This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　Not too long ago, there was no disputing that SKT T1 K was the world's best team. Any other suggestion rightfully deserved to be mocked: they secured not only the Season 3 world championship, but multiple OGN Champions titles – the first team to do so consecutively. Even in the Korean competitive field, with such legendaries as KT Bullets, Ozone and Frost, SKT K was so far ahead of the pack as to arguably have no rivals.

　　The team that steps up to Paris, however, suffers a tarnished luster.

　　

Rapid Ascension

It didn't take very long for the team formerly christened "Judgment Day" by OGN's English casters to kick off. They were founded in early Season 3 as the brainchild of head coach Kim "KkOma" Jeong-gyun – and with three players drafted from the ranks of Korean solo queue, they were a total unknown in Champions Spring 2013. That didn't stay true for very long: despite facing off early versus CJ Entus Blaze and NaJin Sword, the fledgling SK Telecom team quickly proved their strength with a first place group finish, and Faker especially grew to fame with a staggeringly successful LeBlanc performance against MVP Blue – far from the last time that the world-famous mid laner would wow the audience.

　　There was talks of a "Royal Road," that unbelievably hard achievement of winning a major Korean tournament during a rookie team's debut. Though they ultimately lost to MVP Ozone in the semifinals, their rookie debut's third place finish immediately marked them as among the very best teams – not only in Korea, but internationally.

　　They held true to expectations. The Champions Summer grand finals between SKT K and KT Rolster Bullets was a legendarily high-leveled best-of-five showdown between what was now undisputedly the top two teams in Korea, and included the one highlight play of the entire year.

　　Unique to the Champions circuit, a playoff set that ties 2-2 is concluded by a Blind Pick showdown with both sides allowed to play their strongest gambits. Both Ryu and Faker opted for Zed, and the game-ending mirror match was everything the audience demanded of such high-profile players: an incredible duel of reaction speed and lightning reflexes with Faker just narrowly coming out ahead as Death Mark ended Ryu's life.

　　The World Championship, in comparison, was easy. SKT K suffered only one loss in the group stages, trading game for game with OMG – and as such, was the only team to successfully deal with China's brutal pressure tactics. Their playoff duel with peers NaJin Black Sword was tightly fought – only Ozone had more experience against SKT K, but a patch rebalance's torn holes in Ozone's strategies, quickly leaving them out of contention. But with Sword down, SKT K had no challengers left to their supremacy: Royal Club, despite being favored by analysts and impressing the community, was mercilessly and efficiently eliminated in a perfect set.

　　When SKT K returned home to the Champions winter circuit, none could look them in the eyes. They went undefeated – the first team to do so in any League of Legends circuit worldwide.

　　

The Great Fall

It seemed, at first, that the first true League of Legends dynasty was born. But SKT K, just months after that defining winter victory, has been knocked out of OGN entirely, and even suffered a defeat in the lower NLB circuit. The contrast is stark, and beggars belief.

　　But the seeds had been planted even back during their reign of terror. Immediately after coming home from the world championship, they lost the last-ever WCG slot to CJ Entus Blaze – forgivable in public perception, given that they'd just won a bigger and more relevant title, but a mar in an otherwise flawless end-of-season record.

　　Then they were hit with a double-whammy – one behind the scenes, and one very public. Support and captain PoohManDu temporarily stepped down, and coach KkOma had shifted focus to work his miracles instead on SKT S. Immediately, their facade of strength crumbled: replacement support Casper, though aggressive, did not synergize as well with bot lane carry Piglet, and ManDu was quickly reinstated in his place following Casper's connections with the AHQ Korea controversy. S never truly materialized either: though they were now a stronger overall team, KkOma's champion-building influence was only sufficient in leading S to dramatically bring K within a single game of group stage elimination from Champions Spring 2014.

　　The world's strongest team was now up against the ropes, and it seemed as if everybody was getting a punch in. The team that enters Paris will be looking for a revival of fortune – proof of their international relevance, even as the enter their second year of play bruised and battered.

　　

Notable Players

Lee "PoohManDu" Jeong-hyeon

Role: Support

　　Notable Champions: Thresh, Nami

　　The return of the world champion support was not the smooth ride that SKT T1 K expected it to be: lack of practice and health issues made the team's bot lane a mere shadow of its former self, and notably weaker than it was during Casper's aggressive tenure. Much will depend on how readily PoohManDu can pull himself together for Paris, and whether or not he's synched back up with Piglet.

　　

Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok

Role: Mid

　　Notable Champions: LeBlanc, Ahri

　　The infamous Faker is no longer quite so alone at the top. Rookie, and even Dade recently, have stepped it up to meet him upon that high summit of skill – but Faker was still there first, and he remains the most intimidating player that SKT K will field in Paris.

　　That is, he's intimidating so long as he's allowed to play aggressive carry-style champions. Oddly, though he's well-known for a deep champion pool, he does have a weak point after all: utility mid laners like Lulu don't appear to work well under him – in fact, in previous splits, his Orianna was weaker than the rest of his stable as well. Whether the Paris competition can exploit that flaw is another thing altogether.

　　

Outlook

As weak as SKT T1 K currently looks, context is necessary: KT Rolster Bullets were also in a slump prior to IEM Katowice, and they still swept the tournament clean. SKT K's weaknesses are only obvious when held against the relentless light of Korea's domestic competition – and it isn't clear yet that the rest of the world can offer similar pressure, whether in general or on a team by team basis.

　　To be blunt: SKT is favored to win. It would be foolish to say otherwise. They have something to prove again, and an SKT T1 K with a goal at hand is still the terrifying beast it was a year ago.