Echo Fox vs. Cloud 9
Game 1 went long and game 2 was short, but it was Cloud 9 that picked up the win in both of them. Smart early plays - and one risky 20-minute Baron - gave C9 all of the ammunition they needed to take down FOX. Echo Fox's tenacity allowed them to hold out for quite some time in the first match, but it was a holding action with no hope of victory. C9 didn't ever let it get that far in game 2 - their aggressive plays let them seal the deal before a half-hour had elapsed.
As is usual for C9, Contractz had an excellent game. A pair of brilliant Graves performances netted him an 11/2/12 KDA, and his ganks were on point throughout the series. On Echo Fox's side, Froggen played his heart out on Ahri and his beloved Anivia, but was ultimately unable to carry hard enough.
Team SoloMid vs. Counter Logic Gaming
Our first El Classico of the season saw TSM clutch out a narrow victory over rivals Counter Logic Gaming. This time around though, it wasn't close. TSM took home the victory in only two games, relying heavily on their superior teamfighting and Bjergsen's excellent Syndra play. CLG fought back well in game 1, but game 2 quickly snowballed out of their hands and gave TSM a solid 26-minute victory.
Bjerg's Syndra is always a treat to watch and he was in rare form today, landing stun after stun onto CLG and picking up a 12/1/22 KDA on the Dark Sovereign. And whenever Bjergsen goes off, Svenskeren seems to follow - he picked up a 10/1/20 KDA through the series and had some excellent Rengar play in game 1.
Phoenix1 vs. Team Dignitas
Snowballing was the name of the game for Phoenix1 and Team Dignitas. After a fairly pitched game 1 that P1 came out on top of, DIG fired back with a quick, sub-30 minute victory thanks to smart picks and a risky Baron call. P1, seemingly unfazed by the loss, came back strong in the final match to take a quick victory of their own and close out the series.
While not as crazy as FlyQuest's Mordekaiser, P1 did have a few unique picks that they were able to leverage for success. Zig's Kled in game 1 provided a form of pseudo-initiation for P1 while bullying out Ssumday, and Meteos's classic Zac in game 3 allowed P1 to towerdive incessantly and pick up kills. The real hero for P1 however was Ryu - he picked up a 13/4/11 KDA and demonstated his knowledge of both Jayce and LeBlanc in their victories.
