SERIES 1: CLOUD9 VS LYON GAMING

Lyon Gaming were the most feared of the second seeds, and a group we were honestly hoping to see make it into the group stage. They were brutally tenacious and dominant, but their matches against Team WE showed that though they can lane and scrim as well as the best, their overall control and pressure around the map just isn’t up to snuff. This was especially true against Cloud9, who put an end to their World journey in a 3-0 sweep.

Though Lyon managed to get leads in games one and two, C9 was consistently more present. Lyon could be up in kills, but C9’s control of lanes and ability to rotate, refocus, and capitalize on objectives was worlds above Lyon. Like Team WE, C9 simply knew how to play the map better.

Game 1 saw blue buff denied to Lyon’s Mid Seiya the entire match, never letting him take off on Syndra. This was capitalized on by far better control of dragons and Rift Herald as well. Game 2 nearly saw a Lyon win through Whitelotus – an ADC the entire international scene should be watching – but Jensen’s pinpoint accuracy saw an opening into the mass of shields thrown onto the carry, and the game quickly swung from one kill to one team fight to the entire game.

SERIES 2: FNATIC VS HONG KONG ATTITUDE

Fnatic have finally shown up. They made some mistakes this series, but they looked far better in this 3-0 sweep of HKA than they have the rest of the play-ins. It was a good thing too. HKA was by no means a pushover. Similar to Lyon, HKA had fundamentals and mechanics, but it was the combination of elements that saw them floundering.

HKA’s biggest problem was that they started strong, but Fnatic read their plays and their styles, and after Game 1, it was all downhill. This first game showcased HKA’s lane-dominant, early-game strategy, something which caught Fnatic completely off-guard and almost took the game. However, HKA’s top lane Riris and support Kaiwing failed to engage effectively, and it was an opening Fnatic successfully utilized.

After that, Fnatic only grew in strength. HKA doubled-down on early-game, but it was a strategy Fnatic foresaw and absolutely dismantled. Fnatic Mid, Caps, was finally online this game, initiating, ganking, and asserting his presence. By Game 3, it was all but over. Caps continued the snowball from the game before and the team finally started to look like the Fnatic of old – dominant, decisive, and aggressive.

SERIES 3: Fenerbahçe VS Team One

1907 Fenerbahçe and Team oNe are both teams of highs and lows. The difference is in the reasoning though. ONE is a team that takes time to come online. During the play-ins, they had to fail often before finding a strategy against their opponents. FB, on the other hand, are simply held back by inexperience. Unfamiliar strategies or playstyles completely ruin FB, and they often have to fall back on ADC Padden to pull them out of the fire, which is how they managed to knock-out ONE in a 3-1 series.

The biggest problem here is for FB, as they are now entering into the Group Stage and this was far from an impressive showing. Though FB was leading in kills in Game 1, ONE kept the gold lead nearly even through minions and objectives. There were also things that simply should not have worked – like 4lan’s bizarre Rek’Sai – that FB somehow let get the best of them. Even Game 3 – which went to FB – feels mostly to blame on ONE’s oddball Sejuani flex pick to top lane.

None of this is to say that FB is out. They showed an impressive ability to split, rotate, and roam. Game 4 also saw a relentless drive when they pushed three turrets and an inhibitor at the sixteen minute mark. This team has a lot of potential, but it might be too soon for that potential to be realized at the Group Stage.

SERIES 4: TEAM WE VS Young Generation

This series is good and bad for Team WE. Obviously, the best news is that they swept Young Generation in a 3-0. It’s also great for them that Jungler Condi has been popping off. It wasn’t just stealing two Barons in one game with an Ezreal against a Cho’gath, but the entire series he was playing phenomenally as a true all-star jungler. However, Team WE’s weaknesses in team fights and lanes are showing once more.

What wins WE games is a clear understanding of how to play the map and objectives. They have also shown great skill in recognizing what their opponent is throwing at them. For instance, Game 1 saw Condi repeatedly showing up to shut down the YG bot lane because it was their only real avenue for success, but it wouldn’t have worked against a more experienced team.

And that is Team WE’s problem. Right now, WE has glaring weaknesses for the top teams in Group Stage. They have had poor engages, poor timing, and weak laning. If they want to have any hope of progressing through, they are going to have to understand that YG was just a warm up for what is still coming.