The first big clash of EU and NA regions in the Intel Extreme Masters happened earlier, with the Russian overlords and its old-school lineup coming out on top.
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Game 1
Cloud 9 pretty much picked their comfort champs, Hai and Balls in particular with Zed and Rumble, respectively. As for the other three, Meteos' Nocturne has been proven to be a formidable opponent, while keeping the spirit of picking the OP, Sneaky took Lucian. LemonNation's Lulu was the finishing touch for their lineup, providing strong utility and a good combo partner with Nocturne.
As for Gambit Gaming, the team seemed to quickly adapt to the changes in the meta, and one in particular going back to his roots. Annie, the go-to support pick, looked perfect for Edward's "kill-securing" method of play. With two respect bans from C9, Diamond pulled out Vi, and with Shyvana and Renekton out, Darien got Lissandra. Genja on Jinx is going to prove interesting, as that champion promotes chaos and aggression, and while he has said that he won't use it, the ever-famous Kha'Zix of Alex Ich returns.
With what many consider are the best junglers from their respective regions clashing, all eyes were on Diamondprox and Meteos. Unfortunately for North America, Gambit seemed to have figured out how to derail the hype train right from the get-go. A strong invade the C9's blue cost Meteos his blue buff, which for a Nocturne is important in the early stages. This continued on throughout most of the game, as Diamondprox's Vi was relentless in counterjungling.
As for the other lanes, Alex Ich nearly threw the early lead my miscalculating Hai's damage on Zed as he dove him at the tower. However, with the C9 jungler effectively shut down, Gambit was able to get even, even a bit ahead, against their opponents. The 2v1 matchup completely shut down Balls, and while his Rumble is a force in NA, it didn't seem to have any impact during this game.
During the mid-late game, Alex Ich's Kha'Zix redeemed itself by grabbing reset after reset in teamfights, all thanks to the myriad of cc available on his team. With Darien, Diamond, and Edward able to go ham and hard engage anyone, they were able to effectively jump through the backline of Cloud 9, leaving the squishy carries vulnerable. Losing in these teamfights resulted in the loss of objectives and map control, and soon the NA team was simply not able to do anything against the Russian squad.
Game 2
During the drafting phase, Cloud 9 opted to essentially use the same comp, with a few changes in champion picks. Sneaky on Jinx provides more crowd control, while Hai on Riven offers more consistent burst. As for Gambit Gaming, Alex Ich opted for a utility/teamfight champion in the form of Orianna, while Genja this time took Lucian. Finally, the ban on Vi meant that Lee Sin is open for Diamondprox to take.
This time, Cloud 9 seemed prepared to stop Gambit's jungle invade opening, the brawl result from it was a 1-1 trade, and again Meteos just didn't seem to get any sort of momentum. As for the laning phase, Alex Ich managed to fare decently versus the high burst potential of Hai, whereas the other lanes seem to go even.
Then the teamfights happened. At first, Alex failing to get successful ults onto Cloud 9 look like Gambit Gaming is going to get in trouble, but it was Genja this time who carried the game. Gone is the passive and splitpushing AD Carry of GMB. This new monobrow maniac is much more aggressive and present in teamfights. What's even better is his synergy with long-time partner, now returned to his side, Edward. Where before we see tons of communication problems, resulting in GMB's main weakness, now the two look like one unit. Annie's Summon: Tibbers gets immediately followed-up with Lucian's rapidfire burst, with The Culling used to deal the last points of damage.
"You give them a finger, they take the whole arm." That was what the casters and analysts have always said about Gambit Gaming, and this new "old line-up" is proving to be even better at doing just that. The Russian overlords have succeeded in crushing the considered top team in North America, and now are set to reclaim their throne as the masters of IEM.
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