League of Legends 2018 Worlds Semi-Final Recap
The two worlds semi-final clashes at this year’s LoL Championship were among the most anticipated in World’s history. Spectators watched history in the making as three Western teams, and just a single Chinese representative were fighting it out in the Rift, hoping to reach the very end of the tournament. The fact that not a single Korean seed managed to reach the Top 4 was and still is an unexpected turn of events that’s sure to become a major part of the overall League narrative in 2019.
We had G2 Esports fighting against LPL’s second seed Invictus Gaming. Then there was arguably the biggest and most hyped up EU vs. NA clash of all time between Fnatic and Cloud9. If you’re a Westerner and you love competitive League, both worlds semi-final matches were like a dream come true. Or were they?
In reality, things weren’t nearly that exciting or hype-worthy. In fact, both best-of-fives (Bo5) were kind of a letdown. They were as one-sided as possible, with one team ahead of their opposition in every way possible. They had the better macro, better team fighting, they had a better read on the evolving meta, and finally, they were more mechanically sound when it mattered the most.
As for the right side of the bracket, the Best of 5 between G2 Esports and Invictus Gaming was pretty much a complete hype derailment. For all the momentum, for all the insane narratives and memorable moments…it was pretty underwhelming. And that might be an understatement.
After taking down the tournament favorites in an insane five-game burn burner, everyone thought G2 had the tools to take Invictus Gaming to the brink of defeat. In hindsight, that was wishful thinking.
Game one started with solid drafts on both sides. G2 secured some pretty solid engage and team fight prowess with Aatrox, Swain, and Alistar. Invictus Gaming had threatening tools as well — Jayce for Rookie and Akali for TheShy. No one really gave G2’s solo laners a chance against the likes of IG, but it was JackeyLove and Baolan who were able to outclass Hjarnan and Wadid and take first turret gold in just twelve minutes.
G2 was simply outclassed in every single lane, and they had to stop the bleeding somewhere. Once IG took control, they never let go. After attaining a sizeable lead, they started rotating around the map and taking down all available objectives. They wanted to close things out by the book and G2 did nothing to stop them. Closing the game with a ten thousand gold lead was a formality.
In game two, G2 responded with a very…G2-esque draft — Tahm Kench for Wadid, Hjarnan’s staple Jhin, Gragas for Jankos, and Aatrox for Wunder.
If you’re a G2 fan, you probably started sweating when you saw IG’s draft. Jayce for TheShy, Baolan’s Alistar, and perhaps most importantly — LeBlanc for Rookie. If they had even the slightest lead, they wouldn’t need much to close out the game.
The snowball hit the ground rolling with Rookie and Ning getting first blood on Perkz, but G2 was quick to respond with a kill in the top and bottom lanes. Evening the playing field didn’t last long. TheShy and Rookie completely obliterated their lane opponents, and IG was once again faster on the map when it mattered the most. Other than a single misplay in the mid lane, they completely demolished G2.
In the end, game two looked like your average one-sided solo queue beatdown.
Game three started off great for G2 as they were able to create two quick kills over Ning and TheShy. Their momentum didn’t wear off as they were the more proactive team for the first time in the series. They had engagement, crowd control, and a willingness to be the aggressor. While they never had a big gold lead, they were in control of the game, and that was a refreshing sight.
That said, IG was looking for the perfect fight before turning the game on its head. One insane play from TheShy later, and IG was in full control, knocking down G2’s nexus. It was almost effortless, and it was one of the fastest best-of-five worlds semi-final matches in World’s history. While G2 fought to the best of their ability, it wasn’t enough. Not even close.
Invictus Gaming’s play style has revolved around solo lane dominance. That was never the optimal strategy – until now.
After the first worlds semi-final match concluded, everyone was set on the biggest, most important EU vs. NA clash in World’s history.
Cloud9 were heading into the match with a fair amount of hype. They were fearless, prone to heavy skirmishing, and they weren’t afraid of going blow-for-blow with the very best teams in the world. Fnatic was the favorite, and with good reason, but after witnessing their inconsistent play against Edward Gaming, fans were getting scared.
Unfortunately, the second worlds semi-final match was just as one-sided as the first one.
Cloud9 had the worst possible start in game one, as Fnatic was able to secure three quick kills in the mid and top lane. They also won the draft by a considerable margin, with Caps getting his hands on LeBlanc, Broxah getting the playmaking blind monk, Hylissang going for the insane engage potential with Rakan, and Rekkles getting the late game insurance in Sivir. Fnatic was the more proactive team from the very get-go, they read Cloud9 like a book. It was a complete blowout. You could hardly call it competitive.
Fnatic completely outclassed the North American representative on an individual level, but also in the macro department. By the twentieth minute mark, Fnatic was up by ten thousand gold, four turrets, and over ten kills. It really didn’t look like a worlds semi-final clash, but rather like a fight between a number one seed and a wildcard team.
Game three was much of the same overall. Fnatic was faster on the map; they were more proactive and willing to dictate the pace of the game. The fact that Broxah pulled out Rek’Sai, a champion that we haven’t seen in what feels like ages and completely shut down Svenskeren’s Xin Zhao was a insult to injury.
While Cloud9 did some things well, it wasn’t enough. Fnatic had the insane shot-calling and mental fortitude and eventually closed the game out by the book. The whole three-game series was an extremely exciting, bloody affair that combined an epic display of Fnatic’s skill with overall team cohesion.
Cloud9 made a lot of questionable decisions in the pick and ban phase throughout the series; they didn’t play well individually either. They were reactive from minute one, and their counter to Bwipo’s Viktor in the top lane was pretty underwhelming, to say the least. It took Fnatic just twenty-five minutes to close out game one, thirty-three minutes for game two (after an insane quadra kill from Caps that sealed Cloud9’s fate), and thirty-five for game three.
All three games were incredibly one-sided. To be fair, game two was probably the closest as Cloud9 made a few good choices, but Fnatic ultimately demolished them in the worlds semi-final matchup.
Cloud9 has champion oceans, insane pocket picks, and highly versatile strategies. Why they would put Jensen, one of the best performing mid laners at World’s on Lissandra for three games in a row is beyond comprehension.
In the end, it was the two best teams in the world stepping up for a final duel. Both Fnatic and Invictus Gaming have played each other three times (with Fnatic leading 2-1) in the Group Stage. What happens this weekend is completely up in the air. While Fnatic beat them when it mattered most, the meta has evolved, and it’s favoring IG.
Expect an absolutely insane finale that will go the five-game distance.
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