Flash Wolves vs SK Telecom T1

This is an interesting one. Perhaps that's even an understatement. And the reason as to why this is such an engaging and layered clash is because both teams actually have a chance to emerge victorious.

A clash worthy of watching, that's for sure.

On one hand, we have a weakened SKT T1 -- a team that is currently sitting on a somewhat solid albeit underwhelming 3W-3L record. Regardless of the way you spin it, that's pretty abysmal for a team of SKT's caliber, and for an LCK giant that many had pegged much higher coming into the tournament. They're not bad per se, they're just not as good as many expected. And we expect such immense heights and accomplishments from them because we're used to it. We're used to seeing them dominate and outperform their opponents across the board.

But the current meta is a delicate beast. It favors a certain playstyle that doesn't come naturally to the LCK, including SKT T1. They're far more subdued and calculated, and that -- in this meta -- is the worst possible playstyle.

The current meta favors unhinged aggression, or at the very least "calculated" aggression. SKT simply cannot play such a hectic style, and even when they do try it they're not as adept and as capable on it as one might hope.

They're just not as capable as they need to be in order to go blow for blow with the likes of G2 Esports or Invictus Gaming.

Fortunately for them, the LMS champions are no G2 or IG. But they're not that far off either.

They're a team that barely got their second win yesterday at the expense of North America's Team Liquid. Then again, they looked fantastic throughout the game and have displayed admirable resilience, team fight prowess, and drafting ingenuity with their multiple engage + CC-oriented team comp. They played the game out to a tee, and they wasted no time in outclassing their North American adversaries.

But it is their game against Invictus Gaming, perhaps, that makes us wonder whether they could actually take SKT down.

They, quite frankly, outclassed Invictus Gaming in the early and mid stages of the game. It didn't even make sense -- they were outrotating, outmacroing the World Champions and they looked spectacular in the process as well. Hanabi, in particular, was not only able to shut down TheShy's Kennen, but also heavily impact the game throughout its entirety.

Every single member carried his fair share of the weight, and it was evident that they had the tools and the willingness to throw down with the tournament favorites. But such willingness is one thing -- making that plan into reality is a whole 'nother matter, and they passed with flying colors. Now sure, they did eventually lose because of Invitus Gaming's spectacular Baron call and subsequent macro game, but they took them to the brink of defeat. In fact, the Flash Wolves have looked increasingly more flexible, aggressive, and relaxed on the stage as time went on.

They're no longer displaying any stage jitters and have started to draft a lot more freely -- in other words, not as one-dimensionally.

Will all of this be enough? Well, it very well might be. Needless to say, we're betting against the favorites on this one, but SKT look incredibly vulnearble and beatable. They look human, after quite a long while.

Are the Flash Wolves the team to do it? Well, if they play up to their full potential -- meaning like they did against Invictus Gaming, they could, by all means, get the win here. The odds are too alluring not to risk it, so we're going with the LMS champions on this one, although have in mind that this is far from a safe bet. In the end, regardless of the final outcome, the fight will surely be a lot closer than most people expect. The Wolves have a fair bit of hype and momentum after their last two games, and they should be able to build upon that foundation and string a couple of additional wins.