Worlds 2017: The Top 10 Games

Doublelift’s Flash. Fervor Leona. Five-minute Paranoia. Ruler’s chains. Faker’s tears. 

These are the indelible moments of Worlds 2017, the images we’ll remember as the tournament fades further in the rear-view mirror. The momentary misposition that torpedoes a lead. The gamble that pays off. The joy of well-earned success, and the pain of ruing what could have been.

This was the first Worlds I covered as a writer. It won’t be my last. I’m a relative newcomer to the professional scene, with initial doubts as to whether a game as esoteric as League of Legends could deliver the thrills of traditional sports. Would watching Team SoloMid make it out of groups feel the same as Landon Donovan catapulting the US Men’s National Team into the knockout stage of World Cup 2010? Would an Ace feel like a touchdown? Would a Triple Kill have the same impact as a slam dunk?

I shouldn’t have worried. Watching Gigabyte Marines nearly upset Longzhu Gaming in Week 2 of groups, living and dying with every late game team fight, praying that the underdog Vietnamese side could do the unthinkable, barely able to follow the action through my shaking fingers, I had my answer. Only sport can make you feel this way.

Before we fully turn our attention to Runes Reforged and Season 8—not to mention Free Agency and NA LCS franchising—let’s take a moment to reflect on the culmination of Season 7 with the ten best games at Worlds 2017.

Play-In Honorable Mentions

Young Generation vs Fnatic – Game 2

Cloud9 vs. Lyon Gaming – Game 2

For many, Riot’s experiment with the Worlds Play-In Stage—a change from the separate Wildcard tournament—was a waste of time. The games were low quality and noncompetitive, they said. And who knew any of the players, or the regions they came from?

I wasn’t one of these people. True, there were at times significant gaps in power level (still looking at you, Rampage). Concepts like wave control or clean objective secures often felt unrefined. The major region seeds faced little adversity, with three out of four easily qualifying for the main event. Luck seemed to play an outsized role, with 1907 Fenerbahçe’s run more a function of their draw and less as a result of being the best emerging region team.

But if Riot’s goal is to grow the minor regions through fan attention, branding the Wildcard tournament with the Worlds moniker was the correct choice. Audiences that rarely get to see these leagues received a brief glimpse of their stars and meta. The GPL, CBLOL, LAN and TCL (to name a few) got to show their quality against the best, maybe attracting a few new eyeballs to their domestic play in 2018. And everyone who participated got to say they played at Worlds, which helps better differentiate teams and players for exposure/salary considerations going forward.

These honorable mention games best embody the spirit of the play-ins, with two underdog teams from emerging regions giving everything they had against superior competition. Two thrilling clashes demonstrated that, while the gap between Korea and the Rest of the World might not be closing as fast as we’d like, certain minor regions aren’t far from major status.

Cloud9 waltzed through the play-ins undefeated, but got much more than they bargained for against a Lyon Gaming side anyone would have enjoyed watching at the main event. Young Generation’s upset of future quarterfinalists Fnatic was a sign to any and all that Vietnam is prepared to make international noise for years to come. It wouldn’t be the last time Fnatic lost to a VCSA team at Worlds 2017.

The Real List

10. 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor vs. Samsung Galaxy – Game 1

Maybe the gap between the Rest of the World and Korea is closing…

1907 Fenerbahçe didn’t win a game at the main event. They looked helpless against Royal Never Give Up, and couldn’t beat G2 Esports in a meaningless game with Perkz on Yasuo. But Samsung Galaxy, the eventual champions, were caught underestimating their wildcard opponents in Week 1 of group play. A loss here could have ended their title run before it began.

SSG farmed a solid three thousand gold lead off the back of Haru’s early game aggression on Ezreal. But Frozen, who had spent all of Season 6 as a Longzhu player, wasn’t going to let his former organization off easy. Buoyed by a late game composition headlined by Crash’s Sejuani, Frozen unleashed the only Ekko of Worlds 2017, hoping to recapture the magic conjured against Hong Kong Attitude in the play-ins.

1907 Fenerbahçe found themselves up over six thousand gold after 45 minutes, but never could break the SSG base when they had complete map control. It came down to a 5v5 around the Baron pit, and I’ll just leave this here:

Trigger Warning for Cloud9 fans who still suffer Zhoyna’s PTSD after Spring Finals: Be advised that the end of this match contains upsetting content.

9. Immortals vs Fnatic – Game 1

Rest in Peace, Immortals. That phrase will never make sense, or feel right.

Immortals’ first and last run at Worlds 2017 will be remembered by most for Cody Sun’s betrayal of Xmithie in Week 2 against Fnatic. Not me. Like a mourner at a wake, I choose to celebrate the good times, not pile on the bad.

Immortals 2-1 Week 1 was highlighted by their marathon win over Fnatic, a game both teams threw at least once. North America’s second seed had clearly watched a lot of Longzhu games while bootcamping in Korea, relying on Flame’s are-you-Khan-in-disguise Jayce top to carry via split push. With Xmithie devoted to solo lane vertical jungling, Cody Sun and Olleh were left to fend for themselves, never a good option against Rekkles and Jesiz.

Barons were traded, including the best Realm Warp Baron secure of the tournament. Team fights were won, then lost, then won again. But if you show me a Twitch in Act I, he’d better go off by Act III. Rekkles knew the script, but Pobelter’s crucial Zhonya’s down the stretch was a twist he didn’t expect. Fnatic would have better days in China, but this is as good as it got for Immortals.

8. Royal Never Give Up vs Samsung Galaxy – Game 1

Ever since Season 3, Korean teams have been a monolith in competitive League of Legends. Their coordination, discipline, control, and synergy have so often prevailed that betting against them is usually a fool’s errand.

But no one told Royal Never Give Up that they were supposed to lose. The only all-Chinese team at China’s world championship, Royal went 2-for-2 against Samsung Galaxy in Group C play, the only team to defeat Samsung more than once. They dazzled the home fans with high-tempo team fighting comps designed to exploit the super-human talents of Uzi, one of the best AD carries in the world.

The composition RNG drafted this game (Galio/Jarvan IV/Syndra/Tristana/Janna) should've never happened on 7.18. There’s just too much engage, tankiness, sustain, and burst damage for SSG to have any chance. RNG’s global presence and crucial game-long defense of their mid outer turret kept Samsung from gaining a vision foothold on the map, and once the Galio/J4/Syndra wombo found Ruler’s Twitch late, it was all over. An incredibly well played game by the class of China.

7. SK Telecom T1 v Royal Never Give Up – Game 5

Most neutrals (and tournament organizers) were crossing their fingers for a Korea/China final at the Bird’s Nest. Instead, they had to settle for two semifinals…and that wasn’t so bad.

The five-game heavyweight bout between SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up had the feel of a final (Caster Jun helps), with two storied organizations jockeying for a flight to Bejing. Propelled by an ecstatic Shanghai crowd, RNG seemed to have SKT’s number, going up 2-1 after three games.

But the three-time defending champions would not be denied, culminating in Faker’s fifth straight carry-Galio game. MLXG needed to be far more aggressive on Lee Sin to justify the pick; the blind bruiser doesn’t scale well from behind, and he was behind all game. When SKT banned Leona and Nocturne in phase two, you knew they had RNG out-drafted. It’s a shame Silver Scrapes didn't herald a more energetic game, but finale of a series this competitive deserved a spot here. Flawed as SKT were at Worlds 2017, it was still a feat to beat RNG in a Game 5 on the road.

6. Gigabyte Marines vs Longzhu Gaming – Game 2

In any contest, regardless of sport or competition, fans tend to root for the underdog. They’re eager to be surprised, to be inspired by an unlikely result that proves anything is possible, odds be damned. An underdog's victory is a vicarious win for everyone who ever hoped for something better.

But part of the reason underdogs resonate so deeply is because they’re exceptional in the etymological sense; they’re exceptions to the rule. Usually, the favored side wins as expected. Sometimes David beats Goliath and everyone celebrates, but more often than not, Goliath kills David after David after David. 

I have never, in years of watching professional esports, wanted an underdog to win as badly as I wanted Gigabyte Marines to beat Longzhu Gaming. It was already an enticing matchup; the best minor region team pitted against the best major region team. Then, in a roll of all the dice, GAM picked Rengar and Ziliean! Are you kidding me? As Dash rightly said, “How can you not fall in love with this team?”

At one point, Marines were up over ten thousand gold and two inhibitors to the good. They were in the Longzhu base. Levi and Noway had ascended to godhood. They’d basically won…and then one lost team fight changed everything. Pray, in his best game of the tournament, brought Longzhu back from the brink in fight after careful fight. Slowly, the dream bled out. I’ll never forget this game.

5. Samsung Galaxy vs Longzhu Gaming – Game 1

Samsung Galaxy’s inability to defeat Royal Never Give Up in group play earned them the second seed in Group C and a date with LCK Summer Split champions Longzhu Gaming. It was supposed to be a one-sided affair, with Longzhu quickly showing an overly-patient SSG the door.

Instead, Samsung swept Longzhu out of Worlds, setting the tone in Game 1 with a masterclass from Ambition. The veteran jungler looked nothing like the passive non-factor from group play, attacking lanes early and often as Sejuani, making the Longzhu solo-laners very uncomfortable. CuVee stifled Khan topside, countering his trademark Jax with a pocket Kennen pick, and Crown overcame BDD after a rocky start in lane, exposing the LCK Summer Split MVP for the youngster he was. Once Crown’s Malzahar escaped the early game, his roaming Nether Grasp threat prevented Khan from splitting, effectively pinning the 1v1 impresario to his team.

Longzhu never righted the ship, finally finding a stage too big for their rising stars, and Samsung emerged as new favorites for the title.

 4. Team SoloMid v Flash Wolves – Game 1

If the play-ins weren’t proof enough that great games can come from mediocre teams, I give you Team SoloMid versus Flash Wolves. It was an instant classic that ultimately had no impact on the rest of the tournament, a battle of two statistically awful sides that dramatically underachieved on the world stage.

Resuming their feud from MSI 2017, TSM and Flash Wolves each came to Worlds baring their respective region’s top seed, then proceeded to shame their fans. TSM would fail to advance from the easiest Worlds group draw they’d ever received, and Flash Wolves ended their tournament 1-5 (beating only TSM, of course).

This game was lone consolation their fanbases got: A 50-minute street fight that left Doublelift shaking once the nexus had fallen. Brother Svenskeren returned to TSM at the worst possible time, yet even with a feeding jungler and two inhibitors down, Flash Wolves couldn’t close the deal.

For all the accolades Maple and Karsa have garnered over the years, to let this game (and four others) slip away was unconscionable. This loss marked a tournament low point for the LMS, and, when combined with the region’s overall subpar performance, made me question their major region status. I’m sure I’m not alone.

3. Misfits Gaming v SK Telecom T1 – Game 3

Misfits Gaming took SK Telecom T1 the distance in a five-game series that will go down as the best of Worlds 2017, and maybe one of the best series ever.

Unheralded and overlooked for most of the tournament, Misfits emerged from Group D after eliminating Team SoloMid in a tiebreaker for second place. They were then immediately predicted to be swept in the quarterfinals once SKT were drawn as their opponent.

That…didn’t happen, to say the least.

Utilizing creative drafting strategies that SKT would later shamelessly emulate (Yasuo top, Karma mid, Blitzcrank, Fervor Leona), Misfits surprised the Korean giants and took Guangzhou by storm. IgNar’s Level 1 Leona play in this game is the stuff of legends; I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in SKT colors come Spring Split. Hans sama took advantage of his support’s aggression, steamrolling SKT’s turrets at a clip the defending champs couldn’t match. Oh, and keep an eye on Maxlore, because Blank didn’t.

Game 3 was a performance for the ages, earning Misfits a 2-1 series lead and two shots at match point. But Faker wouldn’t let his team fail, carrying SKT into the semifinals and breaking neutral hearts. Still, Misfits’ unprecedented success remains the clearest sign that the gap might be closing. Please let it be closing.

2. SK Telecom T1 vs Samsung Galaxy – Game 3

The game that brought down a dynasty and crowned a new ruler through collective ambition. Samsung Galaxy completed their second sweep of a Korean team in a heart-pounding Game 3, avenging their loss to SK Telecom T1 in the Worlds 2016 finals.

I’ve already written about this series, the mistakes made by SKT and the heroics from Ruler and Ambition that catapulted Samsung across the finish line. Zirene has an excellent Breakdown that brilliantly encapsulates how close the final fight was. Everyone, go watch it. You won’t believe how likely a Game 4 was, and maybe the beginning of a reverse sweep.

I’m not sure what’s in store for either of these teams come 2018. There’s wide speculation that SKT will drop everyone but Faker and rebuild around God (not the worst idea), freeing several world-class players to be overpaid in North America. Ambition has reached the mountaintop; now 25 and married, it might be time step away.

But one thing is certain: With performances like Game 3, Samsung left no doubt—the best team in the world won Worlds 2017.

1. Gigabyte Marines vs. Fnatic – Game 1

As a new writer for a game few people in my life understand, I’ve recently found myself explaining what’s so great about League of Legends. Why do I spend my time breaking down a computer game? Why do so many people around the world love it with a passion usually reserved for “real” sports teams? How is there a viable professional ecosystem around something so niche, so nerdy?

In response, I tell them about this game, a Group B match between Gigabyte Marines and Fnatic. I rhapsodize about the gutty Vietnamese team that doesn’t give a damn about a global meta or your expectations. A team that is so utterly themselves that even if other orgs tried to emulate them, they’d never get the balance right. A team that understands who they are, what they can do, and how best to achieve victory within those narrow parameters. It doesn’t matter if you’re the Kings of Europe or the LCK champions; Gigabyte Marines are coming for you.

I cover this sport because of games like this, the ones that transcend the medium and have you screaming like a small child. If you’ve never seen this game, I envy what you’re about to experience. No one, certainly not Fnatic, saw this particular gameplan coming. Just know that, despite the ensuing chaos which unfolds across Summoner's Rift, everything GAM does in this match is calculated and practiced. Such a strategy can only work once, but when it does, get the popcorn, sit back, and enjoy.

Worlds 2017 Finals Review: SK Telecom T1 vs. Samsung Galaxy

Qin. Sui. Tang. Liao. Jin. Yuan. Ming. Qing. SKT.

Beijing saw another dynasty fall Saturday night. Samsung Galaxy upset the three-time defending champions SK Telecom T1 3-0 in the Bird’s Nest to take the Summoner’s Cup. For Samsung, it was revenge for last year’s defeat 3-2 in the World Championship final. Their roster, kept intact since that heartbreaking loss, finally found redemption against the greatest organization in League of Legends’ history. I’m sure the sweep made it sweeter.

Few saw Samsung’s utter erasure of SKT coming. The LCK's third seed had looked gangbusters against Longzhu and stalwart against Team WE, but they’d lost twice in group play and were nearly beaten by wildcard 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor. Plus, SKT had swept Samsung two months ago in the LCK gauntlet. Faker’s Lucian broke Crown so badly he was in tears after Game 1. By Game 3, Ruler and CoreJJ were benched in favor of Stitch and Wraith. This was the team supposed to slay a titan?

Yet anyone who followed SKT since their victory at MSI had seen warning signs beneath the mystique. An LCK Summer Split devoid of all threat until it mattered most. A Worlds group stage whose solid 5-1 record and top finish hid an alarming tendency to fall behind early. A quarterfinal with Misfits they were one team fight from losing. A semifinal against Royal they would not have survived without Faker’s Herculean performance on Galio. SKT’s path to finals was littered with the detritus of teams that made more mistakes than they did.

But then, finally, SKT faced a team in SSG that made no mistakes. Suddenly, there were no poorly chosen late-game team fights to turn, no matchups to exploit in lane, no macro errors to punish, no off-meta picks or misexecuted team comps to watch implode. Samsung were patient, brilliant, and above all else, the better team.

While SKT relied heavily on Faker’s otherworldly gifts to paper over their issues, Samsung lacked a cure-all superstar. Without a God to save them, everyone in black needed support each other for optimum team performance. Samsung’s preferred strategy—low-engage with objectives secured through superior vision—demands complete cohesion among team members to succeed. They did so for three straight games.

Every single matchup belied Samsung’s superiority. Bang and Wolf didn’t lose bot lane three games in a row because they’re bad players; Ruler and Corejj were simply stronger. Peanut and Blank didn’t suddenly forget how to gank or pressure lanes; Ambition’s carefully laid vision prevented all of it.

Huni and Faker aren’t poor solo laners. But in Crown and CuVee, they encountered opponents who counter-picked them, exited lane quickly, then out-rotated them. CuVee split pushed better than Huni, and Crown tied Faker to mid lane as best he could to limit the superstar’s roams.

Despite SKT’s (read: Faker’s) best efforts, each game told the same story. Samsung would absorb pressure in the early game, careful not to fall inescapably behind through objective trading and strong laning. Then, they’d seize on a team fight and explode across the map. In Game 1, it was the first Baron fight, a 4-0 victory (that included First Blood) they won despite Peanut’s steal. In Game 2, it was the 5-1 Ace around drake that saw CuVee GNAR! half of SKT after Ambition and Ruler had brought them low with their own ultimate abilities.

Samsung fell behind over seven thousand gold in Game 3, yet one massive 5v5 around Baron allowed them to take the buff and nearly end the game. They’d do so minutes later when Ruler killed Faker with a well-landed Chains of Corruption. This time, it was Faker who ended the game in tears.

In a meta dominated by AD carry play, it was fitting that the Ruler and Bang’s performances dictated their team’s success or failure. Where Ruler was immaculate (10-2-21, 15.5 KDA, 97% KP, 717 DPM, 10.2 CSM), Bang came up well short (4-6-4, 1.3 KDA, 50% KP, 532 DPM, 9.1 CSM). Twice—Games 2&3—SKT built respectable early leads only to watch mispositioning by Bang throw them away. Bang was twice caught out early by Samsung in Game 2, and while Faker roamed to save him the first time, his Flash-ulti into the drake pit (an optimistic chase down of Ambition) was a step too far. A Flash-less ADC then cost SKT a 5-1 Ace, Baron, and six turrets during a team net worth swing of nine thousand gold.

Game 3 was even worse, with Bang pushing Ruler away from a ravenous SKT frontline during a Baron bait, then stepping forward enough for CuVee to Feast him dead nearly in one shot. SKT surrendered another massive gold lead, the Baron, and soon the game.

But to place the blame entirely on Bang’s shoulders is unfair. SKT needed to adapt to a bot-lane focused early game after their Game 1 thumping, but never did. Even Blank’s substitution in Game 3 didn’t solve this issue, with SKT preferring to send their jungler to gank solo lanes instead. Thus Bang and Wolf withered on the vine, unable to draw attention away from Huni’s split push attempts. Faker’s desperate attempts to rectify the situation as Karma in Game 3 resulted in his overextension and death.

Courtesy of LoL Esports

SKT’s entire split push-centric strategy—set into stone with the decision to bring Huni to Worlds over Untara—never got off the ground. Instead, they were reduced to imitators, borrowing from Misfits Gaming in favor of any other ideas. IgNar’s Fervor Leona made a second appearance in Wolf’s hands, but to lesser effect. Faker tried on PowerOfEvil’s Karma mid and Huni experimented with Alphari’s Yasuo, but in both cases the originals surpassed their remakes. It was disconcerting watch kkOma, one of the best coaches in League of Legend’s history, steal so heavily from another’s playbook. The team was constructed to split push, not team fight like Misfits, and to mix the two was a mistake.

Give Samsung credit; they battled back twice from significant gold deficits to complete their championship sweep. But there was never any mystery to their strategies. Vision control with an absurd amount of Control Wards plus CuVee’s split push and a snowballing bot lane were key ingredients in all of their victories regardless of how far SKT led. Samsung executed well, but also benefited from SKT’s inability to come up with an answer.

Courtesy of LoL Esports

Which brings us to Faker, whose utter devastation after Game 3 will be (wrongly) the only image anyone remembers from this final five years from now. His play ultimately wasn’t enough to rescue a discombobulated side, but he was far from the reason SKT finished second-best. Even God can't 1v5. 

While Faker’s uncharacteristic display of emotion in the face of his first series loss at Worlds perhaps signaled the end of an era, I hope we’re merely in the second act of a trilogy. SKT won in 2016, Samsung returned the favor in 2017. What will 2018 bring? Something tells me Faker and a retooled SKT squad will be back terrorizing Korea in no time. For now, all hail the new dynasty: Samsung Galaxy.

Worlds 2017 Quarterfinal Review: Fnatic vs. Royal Never Give Up

After the nexus broke, so did Rekkles.  

Royal Never Give Up eliminated Fnatic in Saturday’s Worlds 2017 quarterfinal, and instead of joining his team for a final bow, Rekkles laid his head on the console and cried. Nothing his teammates said helped; they eventually left the stage without him. Even the loud chants of “Ou Cheng” (Rekkles’ Chinese name) didn’t seem to reach. For Rekkles, long a steward of the Fnatic bot lane, the accumulation of missed opportunities in a series defined by mistakes finally took its toll.

As Rekkles lingered, Uzi completed his on-stage interview in front of thousands of Guangzhou faithful. For a quarterfinal billed as a showdown between veteran AD carries, there was no more definitive image than Rekkles bent in defeat while Uzi basked in the glow of victory. RNG’s AD carry made sure that Fnatic’s miracle run to the bracket stage would go no further, and in doing so propelled the only fully Chinese team into the semifinals.

Yet Uzi took a backseat in Game 1 to the unlikeliest of RNG heroes. LetMe, who had been mostly invisible throughout groups, suddenly morphed into an unkillable raid boss of a Cho’Gath that drew every Fnatic eye in team fights. This was by design; RNG actively allocated resources topside, snowballing LetMe with early attention from MLXG. That jungle presence, plus Feast kills on two early drakes, helped quickly transform LetMe into an irresistible frontliner that Fnatic couldn’t handle.

RNG needed their investment in LetMe to pay off, having elected to draw bot by drafting Soraka for Ming. This was RNG’s adaptation since the end of groups, an experimental answer to Janna that gave more draft flexibility. But while Soraka might out-sustain Janna in lane, she lacks the mobility to avoid a well-timed gank. Fnatic knew this, and repeatedly sent Broxah bot to punish the pick. Ming gave up First Blood and would die a second time during a four-man turret dive by Fnatic, but all of this attention bot played directly into RNG’s hands. Despite all of Fnatic botside pressure, they couldn’t out-race LetMe for First Turret, the Cho’Gath able to take top outer by himself.

Fnatic won the early game, but didn’t win it hard enough given the exploitable composition RNG selected. LetMe’s success had nullified any gains Fnatic got through bot, and with both teams even in gold through 20 minutes, any one-sided mid game fight would prove decisive.

LetMe’s kill on Rekkles was just that, a sudden Feast that opened Baron and a 4-2 fight win by RNG. Once Uzi’s Tristana had farmed enough, her damage behind Cho’Gath and Sejuani was more than enough to break Fnatic’s base. Ming’s Soraka kept the tanks healthy and buffed with her Ardent Censer, allowing RNG to out-sustain Sivir’s wave clear under turret. It took two more Barons, but eventually RNG broke the nexus for a Game 1 victory.

Game 2 seemed like a variation on Game 1’s theme. RNG drafted Soraka into Janna again despite Fnatic’s selection of Vayne, a champion whose tumbles would make Ming’s healbot life even more difficult. Soraka would struggle in lane for the second consecutive game, but Vayne was a counter to MLXG’s comfort Jarvan IV too. A well-timed Condemn would push J4 out of his own Cataclysm, effectively canceling RNG’s main source of initiation. FNC also denied LetMe his problematic Cho’Gath, drafting it for sOAZ instead.

Like an instant replay of Game 1, Broxah ganked bot lane for First Blood on Ming. Yet RNG were able to answer and eventually win the lane, getting First Turret bot after MLXG dove Jesiz for a kill. It was a massive setback for Fnatic; they’d drafted to win bot lane but failed to do so. One mistake in lane against Tristana usually means losing your outer turret, and Uzi was no exception.

Still, Fnatic battled back, the momentum turning when Caps made an incredible play top on Taliyah. In one fantastic sequence, he avoided the three-man dive by RNG while preserving his top outer turret and getting a kill on MLXG. Then, in an uncanny mirroring of the Game 1 mid game, sOAZ flanked Uzi with a Teleport and Feasted him to death, opening up vision for a Baron FNC would be able to take without contest. Fnatic demolished every external turret on the ensuing Baron Power Play, but couldn’t manage a push into the RNG base. They played it safe, willing to keep lanes pushed in and wait for a second Baron to end the game.

Up nearly 8k gold and with useful objective secure tools like Cho’Gath’s Feast and Taliyah’s Weaver’s Wall, Fnatic casually entered the pit assuming an easy second Baron. They were wrong. Against the run of play, MLXG simply dashed into the pit, out-smote Broxah and the Feast, then Flashed out, clean as you like. Fnatic ignored the control ward in the back of the pit placed during the take, granting MLXG full vision of Baron during the attempt.

MLXG’s steal completely turned the game around. What should have been a clean win for Fnatic (already up 7-2 in kills) became a drawn-out defeat. Uzi had his items, but RNG lacked map control; the Baron buff gave them that. RNG re-established mid priority while resisting an Elder-buffed advance from Fnatic, and eventually secured a third Baron to end the game. Fnatic’s gold lead—which they maintained even in defeat—didn’t matter. A combined 7-1-6 from Caps and Rekkles didn’t matter. Once Fnatic opened the door for a comeback, RNG wasted no time in stepping through.

Game 3 should have been the end of this series. In yet another instance of mirroring between these two evenly-match teams, RNG held a massive mid-game gold lead, established in part by their outstanding draft. Forced to ban both Lulu and Janna themselves, Fnatic gave away Galio, J4 and Kog’Maw to a Chinese team, three champions that probably a list titled “Don’t Give to Chinese Teams.” LetMe even got his Cho’Gath too, and with Morgana for Ming, RNG  created a devastating single-damage composition. Fnatic would need to get to Uzi to win fights, but with triple tanks and a Black Shield protecting him, their chances were slim.

Cut to 28 minutes later as RNG stormed the Fnatic base, easily breaking mid inhibitor on their way to the nexus turrets. Rekkles and Jesiz were dead, killed in the mid lane defense. Caps had been chunked down and needed to heal in the fountain. sOAZ was zoned out of his own base, and Broxah could do little more than stand under turret. Everyone on RNG was alive and relatively healthy. The game was effectively over, and RNG had their foot in the semifinals.

Then, Uzi lost his damn mind. At 7-0-1 and almost 50 CS over Rekkles, Uzi had utterly dominated proceedings and was incredibly fed. So it seemed natural that with the protection he had enjoyed up to that point, small things like turret damage wouldn’t deter him. With Barrier and Black Shield applied, Uzi began free-hitting a nexus turret while tanking turret shots. However, turret damage is physical, and Morgana’s Black Shield only absorbs magical damage. So while Uzi’s shield remained at 100%, his health dropped low enough that when the Black Shield expired, sOAZ one-shot him from behind.

The moment to end was lost. RNG took another successful team fight, but it cost them MLXG’s Guardian Angel and LetMe’s life, leaving them shorthanded to attempt a second Baron. Instead, it was Fnatic who secured Baron, and after a 4v5 fight that ended 2-2, they were able to break bot inhibitor and a nexus turret. Rekkles got his revenge on Uzi in that fight, a smooth Flash-forward to secure the crucial kill.

It was here that Caps’ Malzahar began to take its toll on RNG. Malzahar’s slows, silence, and suppression kept turning team fights or kiting Fnatic out of bad ones, preventing RNG from focusing Rekkles on their engages (Jesiz’s Karma certainly helped with the speed-up from her Mantra Inspire). Plus, no one on RNG but Uzi bought a Quicksilver Sash, giving Caps the freedom to Nether Grasp anyone who dared engage.

Granted the Tristana he had been denied in the previous two games, Rekkles recovered from an 0-3-1 first 30 minutes to a 4-6-5 final scoreline, outplaying Uzi down the stretch despite his Chinese counterpart finishing with 19 kills, a Worlds 2017 record. Tristana’s rapid building demolition was on fully display again, shattering inhibitors as such a rate that even when Fnatic lost a late game team fight, RNG couldn’t afford to leave their naked base.

Once Fnatic gained map control, and the farm needed to get to Uzi in fights by penetrating/suppressing the frontline, RNG slowly bled out, forcing a Game 4.

While Uzi had been the centerpiece of RNG’s strategy thus far, Game 4 belonged to mid laner xiaohu. Given the Corki he had lost with only once in ten tries this year, xiaohu was asked to keep RNG in the game while Uzi’s Twitch quietly farmed items. Fnatic had no intention of allowing the Soraka/Twitch bot lane to have a safe early game, repeatedly diving bot as four or five, hunting for kills. But on one such roam from mid lane, xiaohu caught Caps’ Galio at low health and killed him, relieving bot pressure while establishing pressure mid, effectively stalling out Fnatic in a game they desperately wanted to accelerate.

xiaohu did his job across the map, keeping Fnatic from grouping to kill Uzi by keeping lanes pushed with his Teleport threat and Trinity Force sieging speed. A 1-3-1 composition with Shen is a delicate thing; fumble a rotation or fight and everything can come undone. RNG didn’t wilt under Fnatic’s early pressure, responding to a four-man gank of MLXG botside with a Package dive by xiaohu as LetMe channeled Stand United. xiaohu secured three kills before his death, job done.

Fnatic’s lead never grew over 3k, due in large part to RNG’s seemingly global map pressure. They eventually killed the first Baron (as per the requirement of their win condition against Twitch), but at 37 minutes it was far too late. Caps’ death during the Baron fight opened Elder for RNG, which they secured without a steal attempt.

Minutes later, RNG found the fight they had been looking for, boxing Fnatic into a choke point near Broxah’s raptors while Elder-buffed. sOAZ’s ultimate actually forced a dashing MLXG closer to the Fnatic backline, allowing LetMe to taunt nearly everyone after a completed Stand United. From there, Uzi unloaded on a grouped Fnatic, getting a Double Kill as RNG won the fight 4-0. A pushing mid wave and Fnatic’s long death timers allowed RNG to end the game (and the series) soon after.

Rekkles eventually got to his feet and made a solitary bow to the crowd, who saluted him nearly as loudly as they had Uzi. It’s unjust to lay the blame for Fnatic’s defeat entirely at their AD carry's feet. Two mediocre performances from Caps in Games 1 and 4 created far too many mistakes in a series weighed by the accumulation of errors. sOAZ was inconsistent, and Broxah never looked as good as his Rek'Sai (which RNG never banned). Fnatic had their chances, but at various key moments couldn’t push their advantage far enough to take control of games. The team takes the blame for this loss, as they always should.