Team SoloMid vs. Immortals
The first two games went the same way for Immortals – pick up an early lead, then squander it while trying to find a way to end the game. TSM managed to come back and win in game 1, despite a last-second backdoor attempt by IMT, but Immortals did manage to seal the deal in game 2. After two back-and-forth games, game 3 was a bit of a letdown, as TSM picked up an early lead and drove it all the way home.
Svenskeren proved to be TSM’s MVP this game, picking up a 19/9/16 KDA and stealing a Baron off IMT in game 1. Bjergsen also finally showed up for TSM today, playing Cassiopeia to great effect in game 1 and helping to stall out the game. On IMT’s side, Dardoch proved to be an excellent replacement for Reignover with key early ganks, while Cody Sun demonstrated that Caitlyn isn’t dead with an impressive 7/1/7 performance in game 2.
Team Envy vs. Counter Logic Gaming
NV and CLG played a pair of epic games today, both of which exceeded 40 minutes and had players reaching full build. Game 1 went to CLG after Seraph was picked off in the bottom lane, and after a counter-engage by NV went wrong. Game 2 meanwhile was a much closer engagement that ultimately went CLG’s way after they somehow won a 4v5 fight against NV.
Despite his subpar performance yesterday, Huhi was on fire today. Playing Ekko and Katarina – two more unique champions – he managed to achieve a 21/12/12 KDA across two games, carrying his team to victory. His counterpart in the midlane, AlexIch, was decidedly unimpressive today, with two more middling performances on Corki.
Team Dignitas vs. Cloud 9
It’s hard to sum up the DIG vs C9 series in a succinct way. Cloud 9’s early map rotations weren’t working in the first two games, which allowed DIG to get ahead or stay even. In game 1, DIG was able to put on a huge lead that Cloud 9 overcame in the late game. Game 2 saw DIG staying with C9 right up until they found a perfect 4v4 teamfight that busted the game wide open and cleared the path for their success. However, DIG was unable to deal with C9’s early pressure in game 3 and went down in short order.
Jensen has proved himself to be a fantastic midlaner time and time again, and this series was no exception. A phenomenal 3-man ultimate late in game 1 helped Cloud 9 snag the win, while his Ryze in game 3 was a powerhouse.
Team Liquid vs. FlyQuest
Decisive battles were the key to this series. Game 1 saw TL jump out to a slight early lead, but the game stayed close until TL was able to secure Baron off the back of a good fight and with the help of Lourlo’s unstoppable Fiora splitpush. Game 2 ended up being the reverse of game 1 – FlyQuest took the early lead, but couldn’t crack the game open until they turned an initiation by TL on its head. With the series coming down to game 3, FQ was ultimately able to snag the lead early, this time hammering it home before 25 minutes after catching TL out of position by their inhibitor turret.
Lourlo’s Fiora was the story of game 1. With a final KDA of 6/0/6, he absolutely could not be stopped in the splitpush and provided the pressure TL needed to win the game. It’s a testament to how well he played it that the champion was banned by FQ in the next two games.
