Counter Logic Gaming vs. Team Dignitas
Counter Logic Gaming has recovered well from their loss to Team SoloMid yesterday. Their match against Dignitas had some nail-biting moments, but they were able to find the opportunities they needed to take the victory. What's more impressive was CLG's ability to stay cool under pressure - when faced with Ssumday's unstoppable splitpush Fiora, CLG was able to play the rotational game and pull the trigger to end the game when they needed to.
DIG for their part played game 1 well, but when Ssumday's Fiora was banned out in game 2, they seemingly couldn't get their feet back under themselves. Ssumday was again able to dominate the toplane with his Swain, but CLG's better rotations allowed them to pick up advantages elsewhere. A slow and steady gold accumulation put DIG further and further into the hole, until a single teamfight - and Baron pickup afterwards - cost them the game.
Cloud 9 vs. Echo Fox
"Calm and methodical" is the best way to describe Cloud 9's play. No matter what Echo Fox tried to throw at them, C9 always had a counterplay ready and executed with mechanical precision. Game 1 was a case of a lead slowly built up over time that culminated in an unstoppable advantage for C9, while game 2 demonstrated their ability to find openings that blew the game wide open.
Jensen's Syndra was a nightmare for FOX to deal with, dealing over 47k damage over two games and ending the series with a cumulative KDA of 11/3/13. His opposite in the midlane, Froggen, did his best to carry FOX, but neither his Twisted Fate nor his vaunted Anivia were enough to keep them alive.
Immortals vs. FlyQuest
The Immortals have never looked so mortal. FlyQuest thoroughly dismantled IMT in two games, using superior map rotations and shotcalling to establish leads. Moon's Evelynn has proven to be a must-ban champion by this point - he piloted the Widowmaker to an 8/0/18 total KDA through the series and made full use of her Shadow Walk passive to arrive where Immortals least expected him. Meanwhile, Balls provided much-needed support for FLY on Shen, enabling Moon and Hai to make risky plays thanks to Stand United.
IMT's communication issues were on full display this series, and the team has never looked worse. While they were able to stall out game 2 for some time, it was more a case of Cloud 9 not having good initiation than anything that Immortals did. Even with Pobelter on LeBlanc, IMT couldn't find the picks they needed. Something's going to have to change if this team wants a chance to make a playoff run.
