This is not a rebroadcast from last year: Samsung Galaxy defeats kT Rolster, advances to Worlds
Honestly, despite knowing that this was always a possibility, I would have put my money on kT to win the regional qualifier, and make it to Worlds as the #3 seed for Korea. I don’t think it’s at all that often that a team of talented players doesn’t figure out how to rectify their shortcomings and overcome obstacles in their path; however, on that same token, it’s never out of the realm of possibility that a competitive team also has their kryptonite, and that for whatever reasons, falls short to the exact same circumstances repeatedly.
Regardless, despite being the vaunted meticulously constructed super team, kT Rolster for the second year in a row, will not be going to the League of Legends World Championships, falling short at the hands of Samsung Galaxy, again.
If it sucked being kT Rolster because they couldn’t ever beat SK Telecom at all throughout the year, it really sucks to be kT Rolster when they didn’t just fall short of winning Worlds, but didn’t even make it into the tournament at all. This would be like if the Miami Heat didn’t even make it into the NBA Playoffs in the years that they had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
That’s really the risk of constructing super teams, because as much as success should all but be assured, the repercussions of failure seem that much more severe. Competitive fans rarely want to see super teams succeed, but they especially relish in the misery of when super teams fail; therein lies the gamble of building them at all.
If I had to take a guess, I feel like the problem with kT starts with their support, Mata. He’s often lauded as this great League mind, often given most of the credit for the Season 4 champion Samsung White squad for his leadership and shot-calling, but at the same time throughout the last few years, it has crept out that he might be kind of a headcase or a little bit of a diva; that his reputation of being a strong leader and shot-caller has gone to his head and that he expects teammates to follow his decisions and not necessarily their own instincts.
When a guy is quoted saying stuff like:
I think of myself as the center of team communication, not a dictator telling everyone what exactly to do
There’s a very good chance that someone’s called him a dictator before. And that kind of word selection often doesn’t come without justifiable reason. For as much praise he gets for being a good shot-caller, there’s probably as much reason to put the crosshairs on him when things don’t go well, because there’s likely the chance that losing strategies and choices came from him.
This isn’t necessarily putting Mata on the cross, because on a team with as much individual talents as kT, if one plan isn’t working, then someone else should be willing to take some accountability as well, and that’s definitely something nobody ever hears of throughout kT’s shortcomings throughout this season. PawN and Deft, both of whom have played with Mata in prior seasons don’t seem to be willing to assume any leadership, Smeb, the former LCK MVP doesn’t seem to want to assume any, and Score, the lone holdover from the old kT doesn’t appear to be taking any leadership either.
Whatever though, at this point, what’s done is done, and kT Rolster will be sitting at home all through Worlds, and in their place will be a Samsung Galaxy team that snuck its way through the playoffs last year, but won’t be so unassuming this year. Who really knows what’s next for kT Rolster, whether they’ll brush themselves off and try again next year, or if the League scene continues on in its current path, implode the whole team, let their players go off to other countries via free agency, and then start back up from scratch.
Regardless, I have to say it’s been fun watching a super team be built, but immediately fail in both of their ultimate goals going into the season. It’s not often fans get to see such ultimate failure like this.
