Warning - this article contains spoilers.

The "League of Legends" 2017 world championship series has certainly been dramatic so far. Going into the first semi-final of the 2017 world championships, SKT had everything to prove. Despite the fact that SKT is the three-time winners of the world championships and the current defending champions, questions have been raised regarding their current form. For example, the fact that Misfits were able to take SKT to a 5 game decider during the quarterfinals is proof for some that the once incomparable SKT are finally showing some gaps in their armor.

The pressure was also on for RNG to perform in this series, given that they were one of two Chinese teams in the semis, with a huge swell of crowd support behind them.

Game 1 - RNG win

RNG put on a real show of force, placing heavy priority on objectives early on, and even forcing a dragon steal right at the end of the game from a flustered SKT. Uzi was, as expected, on top form, which stood in stark contrast to the strained performances by both Bang and Wolf of SKT on bot lane. Wolf went somewhat surprisingly with a Blitzcrank pick, perhaps trying to emulate the success that IgNar had with the champion with Misfits. However, Wolf's performance was lackluster, to say the least, and he did little to contribute during team fights.

Game 2 - SKT win

SKT appeared to be back to their usual form, with Wolf noticeably more comfortable with a Leona pick. With a 10k gold lead and a swift handling of objectives, this game was a fairly painless victory for the defending champions.

Game 3 - RNG win

Just as SKT appeared to be back on form, it all fell apart again. RNG achieved a comprehensive victory over SKT, managing a win in just 24 minutes.

RNG was able to profit hugely from the mid-game item spike by Uzi, who was playing Vayne, as well as a strong performance from Xiaohu on Ryze. Strong team performances, coupled with a Baron in under 21 minutes, meant a comfortable victory for RNG. SKT looked visibly shaken following the defeat, with their place at the finals now seriously in doubt.

Even SKT's Twitter account showed signs of worry about SKT's future in the competition:

Game 4 - SKT win

RNG’s victory in Game 3 marked the first time that the team had been up 2 to 1 in a series against SKT, and they were looking to finalize their place in the finals in game 4. Although efforts were made to disrupt Peanut in the jungle, who had substituted Blank, SKT managed to gain the upper hand by focusing their team play around Bang on Kog’Maw. The turning point came around the 25-minute mark, where a skilled play around Baron allowed SKT to scoop 4 kills from RNG.

Within 5 minutes, RNG was another game down and everything was to play for both teams in the final game of the series.

Game 5 - SKT win

As both teams had all to play for, cautious play was understandably in abundance this game. However, an early kill on Ming by Bang provided some early indication of which way this game was going to go. Although Huni had some very close brushes with death, by and large, the SKT team went unscathed during game 5. SKT was able to begin their push for victory following a pick on Mlxg during a Baron play. RNG’s inhibitors soon fell shortly after, and SKT was able to emerge victorious, reaching their fourth world championship finals.

SK Telecom T1 will face either Team WE or Samsung Galaxy in the finals, which will be held in Beijing on November 4.
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