The last remaining spot in the MSI was the prize at stake for Gigabyte Marines and Supermassive, but only one team would progress.
It was the Marines who came out of the gates fastest, invading Stomage’s jungle, stealing his blue buff and forcing his flash. First blood came soon after, but it was in the bottom lane where the Vietnamese pushed the advantage. Optimus followed up with a solo kill in the mid lane and with just five minutes played his team were up over a thousand gold. From there, a tower dive led to more kills and the first turret, extending a lead that Gigabyte Marines would never give up. The baron soon followed and the game was over inside 25 minutes.
Game one was a show of dominance but if Supermassive were rocked by it they hid it well. Game two was bloody, with eight kills spread evenly after eight minutes. But when the teams congregated in the mid lane around 16 minutes in, it was the Turkish side who came out massively ahead, with four kills to one, a turret kill and a 4,000 gold lead as well as an infernal drake. Some sloppy play around the top lane and the baron pit almost let the Marines back in but after a couple of kills of their own, Supermassive were able to take the baron pit and re-take the lead they had almost lost. Minutes later the teams fought inside the Vietnamese base and the match was equalised at 1-1.
In the third game things started much more passively. A couple of kills were traded in the mid lane but Supermassive’s turret kill netted them just a 1500 gold lead. By the time we hit 20 minutes the game was even, with Marines up a kill but down a turret. This time it was Gigabyte Marines who won a mid game fight and pushed their advantage. With a 4,000 gold lead Gambit forced the issue around the baron, leading to an ace and a secured baron buff. Again the game ended with baron buff still glowing around the winning team.
So far the picks had been fairly standard, but in game four we saw a little variety. Optimus’ Leblanc faced off against Lissandra, while Maokai made an appearance in Supermassive’s top lane. The changes paid off for Marines in the early game and the first real action furthered their advantage. Ten minutes in and the marines were already up 4,000 gold and 9-1 in kills. Supermassive weren’t willing to lie down and die, of course. They tried to make a big play in the top lane at the 15 minute mark, securing three kills, but were unable to take any objectives. The blood didn’t stop flowing there either, but it was the Marines who continued to come out ahead. Supermassive picked up an infernal drake but by 20 minutes they were down by 7,000.
From there, the game was all but over. The series ended with its most one-sided game - a huge gold lead and a game time of under 25 minutes. Despite the relatively comnfortable win, the Vietnamese team will be looking for redemption in their first game of the group stage when they face TSM again on Wednesday.
Image courtesy of dbltap.com
