SKT Team Meeting: Our Real Opponent is Only Ourselves!

SKT headquarters building.

Easyhoon sat quietly in front of his computer, the soft light from the screen reflecting off his frameless glasses.

He wasn't playing ranked games; instead, he was reviewing the LCK Spring Split finals that had just ended.

In the video, his Ryze skillfully used his teammates' shields and movement speed to kite and coordinate with Bang's Ezreal to wipe out SSG's last-ditch counterattack.

3-1, the score is now final, and SKT has once again lifted that heavy trophy.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his slightly sore nose, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to four years ago.

In 2013, when he donned that red and white jersey as a prodigy, SKT was far from being the top team in the LPL as it is today.

At that time, OGN was still in its infancy, and the competition was extremely chaotic and disorderly.

He performed well in his rookie year, leading his team to the World Championship, but in the semifinals they encountered the dominant NaJin White Shield.

That night, the young man paid an exorbitant tuition fee.

White Shield ultimately advanced to the finals, defeating Royal Club from the LPL 3-1 to lift the trophy.

He could only stand in the shadows, watching the golden rain fall on others, and that bitterness became the nourishment for his growth.

In S4, as the team aged, their performance plummeted in the Summer Split, directly missing out on the World Championship.

Before the start of S5, Easyhoon seemed to be an average mid-laner with above-average skill, having achieved some league results but never truly winning any honors of his own.

But in S5, with Marin, Bang, Wolf, and the ever-reliable Bengi forming a new super team, Easyhoon led SKT to win the World Championship, even a back-to-back title.

The dominant performance in S5, the title defense in S6, and an FMVP trophy propelled Easyhoon to become the world's best mid laner.

His laning phase was outrageously stable, and his game sense was like that of a sophisticated computer, with every last hit and every gank perfectly calculated.

He was known as the Son of the Tower; as long as he stood in the mid lane, SKT's defenses would never crumble.

A strong competitive spirit drives him toward a greater goal, and Easyhoon firmly believes that the two consecutive championships are just the beginning of his era!

"Ji-hoon, are you still watching the video?"

A gentle yet authoritative voice interrupted his thoughts.

SKT's head coach, Kkoma, walked in, holding several competition materials that had just been sent from the São Paulo organizing committee.

His face showed a hint of weariness that he couldn't hide, but his eyes burned with a kind of fervor.

Lee Ji-hoon put his glasses back on and sat up straight:

"Coach, you're still awake. You're looking at some key ward placements for SSG. I think they might come in handy at MSI."

Kkoma smiled with satisfaction. He sat down in the gaming chair behind Lee Ji-hoon, then gestured for the other team members to gather around.

At this moment, Bang, rubbing his eyes, walked out of the side room, still clutching a bag of unfinished snacks in his hand.

Wolf, looking sleepy and with his belly sticking out, was still muttering about how good the hotel breakfast in São Paulo was.

Peanut, who joined last year to replace the aging Bengi and is known as "Little Peanut," excitedly ran over. This handsome young man, who plays extremely fiercely, clearly hasn't realized the pressure of international competitions.

Bengi walked at the back, his calm expression as the executive assistant coach remaining unchanged.

"Alright, kids, the final is over, and we've celebrated long enough."

Kkoma tapped the table, his voice deepening.

"In the past two years, although we have won the World Championship twice, we have always lost some honors due to various reasons, such as the MSI in S5 and the Summer Split in S6. This year, we must move towards this goal!"

"The first step is complete. Now, we need to conquer São Paulo. The MSI is something we must take back after our two consecutive championships."

Peanut pumped his fist and replied with a grin:

"Coach, I don't really think it makes much difference if we just go straight to the trophy. SSG couldn't stop us, and those bearded guys from Europe and America, and LPL, they should be about the same, right?"

Bang laughed along, leaning back lazily in his chair, his eyes radiating arrogance.

"Honestly, I've watched G2's Perkz play. His laning style is exaggerated, but he has absolutely no discipline."

"As long as Zhi Xun holds his ground in the mid lane, and I get my three items, the game will be over. As for TSM's Bjergsen, he's an old friend of ours. Every year he says he wants to prove himself, and every year he does prove that he can't beat us."

A burst of light laughter echoed in the training room.

As two-time world champions, SKT has the capital to be so proud of their global dominance.

They don't need to over-analyze their opponents, because in their logic, it's the opponents who need to study them frame by frame.

"Don't be too careless."

Although Kkoma was smiling, he still put on a stern face and gave a reprimand.

"Don't forget the 2015 MSI. How did EDG break our winning streak that year?"

When 2015 was mentioned, Wolf shrank back slightly, his expression becoming a little more serious:

"That was an accident, coach. We were still in the process of getting to know each other back then. To be honest, I've seen the roster for the Spring Split of this current EDG team."

"Deft and Pawn are both gone. What was that mid laner's name again? Faker? I've never heard that name before in the LCK."

Easyhoon then turned his attention to the names EDG and Faker.

"He's Korean." Lee Ji-hoon adjusted his glasses, his tone calm and objective.

"But strangely, he has no professional record in South Korea. He is neither from a youth team nor has he participated in any secondary leagues."

"He only briefly made a name for himself in ranked games in his early years."

"However, his tournament record is very impressive. He crushed Rookie in his first LPL match, and then played twice in the Spring Split playoffs, eventually winning the championship."

"There are usually only two possibilities for players who are completely parachuted in from outside."

Bengi added from the side, his tone carrying a hint of seasoned composure.

"They are either extraordinary geniuses or gamblers when EDG is desperate."

"He did play Galio quite well in the finals, but Jihoon, do you think he can withstand your pressure in the laning phase?"

Lee Ji-hoon smiled slightly; that confidence was ingrained in his very being.

"His style, in the LPL's fast-paced, fighting-oriented environment, might make him stand out."

"But when they encounter us, when our operations and vision are fully utilized, these newcomers often lose their composure because they can't find their rhythm. I will teach them how to play the game under that suffocating defense."

Kkoma nodded and turned to the next page of the document: "That's right, EDG's current roster is very unstable, and their jungler is a rookie. In a world-class competition like this, a rookie's mentality is often their biggest weakness. As long as we put enough pressure on them in the first game, they might just break down on their own."

"As for those veterans at EDG, I can only say they're utterly helpless."

"As for G2," Kkoma's tone became more relaxed.

"While Perkz may be outspoken, their record last year was truly negligible. In this MSI, our only real opponent is ourselves!"