Not only have Fnatic secured their spot by taking out the Taipei Assassins, but Cloud 9 managed to pull out a victory with a substitue mid lane over Chinese powerhouses OMG, allowing them to finish second in the group.
The end of the group stage would start with what would seem like a showmatch between Fnatic and SKT T1 K. In this match, SKT were able to pick all five heroes they used to win worlds in their respective skins. Fnatic were able to grab the early lead with SKT's macrostrategy pulling them ahead.
Using a strategy of assassination, Fnatic were able to find several picks and shift the game in their favor. They game swiftly changed course when Faker jumped into the baron pit to kill off four people and then steal it. Afterwards, Fnatic barely managed to hold off the Nexus from being destroyed, but Impact teleported in and finished the job.
The second game would be OMG vs. Cloud 9 where Link found himself bullied out incredibly early by Xiyang. The game was surpisingly even early on as Cloud 9 didn't falter and fought aggression with aggression. OMG eventually found 2 kills, but Cloud 9 always found a way to come back and tie the kill score.
Cloud 9 found a huge advantage after grabbing an ace at dragon and later on grabbing a baron. Due to OMG's perceived strength, Cloud 9 pulled out likely the biggest upset in the tournament in their win against OMG, clearly showing the tilt of the Chinese team in their loss against SKT earlier.
The final game was a rather sloppy finale between Season 1 champions Fnatic and Season 2 champions Taipei Assassins. Taipei Assassins were able to lay down the early first blood on Cyanid and also take his blue. Despite this, Fnatic roamed quite often and were able to abuse TPA's poor vision control.
Since Taipei Assassins were unable to get picks and were confronted with Fnatic baiting inside bushes and going in with their full five man squads, avoiding skirmishes, Fnatic were able to come out on top of every turn. However, this wasn't without flaws. Fnatic gave several opportunities to throw, but in the end Fnatic were hungry for the playoff spot and knocked TPA out.
STANDINGS
