KT Rolster Preview – Worlds 2023

KT Rolster Preview showcases an org that returns to Worlds after 5 years – and with a vendetta, aiming for the finals.

The Main Event of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship is starting tomorrow! With Team BDS and GAM Esports being the victors of the Play-In Stage, the lineup of teams is complete, so now the real fun can begin! On Thursday, the first round of the Swiss Stage will take place, where the teams will separate into 1-0 and 0-1 squads, continuing their journey towards the Playoffs against teams of respective records. Can the Western teams surprise everyone, or will the Eastern squads dominate – and can KT Rolster make a splash during their return to Worlds?

KT Rolster Preview

KT Rolster Team History

KT Rolster is one of the oldest teams of the Korean League of Legends scene. They first played in the Korean tournament Champions in 2015, where they finished 5^th in the Spring Split and 2^nd in the Summer Split, only bested by SKT Telecom T1, the most decorated squad in the world. Ssumday and co. managed to qualify for their first Worlds that year as well, and they made it to the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Championship.

KT Rolster remained a top contender of the LCK in the coming years, achieving 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes in 2016 as well as 2017. However, they were unable to qualify for any of the international events, missing 2 Mid-Season Invitationals and 2 World Championships after their debut in 2015.

The ice broke after the 2018 Summer LCK Playoffs, where they defeated Griffin in the finals with the superteam of Smeb, Score, Ucal, Deft and Mata, qualifying for Worlds once more. Although KT Rolster made it to the Knockout Stage yet again, their couldn’t best their 2015 performance, getting knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Afterwards, the organization couldn’t recuperate, falling out of the group of the top LCK teams. They had some highlights, like their 5^th place in the 2020 LCK Spring Playoffs, but overall, couldn’t compete within their own region.

That changed at the start of the 2023 season after the organization signed Kiin, Bdd and Lehends to complete the roster after they only kept Cuzz and Aiming from the previous lineup. KT Rolster was good in the LCK Spring Split, finishing 3^rd in the playoffs, but they stepped up in Summer, where they almost went undefeated in the Regular Season. While they only got 3^rd place in Playoffs, they won the 2023 Regional Finals by beating Hanwha Life Esports in Round 1. They are back after 5 years to take revenge on the world – can KT do it?

KT Rolster Roster

• Kim “Kiin” Gi-in
• Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan
• Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong
• Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram
• Son “Lehends” Si-woo

KT Rolster Playstyle

Overall, KT Rolster is a team that focuses on Drakes and Barons more than anything else, while giving up Heralds in favour of playing around their botside. This is due to the fact that Aiming is one of the best players of the LCK statistically, who can get early leads and turn them into decisive victories, while not dying much, therefore not letting their opponents come back from being behind.

In the early game, they highly prioritize the first Dragon to start stacking towards soul, but compared to the LCK, they still take it a tad bit late, almost at the 8-minute mark. They were last in the LCK in First Herald, as Kiin is not the focus of this team. According to their numbers they don’t even need the first Herald, as they get first turrets frequently without Shelly. Most of the gold they gather in the first 14 minutes goes to Aiming, who has the highest GD@14 as a result in the entire LCK. Cuzz is the player who dictates the flow of the early game for KT Rolster, but he’s also very hard to shut down for opponents.

In the lategame, they retain their strong objective control, not giving any space for their opponents to find leads – this was the style that helped them to their 17-1 LCK Summer Regular Season finish. They were the best in taking Baron among all LCK teams, trying to ride the wave of their early game advantage and find quick victories in both Bo1’s and BoX’s.

As I said before, Aiming is the sole carry of this team, being one of, if not the top player for the LCK stats wise. He makes large early Gold and XP leads, has a very high damage output and a low death count, maximizing his potential on the Rift. The only area that he lacks in (comparatively), is CSD@14, as it’s only 1.7, but that’s due to the fact that he frequently plays around his team, helping them get Drakes and Towers in the early game.

While KT Rolster’s playstyle might seem a bit one dimensional, Aiming and his teammates might be able to pull off another Playoffs appearance. But the important question is can they make it further than the quarterfinals?