By far the most anticipated matchup, Series 3 saw TL facing off against P1, but it was the surprising and exciting Game 1 that set the tone. After this game, no one could doubt the skill of P1, but in particular, no one could argue that Ryu is not among the top Mid-laners in the entire league.

Starting with a targeted Corki ban, TL knew that Ryu would be the mountain they would have to climb if they hoped to gain victory. Perhaps it was just his revitalization after his short break (he asked that Pirean sit in for him while he took a break in July), but not since his face off against Samsung Galaxy in the Season 6 world’s has Ryu been so monstrous.

If TL had hoped banning Corki would stop Ryu as a threat, all they succeeded in doing was changing how he was a threat. His first kill was handed to him on a silver platter while Piglet turret dove for first blood, but just 3:30 minutes into the game, Ryu was top securing his second kill on Lourlo. His third kill came just seconds after as he teleported bottom to secure his third kill in four minutes.

In the amount of time that most players have just barely begun to make a dent in their CS score, Ryu had 19 CS and 3 kills. It’s hard to know if TL would have fared better against the turret-pushing, team-fighting Corki, as Ryu made excellent use of LeBlanc by becoming a terror all across the map.