team Battlecomics “, the name used by the team during the Challengers Korea. Sandbox Gaming became a dark horse in qualifiers of the tier 1 league, where together with Damwon Gaming they got the last spots in the LCK. The team does not have big names and incredible performances were not expected, but SANDBOX has already proven that they can upset if the opposing team does not prepare properly against them.

For lovers of the European LoL, there is a name you can remember, Totoro former support of Unicorns of Love. The team, at best, was predicted to fight for a place in the middle order by taking games from below the table and fishing a few games against the top. There were no expectations about the performance of Sandbox. Critics counted on the organization to stay in the elite division of Korean LoL by finishing at the third place from the bottom.

Started from the bottom now we are here

The most famous incident occurred with the Sandbox before the start of the season was when they tried to bend the rules to lure the SKT T1 player Lee Faker Sun Hyuk to the side. Since then, this organization is in the blacklist of most of the organizations of LCK and, as a result, they could not gather a decent team for themselves, so they had to fight in the new division with almost the old guard. The inexperienced teams have come up all guns blazing. This season, the side has defied all the odds. They have been some of the best sides and have reigned supreme.

SANDBOX Gaming currently sits at the second place in the league and will surely be aiming to secure their spot for the final of the playoffs. Despite the criticism the side faced before the start of the season, SANDBOX has shown they are a force to be reckoned with and can see themselves lifting the trophy since Griffin, the No.1 ranked team in the league is slipping and have dropped a couple of games. SKT will not be the pushovers but SANDBOX knows how to get the best of them since they have beaten them in in the early days of the league.

SK Telecom T1

SKT is the most successful team in the history of League of Legends, as it has in its record with three world titles and six LCK titles, in addition to having managed to lift other titles like the MSI twice, in 2016 and 2017. The franchise player of the organization is South Korean Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok. He is considered by a large segment of the League of Legends fans as the best player in the history of the MOBA of Riot Games.

Disasters everywhere

2018 was a disastrous year for SKT T1 as they did not manage to win a single title. This the year they have opted for a strong remodeling of their workforce and they are at the top of the LCK classification.

Before the start of the season, the team that went for the most changes was SKT. After last season, the team retained only Lee Faker San Hyuk. The made complete changes to the bot lane by signing Han Leo Gyo Re and Lee Effort San Ho. The organization was clearly tired of losing and after the disastrous season decided to assemble the lineup almost from scratch. Therefore, it’s not surprising that SKT became the center of attention in the offseason. Did SKT make a great lineup? Surely, they did.

SKT T1 bringing a strong lineup

The starting line-up brings horror just by looking at their names: Kim Khan Don Ha, one of the strongest, if not the strongest top laner in Korea, who came from China. Kim Clid Tae Min, who gave his team a victory at the National Electronic Sports Tournament 2018 as a farewell gift, is the best ADSP by KeSPA Teddy and the living legend Mata. Among other things, their bench spare Zha He Crazy Kim, Kang Haru Min Seong, and Lee Effort Sang Ho- have enough experience to win the games for SKT Telecom. Because of this, the team has the freedom in tactics and is able to play through any lineup whenever possible.

SKT did show some questionable performances at the start of the league but have redeemed themselves in the past weeks. They have silenced the critics for now by reaching the 3rd place in the Spring Split, but this meeting in the Spring split could be the summary of the entire season. So, it will a huge responsibility for Faker.

Final Verdict

We are well aware of the SKT and their capabilities, yet we still believe they are nowhere near the class of SANDBOX and will not be able to pose a fight. This will be a very close fought victory for the side of SANDBOX.

SANDBOX Gaming 2-1 SK Telecom T1

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	SK Telecom T1 Odds		SANDBOX Gaming Odds
	European	American	European	American
GG.bet	1.54	-185.19	2.36	+136.00
Bet365	1.61	-163.93	2.20	+120.00
Betway	1.50	-200.00	2.40	+140.00