Week 5 was no walk in the park for Team SoloMid. Right on the heels of their rematch with rivals Cloud 9 was a series against FlyQuest, regarded as one of the best teams in North America. Despite the tough back-to-back matches, TSM managed to find a win over FLY thanks to superior teamfighting and solid map movements.
Central to TSM's success was the strength of their top duo. Svenskeren's early presence in game 1 allowed TSM to jump out to a quick lead, while his Rengar in the subsequent matches was a constant menace to FlyQuest's backline. Hauntzer meanwhile led the charge for TSM in games 1 and 3 on Nautilus, aggressively starting fights and picking up a 10/7/31 KDA.
With their drafting strategies seemingly figured out, FlyQuest didn't look as in control as they have previously. A unique Shaco pick for Moon backfired spectacularly in game 1, and Hai was largely kept in check by midlane bans from TSM. The draft pressure didn't stop FLY's midlaner from securing a pentakill in game 2, but it did keep him from going off on an assassin like LeBlanc or Zed.
Game 1 saw TSM jump out to an early lead thanks to Svenskeren's constant jungle pressure. First blood was secured after a ward-hop gank in the toplane and was quickly followed by a gank in the midlane that nearly netted TSM first tower blood as well. Despite a messy midgame, TSM were eventually able to find a solid teamfight that let them pick a quick four kills, translating into a Baron as well. From there, it was a simple matter for Team SoloMid to bear down on towers and pick apart FLY to take the win.
The subsequent game went back and forth between both squads. TSM's flanking, splitpushing comp was far more difficult for them to play than their teamfight comp in the previous game, resulting in a few bad teamfights when Hauntzer or Bjergsen's timings were off. This benefited FlyQuest's laser focus on the midlane, allowing them to take both Nexus turrets and lay siege to TSM's base itself. Only
After such a back-and-forth match, game 3 was almost anticlimatic. TSM's early rotations weren't flawless, but they were enough for them to pick up a slight gold lead. This held steady until TSM found a good initiation onto FLY in the midlane, picking up four kills for nothing and breaking the game wide open. It took another quarter-hour of searching for opportunities, but TSM were eventually able to translate a Baron attempt into a wipe of FlyQuest, leaving their base exposed and allowing TSM to close out the series.
