After an insane quarterfinal match between C9 and DIG, CLG and NV joined forces to bring an even crazier five game series. Though there were some huge surprises here – such as Aphromoo and Sixxay getting bullied in lane – the real show came in the Game 5 showdown.

After struggling against NV, CLG returned to the basics that have made them a top tier team and proved who was worthy to enter the semi-finals. They out-rotated and out-strategized NV the entire game though the kills stayed relatively close, but it was several small victories that made the total possible.

Drafting doesn’t always make or break a game, but it can lead to some interesting and awesome moments. For instance, Darshan had been abusing NV and Seraph in particular with his top lane Gnar. In the final match of the series, NV chose not to ban Gnar but to pick him before CLG could, thinking to outmaneuver CLG and finally lay down pressure on Darshan. This was also a great call as Seraph had mentioned he had no comfort picks to challenge Gnar.

The only problem with that strategy was that CLG was expecting and countered that play. In a move Darshan has done before, he let NV pick Gnar knowing it was a chance they couldn’t resist then immediately counter-picked with Camille. This move led to first blood, first turret, and a consistent map pressure that helped win the game and put Seraph so far in the hole that he could never find relevance.