The top 10 games from the group stages of the Season 4 World Championship
We are only a day away from the playoff phase. There, the two Samsung teams, Edward Gaming, Team SoloMid, Cloud9, Najin White Shield, OMG and StarHorn Royal Club will decide the new bearer of the crown. With favourites and dark horses making their final preparations before Friday - fans and critics are eagerly making predictions and discussing the beginning of the end. Before the gauntlet commences, however, we take a look back at the group stage one more time.
Across the four groups we have gathered the ten most exciting match-ups and listed them below. From unspeakable upsets and edge-of-the-seat action to seemingly effortless and beautiful strategic outplay of the opposing team to finally, crazy mechanical outplays and lane domination like non-other. Gathering games from all groups and regions of play, this is the top ten groups stage games of the Season 4 World Championship you should not miss.
10. SK Gaming vs Team SoloMid - TSM victory, Game 1
The oldest rivalry in the history of League of Legends is Europe versus North America. And while our competitors across the ocean have not had as much success on the international scene as we have, Team SoloMid sent a clear message to Europe by completely trashing SK.
The number three European seed, the ones who almost took down Alliance were swept by a merciless team which executed their every move with Korean precision. TSM outclassed SK in every aspect and dismantled the opposition, drawing first blood in the EU vs NA rivalry at the Season 4 World Championship.
In SK Gaming's defense, they had to use a stand-in, Challenger jungler Gilius due to Svenskeren's nickname incident. This however, should not take away from the ease with which Team SoloMid asserted their dominance over the Europeans. If you are a proud American, loving the freedom in the air, apple pie and president Lincoln, this is the game you should start your group stage recap from!
9. Samsung Galaxy White vs Edward Gaming - SSW victory, Game 1
The opener of Worlds 2014 saw China's champions - Edward Gaming, go head-to-head with Korea's number two, Samsung Galaxy White. The Korean powerhouse established their dominance right from the start by snowballing a trade of Dragon for the first blood on top, given to Looper. Conducting the entire White orchestra, DanDy made all the right plays happen afterwards. Incredibly exciting team fights and quite the number of bloody baron dances, this game will leave you wondering if EDG could come back after the next skirmish.
Battles and an impeccable DanDy aside, the two outstanding players this match were Fzzf and Mata. Both being the best supports in their respective regions, it was no wonder seeing hooks, lanterns, bubbles and tidal waves being hit left and right. Fzzf secured invaluable picks for the Chinese and although they did not manage to swing the gold lead in their favour, EDG gave White a good run for their money in a very exciting opening game of the Season 4 World Championships.
8. Team SoloMid vs StarHorn Royal Club - SHRC victory, Game 1
Three words, ten letters, say them and StarHorn will demolish everyone. Uzi and Cola starred in one of the most one-sided game played in the group stages. StarHorn Royal Club gave a severe headache not only to TSM, but to the many Chinese scene experts who coudln't hear the end of the much hated "Chinese aggression" phrase.
From the early stages of the game, the Chinese team took the lead by successfully skirmishing against a puzzled NA side. Bottom and top lane were quickly decided and it took inSec to show up only once in both places to completely seal the fate of TSM. Cola's Irelia and Uzi's Tristana melted everything that stood in their way and spearheaded the team to the top of Group A. If you're a fan of non-stop fights, crazy outplays and Uzi's mindlessly aggressive antics or simply want to see the Chinese Aggression (TM) in action, press play on the VoD above.
7. Ahq eSports vs Edward Gaming - Ahq victory, Game 2
Ahq eSports landed the first upset in the tournament by defeating EDG in front of their home crowd. While many would argue that the Chinese opposition was shaky or not performing up to their usual standard, one cannot take away the credit from the Taiwanese who refused to give in. Frantically searching for an opening to punish EDG and break their deadlock, the team's success came from an unexpected place - Chinese AD Carry NaMei.
With two jaw-dropping hooks onto the marksman, Greentea became the hero of Ahq and completely turned around the tide of the game. Two late game team fights in the bag, the quintet of excited Taiwanese players marched into EDG's base and took down the nexus, putting their opponents in a rather rough spot versus heavy contenders Samsung White in the last game of the group. If you want to see how a simple misplay can cost you the game, you should definitely check this match.
6. SK Gaming vs Team SoloMid - SK Gaming victory, Game 2
What a game... SK Gaming had to face Team SoloMid in a rematch for their honor. When those two met previously, TSM mercilessly punished a weak SK and beat them to the ground. Now, with Svenskeren back in the starting line-up, things looked differently for the Europeans. Staying true to their strategic approach to the game, SK went for a split push composition and relied on outrotating the enemy.
Team SoloMid however, played the game with iron discipline. Taking the upper hand in skirmishes, the North American champions starved SK out and carefully planned their every rotation, baron dance or wave clear in order to not leave comeback windows. Just as the final hour was upon SK, Team SoloMid fell flat on their backs in a jaw dropping manner. What makes this game interesting to watch is SK Gaming's ability to remain in the game despite being pressured into taking a more defensive stance.
After the final blow was struck and we saw Amazing's disappointed face who couldn't comprehend that they were so close to avoiding Samsung White, only one thought remained... What would have happened if Svenskeren had not been barred?
5. Fnatic vs Samsung Galaxy Blue - Fnatic victory, Game 1
Samsung Blue versus Fnatic was probably the most hyped match-up of group C. The Korean number one versus the European number two promised exciting action, especially with Fnatic's history of giving their maximum in international tournaments. Coming in as heavy favourtes, skirmish kings and late game decision masters, Blue was not expected to lose to Fnatic.
The game opened up big with a one-on-one play by xPeke's Ahri versus Dade's Zed. Although Zed took the kill, the minions retaliated and equalized the score. Fnatic continued to take favourable trades and seemingly got under the skin of their Korean counterparts. Mistakes in their game play shone through - taking 3 vs 5 battles, ulting the wrong targets and misusage of items, among others. The Fnatic victory shocked the scene and there were even speculations of collusion which, fortunately, were quickly put to rest.
Europe took a Korean victim first and sent a message that they are here to play. Unfortunately for Fnatic, this was their first and last great moment in Singapore.
4. KaBum! eSports vs Alliance - KaBum! victory, Game 2
The biggest upset in the entire group stage came from a group of five Brazilian players who outclassed Alliance in their own game. Prior to this match, Alliance was in a very sweet spot - they needed to score a win to ensure their playoff participation and keep the pride of Europe alive. Things took a disastrous turn as after the defeat, Alliance not only left that sweet spot, but were also thrown out of the tournament after Cloud9 beat Najin White Shield to surpass the Europeans.
Tinowns, dans and LEP played an amazing early game. LEP did his absolute best to punish Wickd's Kayle pick and dictated his every move until the end of the game. Tinowns, while only containing the beast that is Froggen, snatched kills off of Tabzz and Nyph who seemed surprisingly out of sync. This snowballed into an uncoordinated Alliance who couldn't even equalize the gold difference. Several skrimishes later, KaBum were down in kills but up in towers, gold and map presence.
Playing their advantages by the book, the representatives of Brazil ended Europe's hope of a playoff participant and put a question mark on certain Alliance members' spots.
3. Cloud9 vs Najin White Shield - Cloud 9 victory, Game 2
After Alliance's horrible blunder, Cloud 9 were in pole position to snatch the number 2 spot. The only thing they had to do was beat Korea's Najin White Shield. Opting for a split-pushing Zed, Cloud 9 fell behind early, but managed to equalize the score once mid game rolled in by taking advantage of White Shield's skirmish slip-ups. Equal in gold and items, C9 did what they do best and outrotated Shield.
This lead to teamfights with no clear winner once late game was approaching, but the North American team took objective after objective, sucker-punching Shield with split-pushes every time they committed to a fight outside their base. Unable to deal with the pressure, Shield crumbled and after being aced, lost the game. This allowed Cloud 9 to become the second representative of North America in the playoff phase. If you are a fan of the entertaining Cloud 9 style, mixed with exciting skirmishes, the VoD above is just what you need!
2. Alliance vs Najin White Shield - Alliance victory, Game 2
Following Fnatic's example, Alliance beat Koreans Najin White Shield, but also took it one step further. The gang lead by Froggen played a perfect game - 0 towers and 0 kills for the enemy. An impressive achievement in its own right, this makes their flop post-Najin even more mind baffling. The center piece this time was Shook who played a magnificent game.
Allowed his faithful Lee Sin, the Dutch jungler perfectly counter-ganked top to give advantage to Wickd. In a matter of minutes, Shook snowballed the other 2 lanes, making the game a nightmare come true for Shield. Unable to counteract the aggressive play maker, the Korean opposition fell further and further behind. Definitely one of the most exciting and entertaining games to watch during the group stages.
1. OMG vs Fnatic - OMG victory, Game 2
Backs against the wall, Fnatic were looking for a must-win against Chinese OMG. Despite Peke's sparks of brilliance, the European magic was diminishing and the team needed a win to stay in the tournament. OMG were in a similar position, but mentally had the upper hand given their victory against the Europeans in the first round of group stage games.
This game had it all. An eventful laning phase, turnarounds, crazy baron dances, exciting and unpredictable team fights and base race opportunities. If that was not enough, the match also gave us a one hit nexus scenario and on top of that, three enemy members trying to take it down. Fans, commentators and critics were shouting their lungs off during the face-off and couldn't believe what was happening. Most of all, this match had drama. Due to a misinterpreted interaction it actually spawned a megathread on reddit due to the overwhelming suspicions of an in-game bug affecting the outcome in the final seconds. Suspicions which were later thoroughly dispelled by an official statement by Nick Allen.
This is the one game which you must not miss. The VoD is ready, are you?
Images courtesy of lolesports
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