'League of Legends' Worlds finals preview: SK Telecom T1 vs. Samsung Galaxy

After one month of League of Legends surprises, upsets and heartbreaks, two South Korean titans will face each other in the 2016 World Championship finals: SK Telecom T1 and Samsung Galaxy.

The action begins on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET. All of the action will be available to watch live on Twitch.

In one corner: SK Telecom T1, the reigning champions. It's an experienced, powerhouse of a team that knocked out ROX Tigers in the semifinals and touts one of the best mid-laners in the world, two proficient junglers and an aggressive AD in the bottom lane.

In the other corner: Samsung Galaxy, the dark horse squad that's been ripping through Worlds 2016. SG has a lot of young players that have never been to Worlds, but that hasn't stopped them from sweeping H2K Gaming and making it to the finals with consistently great play from their AD, mid-laner and jungler.

On Saturday, the unstoppable force meets the immovable object. The fresh-faced players of Samsung Galaxy have built up quite the momentum over the past five weeks, and the weathered veterans of SK Telecom T1 have stopped every challenger that has come their way.

In the end, it all comes down to which team has the better players in each lane and how well the players work together.

Lane match-ups

Both teams' strongest players are in the mid lane. SKT's Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and SG's Lee "Crown" Min-ho are two of the best players in the entire Worlds tournament, and both have had great performances so far. New to the top level of the pro scene, Crown needs to keep his cool against Faker, who continues to stand as one of the world's most elite players.

In the jungle, it will be SG's Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong against SKT's two junglers Bae "Bengi" Seong-ung and Kang "Blank" Sun-gu. Ambition has been a huge part of helping SG win team fights with perfect disruptions, and Bengi and Blank play well when swapping off each other -- so if one isn't working, the other can jump in and give it a shot.

Down on the bottom lane, SKT's Bae "Bang" Jun-sik has been very aggressive and it's been working along with Lee "Wolf" Jae-won's support. On SG, the 17-year-old Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk has been a more-controlled asset to the team and well-matched with Kwon "Wraith" Ji-min on support.

The top lane is where both teams have their weakest players -- not that they're bad by any means. SG's Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin and SKT's Lee "Duke" Ho-Seong will have to be careful with each other, as both have been a bit inconsistent in matches. Not inconsistent enough to get knocked out of the playoffs, though.

On paper, SK Telecom T1 has more wins and experience than Samsung Galaxy, which makes this a tough match for SG, but SG has been on a roll. If SG can play the best League of Legends they've ever played in their lives, the championship could be theirs. Otherwise, this match-up looks like it'll go in SKT's favor.

The prize pool the teams are fighting for is based on in-game items that players and fans can buy. The most recent number is from early October: over $4 million. The first place team will get 40 percent and the second place team will get 15 percent.

BONUS: Behind the scenes at the NA LCS finals