MSI Day 2 Review

MSI Day 2 Features Unexpected Victories, Stunning Eliminations 

by Patrick Garren

Day 1 of MSI 2015 was by most accounts an unexciting affair, with nearly no upsets outside of whether or not you thought EDG under-performed against SKT or that they are simply that much worse than SKT. However, the Saturday picture had become pretty clear after a single day of games, with seeding and which western team would get a shot in a best-of series being the only major storylines on the day. Day 2 opened up with an important piece of the latter plot with EDG and Fnatic squaring off.

  

Game 1: Edward Gaming vs Fnatic

Yellowstar and his rookies looked towards EDG on Day 2 with a hopeful mindset. Technically, losing this game didn't put them into any worse of a spot to get themselves into Saturday’s knockout games, but pulling off the upset would put Fnatic firmly in control of their own destiny, and the possibility of any tiebreaker games nearly out of reach for TSM. But things got ugly really fast for Western squad, which would become a recurring theme on the day, as Yellowstar burned his flash to steal Gromp from the EDG bot lane, only to end up on the receiving end of Clearlove and his all-but-patented early aggression out of the jungle. Shortly afterwards, Koro1 would get a retribution kill turning a top lane dive from Fnatic into a nightmare start for the European champions. Koro1 added another couple hundred gold to his pocket after baiting Huni into a close trade, with Clearlove roaming top to help Koro1 secure the kill. By seven minutes, EDG had seven kills, a 3k gold lead, and a choke hold on the remainder of the game. Fnatic’s hopes of putting TSM into panic mode were thwarted by the aggressive Chinese side, with EDG’s strategy of poetic chaos proving to be entirely too much for Fnatic to handle. Statistically, EDG had over a kill per minute, and Fnatic’s nexus would topple over in quick fashion.

Game 2: AHQ eSports Club vs Team Solomid

The drama for TSM was at a crescendo, as not only would a win here put the boys from California (and Denmark and Korea) into a powerful position to force tiebreaker games and reach the semifinals, but a loss would see them at the mercy of either beating EDG, a tall order regardless of the team’s form so far at this event, or rooting for Besiktas to officially take the hand-off from Kabum, and save yet another North American team from elimination at an international event. TSM began the game shifting back to their traditional tactics, successfully initiating a lane swap and beginning their early game. Unfortunately, the past 3 games for TSM were not the proper instructional tools they required, and Dyrus once again gave up first blood from a gank, with TSM’s jungler Santorin nowhere to be found. AHQ would continue to dominate the early game, culminating in a fight near baron that would result in a three-for-one for AHQ, with Wildturtle being the only carry for TSM to pick up any gold from the fight. TSM would continue to fight, however AHQ would lose precisely zero team fights the entire game, and almost like clockwork, another Asian team secured a victory over a western team before the 30 minute mark.

Game 3: Besiktas eSports Club vs Edward Gaming

As we progressed through day 2 and it became more and more clear just how much stronger the eastern teams have been than the western teams, this game promised to be absolutely terrifying for the Turkish wild card invite. EDG would secure first blood on mid laner Energy, before dual 6 minute fights bot lane and top lane would result in several EDG victories, and the beginning of one of the most heinous snowballs in competitive League of Legends history. With EDG looking for wins simply to keep pace with SKT, and with how bloody the first 12 minutes of this game ended up being, I was honestly surprised this game lasted long enough to give Besiktas the option to surrender. To their credit, they didn't, but they would lose shortly afterwards.

  

Game 4: Fnatic gaming vs SK Telecom

The midway point of Day 2 in Tallahassee would provide us with possibly the closest and most exciting game of the tournament, potentially soured by the fact that SKT was clearly goofing off for about 20 minutes. Fnatic jumped out to an early lead on kills, and would maintain it, stretching their lead to as many as 11 kills at one point, but their gold lead would remain close. Almost as if the Kings of Asia were simply playing with their food, the kills continued to go in Fnatic’s favor while the gold stayed identical. SKT would begin clawing back, and while they would never take the gold lead, it was a controversial Sejuani bug that would cause the beginning of the end for Fnatic.

The Sejuani bug in question, as seen above, was originally waved off as a spectator glitch, but has since been replicated by various players on Reddit. However, with the transparently obvious trolling SKT did for 20 minutes, and the absolutely explosive way the game ended, with SKT marksman Bang getting a pentakill on his Lucian, it seems to me that Fnatic simply opted against remaking. No other team came as close as Fnatic did at seemingly dismantling SKT’s defenses, why not shrug off your inevitable loss to a bug rather than remake and have SKT end the game at 25 minutes, as they most likely would have done. Overall, it was the correct decision to avoid remaking, for player and viewer sake.

  

Game 5:  Edward Gaming vs Team Solomid

TSM entered their last game with one option: Win, otherwise Besiktas decides their fate. Unfortunately, for the fifth consecutive game, Dyrus was on the receiving end of an early gank that had no support from Santorin. And, again, Dyrus would be the victim of a second, and a third gank, giving EDG a three kill to zero lead before TSM had reacted in any capacity. TSM’s uninspired performances continued well into this game, with virtually no signs of life anywhere to be seen. What was once seen as the glimmering hope of NA, a mechanically strong TSM team with a superstar mid laner and an ultra-innovative support, saw what would potentially be their final nexus of the tournament fall as EDG embarrassed them at every corner of the map. Like Cloud 9 half a year ago, TSM was now at the mercy of the underdog, this time from Turkey.

Game 6: Besiktas eSports Club vs Fnatic

TSM would see their hope dissipate within minutes of the penultimate group stage game’s start. Fnatic forced two early kills for themselves, as a gank mid would end bot lane with both Energy and Thaldrin succumbing to Fnatic’s pressure. Fnatic would wrangle their early pressure into a dragon and plenty of early turret pressure, while a Rek’sai Thresh combo gank bot lane would result in 4 kills for Fnatic and the first turret of the game. Fnatic’s early gold lead would never be truly tested by Besiktas, and while the game was a bloody affair that lasted a few minutes longer than it maybe should have, Fnatic would topple Besiktas’ nexus, and TSM’s hopes of advancing, at the 25 minute mark.

Game 7: SK Telecom vs AHQ

The final game of the group stages of MSI 2015 would provide a potential finals matchup, with AHQ potentially pushing for a tiebreaker game to decide first place for the group stage. This game would also prove to be the most satisfying game of the entire tournament so far, regardless of whether or not it truly meant anything other than seeding position. AHQ looked to prove themselves once and for all, being harshly underrated coming into the event, having finished fourth in their league before their tremendous playoff streak. However, AHQ put themselves into an early hole as SKT would get first blood on AHQ jungler Mountain, and a roam top from Bengi would cost AHQ top laner Ziv his flash. However, a restitution gank would come from Mountain, getting AHQ marksman AN an early kill on his Sivir. AHQ would wrestling the gold lead from SKT, pushing objectives and gaining ground on kills with their crisper rotations. As the game progressed, Westdoor’s Cho’gath continued to spike in power, with several team fights ending almost as they began after Westdoor’s feast would nearly one shot Bang’s Urgot. With SKT losing team fight after team fight, it looked like we were heading towards tie breakers as SKT’s armor looked to finally be cracked, until Easyhoon decided he’d had enough. An engagement near Baron in the blue side jungle allowed Easyhoon’s Azir to shred through AHQ’s entire team with perfect positioning, ending in an outrageous flash Emperor’s Divide to secure the ace. With a 10k gold deficit, SKT would march through the front door of AHQ’s base, obtaining a perfect 5-0 group round record and the number 1 seed.

As we bid farewell to Besiktas and Team Solomid, we’re forced to wonder just how big the gap between the West and the East is right now. Fnatic look to be the last bastion of hope for western fans, as they match up against SKT to start off Saturday’s semifinal matches. EDG and AHQ will round out the day, in a series that promises to be significantly more entertaining than its opening act, but maybe Fnatic can surprise us?

The MSI 2015 Playoffs Preview

The Heat is On in Tallahassee! 

by Reece "SabrewoIf" Dos-Santos 

We’re about to head into the Semi Finals of the Mid-Season Invitational with SKT heavily tested twice, AHQ in convincing third place, Fnatic looking like a finals ready team and TSM heading home after a shockingly disappointing tournament. Who saw this coming?

Personal preference of team aside, this tournament has been everything the casual LoL scene viewer could have wanted. Top end competition, healthy regional rivalry, fast-paced unforgiving action. The unfortunate side effect of this is how quickly the inability to ramp up and get going can catch you out. Needless to say, the TSM we saw here was not the TSM that shocked everyone at the IEM World Championships. In comparison, this TSM looked lazy, unprepared and culture-shocked by the level of competition. Dyrus was left out to be slaughtered, Turtle never got to have any impact. Some say Santorin never even attended MSI. Seem familiar to some? This display from what was once known as the “Best Team in the West” was shockingly similar to the performances out of EU’s representative teams since the infamous group stage of Worlds 2014 where everything went wrong. Do fans have a cause for concern? Maybe, but it's too early to jump to conclusions as this one performance should not overshadow the team’s recent success or dare I say “golden age.” But generally it is fair to be heavily critical as LCS teams are all too familiar with a one-game format and should honestly be better prepared.

Now for the bracket stage - I couldn't be more excited.

Fnatic vs SK Telecom was easily the best match in the whole of the tournament and, for some EU fans, the biggest sigh of relief and reassurance that the region, like Korea, has not declined and is still of a competitive level despite losing promising players. Fate, however, had a different plan for Fnatic and the gamebreaking wall bug that Reignover had the misfortune of finding literally ended up tipping the scales as Fnatic began to lose grip of their gold lead after that one event.

Nevertheless, maybe this was a good twist of fate for Fnatic as now they have another chance to prove themselves against the team they almost took down. This is a good chance for them to discover if they have what it takes to ride their momentum through a Best-of-Five series, to see if they can not only outplay SKT but out-draft and out-adapt them as well. Bang has more than proven himself to be a huge threat and Fnatic be wary of ADC-centric comps like the one SKT pulled yesterday. But similarly, SKT should be more wary of Reignover’s peaked performance and Steeelback’s worrying reliance on Sivir to perform. While SKT have the superstar mid laner Faker and one of the best top laners in the world in MaRin, Bang deserves a lot of credit for being a heavy driving force behind SKT’s success this tournament. Like it or not, this series may well be decided in the bottom lane. Fnatic need to ensure Steeelback doesn't get mauled if they want a chance in winning. If he doesn't get on Sivir, which he shouldn't if SKT are smart, they’ll need to think carefully about how they’ll keep him comfortable, farmed and relevant.

Now AHQ and EDG are two teams that look on top of their form, Koro1 and Clearlove putting on dominating performances in their victories while Deft and Meiko displayed great teamwork and reminded everyone why the former is still considered the best ADC in the world. Meanwhile, AHQ came in and honestly shocked everyone with how convincingly they swept aside both LCS sides. The Westdoor hype is still alive and kicking but it’s not just him making the plays this time around. The rest of his team look just as strong and the carry potential is spread between all of them. This will now be AHQ’s fifth meeting with EDG across two tournaments with Koro, Clearlove and Westdoor being the only remaining players from the showdown in Group A of Worlds 2014. With both teams looking better than ever, this will also prove to be an entertaining series, I fear it may be more one-sided than the Fnatic and SKT game as EDG look and feel superior to AHQ in every way, but I've learned never to completely doubt this team. Any team with a Unicorn as its logo has the potential to really catch you off guard.

Fnatic vs SKT : Sometimes Winning ISN'T Everything

Photo courtesy of Riot Esports

by Andrey "Hammett" Kuchynskyi 

Fnatic declined a remake of their potentially bugged game vs SKT because they knew, even if they pulled it off, it wouldn't come out any better. They won the game basically. They were the closest out of the entire world to beat SKT. It's better to say "a bug ruined it" instead of "a bug ruined it, we remade it and got stomped." Because really, you don't want to make another 10 floor card house after someone drops a hammer in another room causing your most recent one to collapse; or when you play Flappy Bird and you pull off 5 times your high score, you won't immediately restart it to try and beat it

Throughout this game, I was ready for SKT to win in the end. It is noticeable that Koreans and Chinese, especially on MSI, wait for a mistake from their opponents. Whenever a really small misplay happens, they make sure it is punished to the end, and then abuse their lead out of it. So the goal for other teams is basically to play 100% perfectly in regards to committing mistakes. Fnatic did that until the Nautilus ult over the wall in mid. At that point, Nunu and Rumble pressed R and all the frontline follow-up from Fnatic got melted while this combo zoned Steelback and Febiven. That was Fnatic's first misplay. They still didn't fall from it and kept doing their thing perfectly, but that bug happened (which is really well-known in soloq.)

So in a bigger picture, I am sure everyone felt like Fnatic could have won. Maybe even SKT. This is one of the games we all play and watch League for. This is what "gg" is, and it doesn't mean that other games are not good enough. It's just we all love League and play it for these games.

This will become another Fnatic classic moments. There were moments when FNC took the lead on EU LCS and then suddenly collapsed because of a misplay. And right after those moments, Huni and Reignover would take over and make a comeback. This game was the same, when Sejuani stole the Baron and forced SKT back.

Despite losing hard during MSI, Fnatic concentrated so much, one could say they are playing the last game of their lives. Like really, can everyone be that focused after being dominated two games in a row and then face an even stronger team? I don't think so. I really admire Fnatic right now for pulling it together, concentrating and facing SKT seriously. Congratulations guys, you really won more from this game than SKT. This is the time a fallen nexus doesn't mean that much. Remember it's not Worlds yet, so it is important to grab the experience, see your pros and cons, and prepare for future. 

MSI 2015 Day One Proves Painfully One-Sided.

The Mid-Season Invitational promises to answer many of the questions that have been asked for months. Is SKT or EDG the best team in the world? Has the west really closed the gap between themselves and the Asian teams? Will someone lose to the wild card invite this time? Thursday’s games brought some lucidity to these questions with half of the group stage games being played.

by Patrick Garren

All photos courtesy of Riot Esports

Game 1: Fnatic vs Team Solomid

Game 1 promised to be a fireworks show as the first ever Mid-Season Invitational opened with a classic showdown (from one of the events it replaced, the Battle of the Atlantic.) Fnatic entered picks and bans with a string of methodical Meta picks from their previous games, which they then threw out of the window, instead picking up as many TSM-favored champions as possible while banning out three top laners. Fnatic’s Huni brought Cassiopeia into the top lane for the first time of the season, and Marksman Steeelback and mid laner Febiven took Urgot and Leblanc respectively.

TSM failed, or rather, chose not to initiate a lane swap and paid the price early. Marcus “Dyrus” Hill gave up an early first blood, and from there the game was never in TSM’s control. Fnatic continued to push the early advantage they gained, strangling TSM out in a relatively short, largely uneventful 32 minute game.

Game 2: SK Telecom vs Besiktas eSports 

Besiktas came into this tournament as the winners of the International Wild Card Invitational, and they entered this game as enormous underdogs.  On the other side of the table, SK Telecom entered the tournament as massive favorites to win the entire event, and are in the argument with EDG for the best team in the world. The game started out with a bang in BJK’s favor, though, as a pre-3 minute, 4-man gank squad showed up in Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s lane for an early first blood for BJK. However, the true mark of a great team comes in their reaction to diversity, and SKT reacted in the best way they could. Top, bot, and jungle all got advantages over their corresponding lane partners, with several towers and a dragon falling for SKT as a direct result of BJK’s attention mid lane. The game was pretty much defined at 5 minutes when SKT top laner Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-Hwan dove under BJK’s top tower, killing their support Mustafa “Dumbledoge” Gokseloglu, who was still Level 2 due to the early roam, while a skirmish mid lane gave SKT jungler Bae “bengi” Seong-ung a double kill. A dragon fight at 14 minutes that eventually led to a 3 for 0 for SKT as well as a second dragon kill gave SKT a 6k gold lead and dominant control of the game they would end only 12 minutes later.

Game 3: Edward Gaming vs AHQ eSports Club

Game 3 saw an Asian clash between LPL Champions Edward Gaming and LMS winners AHQ eSports club. Edward Gaming were coming off an unimpressive playoff performance, while AHQ saw a recent resurgence culminating in their 3-1 victory over Yoe Flash Wolves during the LMS. With somewhat standard picks and lanes outside of Lie “Westdoor” Shu-Wei’s mid lane Karthus pick, the first bit of action came 5 minutes into the game with a counter gank from AHQ ending in Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu giving up first blood and Westdoor getting a kill onto his controversial Karthus pick. AHQ looked to be in control of the game until disaster struck the Taiwanese side when a gank from AHQ jungler Xue “Mountain” Zhao-Hong was answered by a teleport from EDG top laner Tong “Koro1” Yang, who got a double kill on his Hecarim while EDG picked up a 4 for 2 fight in their favor. The game stayed generally even from there, with EDG slowly pulling ahead into a slight gold advantage. However, AHQ engaged onto Koro1 in mid lane, with Koro1 able to escape and recall before teleporting back into the fight with homeguards to clean up for EDG, giving them a 3k gold advantage. EDG extended their lead at the 25 minute mark with a strong engage in the red side jungle, acing AHQ and pushing their lead to nearly 5k gold. From there, EDG continued winning minor skirmishes and taking objectives, choking out AHQ’s gold income before Koro1 helped lead EDG to victory with his legendary Hecarim.

Game 4: Team Solomid vs Besiktas eSports

BJK and TSM both came off of losses in their Game 1 matches and were desperate to put a check mark in the W column. TSM picked up an incredibly team-fight and wave clear oriented team comp, with BJK going for the double control mage/lane bully carry roles. This game was largely uneventful early, with the pure mechanical skill level advantage of TSM being very apparent, as Dyrus and Bjergsen gained almost obscenely large CS advantages over their lane counterparts. A roam bot lane from Santorin and Bjergsen’s Ziggs ended in two kills, a turret, and a dragon for TSM. BJK was down by 4k gold by 14 minutes, and for the second game in a row things came completely unraveled for them in the mid game. TSM systematically out-farmed, out-rotated, and out-played BJK at all facets of the game, and would end the game in a mere 26 minutes.

Game 5: AHQ eSports club vs Fnatic

Fnatic were soaring after their domination of TSM in the opening match of the event, but let’s be honest, that was hours ago, and AHQ isn’t TSM. Fnatic really did seem to be on to something with their pick ban strategy in Game 1, however they decided to completely abandon that idea and went back to their boring, predictable pick/ban selves. On the other side of the coin, Westdoor locked in Fizz, so there’s that. Karthus and Fizz on one of the biggest stages you’ve ever been on? I could be friends with this guy. AHQ started off strong and early, getting first blood at 55 seconds on to Steelback, with a 2^nd kill on the Fnatic marksman coming minutes later. This game seemed relatively close all the way up until the 20 minute mark, with Westdoor’s Fizz causing Fnatic tons of problems and Huni’s Hecarim picking up the slack for Fnatic’s floundering bot lane. AHQ began to pull ahead when a team fight initiated by Fnatic and Huni’s teleport homeguard ended in Westdoor completely ruining Fnatic’s chances of victory. His massive Fizz damage cleaned up the fight, and with a 4 to 0 team kill advantage, AHQ took a second dragon and snowballed their lead into a 31 minute victory over the European champions.

Game 6: SK Telecom vs Edward Gaming

This game was the most anticipated game of the tournament for anyone who pays attention to the Asian League of Legends scene. The LCK champions and the LPL champions, former world champion Heo “PawN” Won-seok and former LCK all-star Deft facing SKT again for the first time since leaving the Korean league after Season 4 Worlds. A lot of pride was on the line for this game, as well as a considerable advantage at progressing into the knockout stages of MSI. The most notable pre-game event was Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon being substituted in for SKT at mid lane. While this is nothing out of the ordinary, I’m sure many fans would have enjoyed watching the Faker vs Pawn mid lane matchup. EDG managed to pick up first blood in the top lane on SKT marksman Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan, but that would be one of their last hopeful moments of the game. SKT reacted perfectly, securing two kills on MaRin’s Rumble, with a teleport gank bot lane shortly after leading to a 10 minute dragon kill. SKT would systematically out-rotate EDG, taking 5 turrets and 3 dragons compared to 2 turrets and 0 dragons by the 25 minute mark. A 10k gold lead by 30 minutes would result in a decisive SKT victory, with many scratching their head over EDG’s poor performance.

Game 7: Besiktas eSports vs AHQ eSports

In the penultimate matchup of the night, AHQ looked to take a quick win and move to 2-1 after the first day of games against Besiktas, fresh off two harsh lessons in competitive League of Legends from the kings of east and west. This game was easily BJK’s best outing of the day, in that they weren’t completely dead in the water by the 15 minute mark. BJK managed to stay relatively close for the first 20 minutes, but their inexperience and mechanical deficiency against some of the best teams in the world continued to rear its ugly head. Unable to turn an even game with a 2 dragon lead into anything meaningful, Westdoor’s Twisted Fate began to systematically take over the game. Every Destiny resulted in a kill or an objective, often both, and AHQ took firm control of the game after the 25 minute mark. BJK can hold their heads up high going into Day 2, however, as their decision making and early game pressure looked better than it ever has in this game, and they pose a definite threat to a pre-occupied team looking past them towards a tougher matchup going into the second day. Can they take the torch from Kabum! eSports and knock a bigger power out of the tournament? 

Game 8: SK Telecom vs Team Solomid

I want to take a moment, as a genuine fan of competitive League of Legends, to thank whoever’s decision it was in the SKT management to make sure that us Western fans got the matchup we wanted to see. And while the game around it managed to be a relative shellacking, the potential was at least there. But boy was this game a beatdown. SKT held a 2k gold lead at 10 mnutes, and a 5k gold lead at 15 minutes. TSM was never in this game, and SKT continued to bolster their bid for the title of best team in the entire world, much less the MSI trophy itself. This game, almost agonizingly, lasted just over 30 minutes, with SKT rounding up almost 30 kills before finishing the game with nearly a 20k gold advantage.

Day 2 Scenarios

Day 2 poses plenty of interesting outcomes, and every team is still mathematically alive. It’s safe to say Besiktas is likely the first to be truly eliminated, and while maybe one day these play-in regions will have the resources to compete, unfortunately 2015 is not that time. Day 2 opens up with EDG and Fnatic, an enormous match-up for both sides. Both Fnatic and EDG play BJK in one of their three Day 2 matches, so a win here could see one team with a comfortable 3 wins. TSM and AHQ eSports follow up the first match, with TSM desperately needing a victory to have a glimpse at progressing into the knockout stages. Should TSM lose to AHQ, they face EDG later in the day to potentially decide their fate entirely. SKT has likely already secured a spot in the next round, but they have matches against Fnatic and AHQ to handle today. I predict a solid 5-0 for SKT in group stages, regardless of which mid laner they play, and I believe Faker could ride the bench the rest of the tournament, and SKT would likely still emerge from this tournament as the victors. They have that Season 3 World Championship aura about them.  

Mid-Season Invitational 2015 Review

Pawn vs Faker, Faker vs Bjergsen, Lustboy vs Yellowstar and the list goes on. The Mid-Season Invitational 2015 has kicked off with eight terrific games! Did the results live up to everyone’s expectations or was there an upset or two? Let’s have a look! Read More...