Winning their first game against team Meet Your Makers on an earlier date, SK Gaming wrapped up their match with MYM today, finishing with a perfect score of 2 – 0 in the IPL 4 League of Legends qualifiers.

SK’s victory advances them into their next match as one of the top 16 teams, closing the gap between their team and a trip to Las Vegas.

The IGN Pro League 4 qualifier consists of a best-of-three, single elimination structure with the top 32 League of Legends teams from around the world competing for an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas where the top 4 teams will compete in a massive broadcasted event to claim the grand prize pool (to be announced).

Prior to the match there were some frustrating schedule conflicts between SK and MYM which resulted in SK’s loss of potentially winning €1,000 in the grand finals of the Millennium Tournament. Although it was an unfortunate loss for SK, they remained calm and focused on their upcoming match with MYM.

Kicking off the second match between the two teams, MYM received first-pick in the champion selection phase and used their first ban on Malphite then proceeded to ban Shyvana and Ahri. SK responded by banning Vladimir, Sona, and Kassadin. After all picks and trades were settled, SK had Lee Sin, Sivir, Cassiopeia, Taric, and Volibear. MYM selected Morgana as their first pick; following that was Irelia, Janna, Rammus, and Kog’Maw.

Once the match started, SK began with a very aggressive play by invading the enemy’s jungle and stealing their blue buff the moment it spawned. After a few minutes of passive farming and pressure from both teams’ junglers, Carlos 'ocelote' Rodríguez Santiago playing Cassiopeia was caught out of position and give first blood to MYM Exter playing Morgana due to a well-timed Rammus gank.

Several minutes later MYM exploited their small lead and quickly teamed up to successfully take down dragon, however SK managed to pick off MYM’s Janna and Kog’maw in the process. Although they lost dragon, SK began to make more offensive plays and inched ahead of the enemy team by remaining consistent and organized in their decisions.



By repeating the aggressive play-style they displayed in the beginning of the match, SK invaded the jungle at regular intervals and constantly denied MYM their red and blue buffs in addition to catching a few members of their team out of position. Once SK’s advantage transitioned into a snowball effect, they carried out a streak of unchecked kills, buff steals, and seemingly unstoppable map control.

Later on SK rushed baron while their enemy was out of position; MYM closed in for a counter-attack yet they ultimately forced themselves into an unwinnable team fight, resulting in four kills being given to SK by MYM. After a few minutes of pushing and diving towers, SK easily abused their huge advantage, ending the game with virtually no opposition.

Both teams played at a very high level, making this match exciting to watch as the advantage shifted from one team to another. Although MYM had put up a good fight, SK will be the ones moving forward for a shot at competing in Las Vegas against some of the best professional League of Legends team. While it may be too early to predict which teams will be competing within the top 4 bracket based on performance seen so far, it is likely that SK will hold to their tradition of winning and will prove to be a challenge to even the most elite League of Legends teams.

This article was written by Nicholas Ewing currently an SK Gaming LoL Editor on trial. If you'd like to get your work seen by thousands of gamers why not apply yourself at SK Jobs.