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.

Worlds 2017 Quarterfinal Review: Misfits Gaming vs. SK Telecom T1

27 minutes into Game 4, Misfits Gaming were about to do the unthinkable.

Up 2-1 and at match point, Misfits needed to win one last team fight to eliminate SK Telecom T1 from Worlds 2017. Misfits were up nearly four thousand gold. They had greater numbers after picking off an isolated Blank. Misfits stormed mid and began sieging the inhibitor turret. A successful fight would mean the nexus, and a place in the history books.

But SKT would not fold. Led by the Unkillable Demon King Faker, the two-time defending champs turned an unfavorable 4v5 into an Ace of Misfits, regaining the momentum for good. They would go on to win Game 4, evening the quarterfinal series at 2-2, before outlasting a drained European side in Game 5. SKT ultimately secured their predicted berth in the semifinals, but Misfits made them earn it.

Over five games, Misfits and SKT treated the enraptured Guangzhou crowd to a series that will go down as one of the best professional League of Legends has ever produced. Absolutely no one gave Misfits a chance to win even a single game against the LCK titans. How did they nearly win three?

If Game 1 was an indication of things to come, the experts were right to doubt Misfits. SKT looked unbeatable, capitalizing on Faker’s Galio mid to pressure sidelanes early and often. The tone was set once Faker hit Level 6 and dived Alphari’s Rumble with impunity for First Blood. Faker was everywhere in the early game, and his snowball drove SKT to a 10k gold lead after 20 minutes. Misfits couldn’t pick their way back into the game, with Faker’s counter-engage a constant threat. After a convincing 3-0 team fight win minutes later, SKT casually secured Baron, then Aced Misfits and broke their nexus.

But if SKT’s play had been the only reason Misfits got stomped in Game 1, the series wouldn’t have lasted five games. No, SKT’s win on the Rift was precipitated by a massive win in the draft. Their first victory came when—with Janna and Lulu banned—Misfits picked Taric and Jarvan IV in their first rotation. That seemingly innocuous choice by Misfits set up SKT’s entire draft, allowing flex picks like Galio, Trundle and Jayce to completely stupefy Misfits’ strategy. Giving up Galio was bad enough; but compounding that mistake with a potential flex Trundle made it worse.

Even at draft’s end, Misfits had no idea where kkOma would lane his champions until the pregame clock hit 20. Red side's counter pick advantage had been completely neutralized, and Misfits had done it to themselves. SKT were free to create side lane pressure with three pushing lanes assisted by the global presence of Galio. As far as God compositions go, Jayce/Sejuani/Galio/Caitlyn/Trundle is up there, especially when the Trundle support can’t be punished.

Misfits couldn’t afford to bury themselves in the draft again. And they didn’t, adapting to SKT’s top lane emphasis by doubling down on winning bot. In Game 2, it was Misfits’ turn to flex on SKT’s first rotation Taric pick. They drafted Karma, and then flexed her mid with a last pick Blitzcrank, keeping an Ardent Censer in the composition while cranking up bot lane aggression.

IgNar who—like most supports—had spent all of Summer Split succeeding on playmaking champions, went back to what worked before Worlds. Blitz looked half-decent against in a loss to Team SoloMid, but this time around? IgNar couldn’t miss a hook if he tried, landing key Rocket Grabs on each member of SKT at least once.

But IgNar took second billing to Hans sama’s coming-out party on Tristana, encapsulated by a beautiful kill on Bang during a dive bot. That outplay earned Misfits the all-important First Turret, releasing Hans and IgNar to siege other outer turrets across the map. Hans ended Game 2 8-0-3 with 100% Kill Participation and 42.2% of his team's damage.

Soon, SKT were on the backfoot and IgNar was landing gamebreaking hooks at will. His Flash-grab of Faker after the SKT mid thought he was safe after a risky package dash was incredible, eventually allowing Misfits to take Baron. It wouldn’t be the last time Faker got hooked. IgNar and Misfits stormed mid on a Baron Power Play and broke the nexus in one move, evening the series at 1-1.

If Misfits had doubled-down on winning bot lane in Game 2, then Game 3 saw them triple-down. IgNar drafted Leona with the Fervor of Battle mastery, throwing the early game into complete chaos. SKT didn’t know what to make of Leona. She isn’t played in the LCK at all, and was last seen in a major region when Hong Kong Attitude’s Kaiwing championed her last July in the LMS (he lost). That unfamiliarity showed, costing SKT a tremendously played Level 1 2v2 bot with IgNar drawing First Blood on Bang at full Fervor stacks. It reminded me of the way Immortals fell apart against Archie’s Urgot top; their ignorance of the matchup cost them dearly in lane.

IgNar’s Leona wasn’t the only curveball Misfits threw. Maxlore called for Ivern in the jungle, yet another way Misfits smuggled an Ardent Censer into their team despite thumbing their nose at the Censer support meta. Ivern’s bushes plus Tristana’s demolition speed made for a punishing siege composition that could also control objectives.

In the face of these off-meta picks, SKT fumbled through their own. Vayne, last seen in the hands of Royal’s Uzi in a win over 1907 Fenerbahçe, made an unexpected appearance bot for Bang. You could see the thinking: Vayne’s dashes can counter Leona’s Zenith Blade if timed right. But Bang never made an impact on a champion that does nothing from behind, and he was behind from Level 1.

Hans was 5-1-2 with 100% Kill Participation after 12 minutes, but the lead wasn't solidified until Misfits successfully took Baron. Doing so required a patient dance that always hinted at a take in order to gain a concession from SKT; a summoner here, an ultimate there. It was the kind of discipline you see from the best Eastern teams and rarely (if ever) in the West. Misfits' big prize was Huni’s teleport. Without that, SKT couldn’t split effectively with the constant threat of Baron. In the end, Misfits waited until SKT were out of position, then took Baron via blastcone entrance, sealing the objective with Ivern bushes and damage from Hans.

But Misfits couldn’t break open the base with Baron. A fantastic Seismic Shove from Faker caught out PowerOfEvil and eventually fizzled out the push. Misfits would need a second Nashor to win Game 3, and they got it when Maxlore out-smote Blank for a steal. With three SKT players dead after the ensuing fight, Misfits wasted no time breaking all three inhibitors en route to victory.

Then, Game 4 happened.

SKT made some adjustments, taking Hans’ Tristana for themselves but embracing Misfits’ tank support meta at the same time. Throwing it back to early Summer Split, IgNar’s Alistar faced Wolf’s Braum. The tank answer from SKT allowed the Koreans to stay even in the early game, though that was due to Faker’s stellar Ryze play as much as anything else. Still, Misfits managed the first Baron, but again couldn’t break the SKT base.

Later, the game (and the series) took a dramatic turn. After securing a pick on Blank, Misfits rushed mid aiming to smash the mid inhibitor, opening Baron priority. Believing they had superior team fighting with their numbers advantage, Misfits dove the mid inhibitor turret and tried to win a series-defining fight. They initiated on Huni’s Trundle, but a timely Glacial Fissure from Wolf’s Braum plus an Unbreakable that mitigated Hans’ damage to Bang decided the fight. It didn’t help that Misfits dove without a minion wave to absorb turret shots.

SKT exploded from there, Acing Misfits and breaking European hearts in one decisive play. Misfits tried twice to regain the initiative, but twice SKT saw the fight coming and positioned well. Bang’s Tristana out-ranged Hans’ Sivir at this point, allowing the SKT AD carry easier access to the Misfits frontline while keeping himself insulated from Sivir’s Ricochets.

It’s here that we must all tip our caps to Faker, the best player to ever play competitive League of Legends. His 6-1-6, 10.8 CSM, 75% KP Game 4 kept the gold differential even early and his team in the hunt. Yes, he did have an easier laning phase against PowerOfEvil’s Mejai Karma, but that doesn’t discount the vision, Realm Warp plays, and timely Rune Prisons that pulled SKT across the finish line late. Faker is the best in the world because of complete games like this one, utterly dominant and necessarily clutch.   

Game 5 was the denouement to the climax of Game 4, a plodding end to what was a fantastic series. Bang took Tristana again, and the turret-burning power of that pick paced the game in SKT’s favor. Even with a Shen for Alphari, Misfits lost control of the map once SKT began carefully picking advantageous fights, their engages planned in advance to account for a surprise Stand United teleport. All SKT wanted to do was get Huni online to split push; once they did, Misfits lacked tools to answer.

Once Misfits' nexus fell, SKT made their customary handshakes and winner’s bows. We’ll see them again soon enough. But it was Misfits the crowd demanded loudest, with chants of “M-S-F!” filling the Guangzhou Gymnasium. Numb in defeat, Misfits took a well-earned bow. Their two victories were the most any Western team had ever earned against the vaunted Korean juggernaut.

More promising than the wins was the way Misfits won, not by playing the Korean meta, but by forcing Korea to play theirs. It’s a futile gambit, attempting to beat Korean teams at their own game. If the West really wants to close the gap, they need to follow the example set by Misfits: Respect the meta, but apply your own twist that girds what you do best. For Misfits, they found a creative way to include the meta-defining Ardent Censer in their compositions while playing strong pocket picks. With deliberate strategy and excellent execution, they nearly slew a giant. 

Worlds 2017 Quarterfinals Review: Longzhu Gaming vs. Samsung Galaxy

Good night, sweet Pick ‘Ems.

The first quarterfinal of Worlds 2017 went as planned, a very one-sided 3-0 by a confident Korean squad that look like title contenders. Except it was Samsung Galaxy, not the heavily favored Longzhu Gaming, that earned a berth in the semifinals, smashing all expectations and turning Worlds on its head.

SSG set the tone in Game 1. The LCK third seed was supposed to be the patient, late game focused team in the matchup. Yet Ambition had his most active early game of the tournament, relieving the intense pressure from Bdd mid lane with a kill, and then outplaying Khan on a top dive for another kill. Keep in mind that this was the same jungler who, across six group stage games, was a combined 0-3-0 at 15 minutes. After the first two games against Longzhu, Ambition was 4-0-1.

SSG dictated the pace of the game, just not the tempo LZ clearly expected. Hoping to take advantage of SSG's early game negativity, LZ drafted Thresh (a great early roamer) to snowball Khan, despite that support's inability to build Ardent Censer. By picking Thresh, LZ gambled heavily on an early game punish. It didn't pay off.

Samsung’s early proactivity was unexpected, but not nearly as much as CuVee's Kennen to counter Khan’s last pick Jax, something CuVee has saved only for important Game 3s recently in LCK. Kennen's lane pressure (plus help from Ambition) kept Jax at bay early, but it was the presence of Crown’s Malzahar that stopped Khan's split push for good. For whatever reason, Khan refused to buy a Quicksilver Sash, hampering his ability to run a long lane alone when Crown and a friend could simply Nether Grasp him to death. The tax should have been paid by every Longzhu player (exempting Gorilla), yet only Pray bought one, leaving the rest of LZ vulnerable to Crown's suppression.

SSG switched things up and LZ couldn’t adjust on the fly. Well, maybe they could have, but Bdd completely lost his head after a brilliant early laning phase that erased Crown for First Blood. But a mistimed gank by Cuzz before Unleashed Power was back online saved Crown, opening the door a greedy kill attempt by Bdd. Sensing blood, Bdd stepped forward under turret only to be counter-engaged by Ambition, who had just come mid in response to Cuzz’s gank.

Inexperience and nerves from Longzhu's rookies was evident on stage and the execution suffered because of it. Bdd’s death undid all of his early work and gave Samsung early game momentum. It wasn’t the last issue from LCK MVP, who Flashed forward for a kill on Crown during a later 5v5 mid as his team was disengaging, killing himself to turn a 1-0 LZ fight into a 2-1 SSG fight (Pray died on the backend). Bdd later burned Unleashed Power on Ambition for no reason, losing the ulti for the main base defense. His 4 deaths in Game 1 alone were unusual for a player who had died 4 times throughout the entire group stage.

Cuzz had a few taget selection issues on his engages, most notably on Crown around the second Baron. Crown simply Flashed back into the choke point, preventing LZ from damaging him through the Jarvan IV Cataclysm and allowing the rest of SSG access to the backline. That broken fight opened a free Baron for SSG, and it wouldn't be their last.

Samsung proved their Game 1 victory win was no fluke with an incredible Game 2 stomp. It helped that they began by getting the draft right, especially concerning supports. SSG banned Janna straight out and sacrificed Lulu instead of taking Lulu themselves, drafting Taric instead. The Bravado healbot is a support better suited to this meta than Thresh, with his ability to counter engage well and use Ardent Censer effectively. Even better, his Baron sustain (sustained AoE heals with his passive) is best in the meta.

In response, Longzhu put Khan on Cho’Gath, completely abandoning their split push carry style and giving Khan a champ he had never played before on stage. Was this the same Longzhu we had watched all summer, suddenly bowing to meta pressure after weeks of making their own? It certainly didn’t look like them in the draft or on the Rift.

Again, SSG set the pace with their best Longzhu impression, crashing mid with an early three-man gank plus Shen to kill Bdd and Cuzz, gaining control of that lane. Then, they dived bot as four to wipe out Pray, Gorilla, and the outer turret for First Brick. SSG smartly kept Ruler and CoreJJ bot to keep the pressure on Pray’s farm instead of the expected immediate lane swap, a nice touch that kept Pray from quickly farming back into relevance.

At this point, CuVee’s Shen became a problem. LZ could never pick themselves back into the game because of Shen’s global presence; even when Ruler and Pray walked right into each other around a topside corner, SSG were able to save Ruler with Shen’s Stand United (plus a timely Cosmic Radiance from Taric)

From there, Crown was unstoppable, beating LZ and Bdd to death with Bdd’s own iconic Taliyah. Bdd had another game to forget, a 1-3-4 score line that actually flattered him. By contrast, Crown went on a rampage at 9-1-7 (100% KP), highlighted by a Quadra Kill around Mountain Drake that broke the game wide open. His damage and effective roams kept Longzhu on their backs until the nexus broke. After Ruler’s Quadra, all Samsung needed to do was control Baron. They did so carefully, respecting Longzhu’s ability to contest by pulling off the objective until they killed Cuzz and Pray. From there, it was a simple deathball push into the LZ nexus.

Game 3 was more of the same from Samsung, quieting all rumors of a reverse sweep with another electric performance. They improbably got their hands on Shen, Sejuani and Tristanna again, a mindboggling draft oversight by Longzhu, who banned out Lulu instead of Sejuani. How could this happen? They had just witnessed how little SSG prioritized Lulu (and how highly SSG prized Sejuani), why give SSG essentially the same composition they just tore you apart with?

Longzhu first-picked Taliyah to stabilize their tilted mid laner, then put Khan on Trundle in an effort to balance his split pushing ways and the team's tank needs. It only half-worked. In response, Samsung revealed another pocket pick: Crown’s Lissandra, the idea being she counters Bdd’s comfort Taliyah. While she couldn’t match Taliyah’s damage, Lissandra’s ability to absorb pressure in fights with Frozen Tomb allowed Ruler to out-duel Pray’s favored Varus.

SSG wanted to make plays in the bottom lane and did so, repeatedly pressuring bot and diving that lane. But Bdd never answered with his typically effective roams to the sidelanes, always a step late even with Taliyah’s Weavers Wall. CoreJJ’s Taric turned many close fights in SSG’s favor, and for the third straight game SSG got First Turret bot lane. Ambition had a quieter early game in terms of KDA (only one assist by 15 minutes), but he never let Cuzz or the LZ sidelaners get comfortable. But Ambition made the right plays when it counted late. After being caught out in the jungle, Ambition created space for his team to break the bot lane inhibitor by pulling all five Longzhu players with him topside on a merry chase. 

In a last gasp, Longzhu forced a fight around their Red buff and won it 2-0, but had no map control or objectives past a Cloud Drake they could take. SSG responded by pushing top in, then went back into the same choke point for a nearly identical fight, but this time the Cosmic Radiance timing was correct. Ruler got three resets for a Triple Kill, and SSG win the fight 4-0, taking the nexus seconds later.

Overall, it was an incredible showing from Samsung. They completely changed their style from groups and embarrassed the tournament favorites. Longzhu’s youth hampered their mid-jungle-top synergy, and at this stage it cost them dearly. It’s worth noting that, before the quarterfinals, Longzhu had only one best-of-five under their belt as a team: the LCK championship against SKT. Despite veteran leadership from Pray and GorillA, Longzhu couldn't adapt mid-series to SSG’s new, well-executed strategies, and now they'll watch the rest of Worlds at home.