This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
The 2017 League of Legends Pro League Summer Split kicked off with a bang Wednesday as OMG took a 2-0 series sweep over Royal Never Give Up to begin Week 1, Day 1 in Shanghai.
OMG (1-0, 2-0 match record) drafted a scary teamfighting composition in Game 1, which got rolling after jungler Chen "World6" Yu-Tian's Lee Sin picked up first blood around the five-minute mark. After that, the floodgates were open as kills began pouring in for OMG across the map. Securing objectives with ease, OMG rotated circles around Royal Never Give Up, who looked lost in the mid game. While RNG's pick composition found a couple of stray kills to stay within striking distance, a 2-for-1 teamfight gave OMG a 28-minute Baron buff, which proved to be all it needed to take the game. Sweeping through RNG's base on the back of top laner Hu "Xiyang" Bin's Jarvan IV, who used Cataclysm to serve up RNG members for the rest of OMG to easily execute en route to a 3/1/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) and MVP honors, OMG took Game 1 in a sudden burst of energy, taking RNG's Nexus down at 31 minutes.
While Game 2 didn't see a flurry of early kills, there was nonetheless action aplenty in the early game. Royal Never Give Up (0-1, 0-2 match record) finally got on the board at 16 minutes when OMG committed too hard for an Elemental Drake, winning a 2-for-0 fight and giving first blood to substitute AD carry Wang "wuxx" Cheng's Xayah. Despite RNG's teamfighting composition dominating OMG's siege composition in the mid game, it couldn't capitalize on the early lead, allowing OMG to pull even in gold. OMG quickly took control after that, taking a 5-for-2 ace from seemingly out of nowhere to secure a 28-minute Baron kill. Sieging with AD carry Han "Smlz" Jin's Caitlyn was easy for OMG, who kept pressure on RNG's structures in a deadly 1-3-1 split-push. In the end, while RNG mid laner Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao's Orianna made a heroic stand at the Elder Dragon to secure it and a quadra kill for RNG, OMG mid laner Xie "Icon" Tian-Yu's Ekko was busy destroying RNG's Nexus, completing the 2-0 sweep in a 38-minute Game 2 victory.
OMG next take to the Rift on Saturday to take on JD Gaming at 5 a.m ET, while Royal Never Give Up prepares to face a revamped LGD Gaming squad at 8 a.m ET on Saturday.
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The end of Week 1, Day 1 of the League of Legends Pro League might be too early to make grandiose predictions, but LGD Gaming certainly impressed with its new roster with a clean 2-0 sweep of JD Gaming on Wednesday in Shanghai.
The tone for the series was established early in Game 1 with a 1-for-1 trade at just three minutes between both teams' junglers. JD Gaming (0-1, 0-2 match record) took an early lead after securing the Rift Herald at 14 minutes, but LGD Gaming did well to keep JD Gaming's lead to only 1,000 gold. LGD tried to take control with a 23-minute Baron kill, but it cost LGD dearly as JD cleaned up the ensuing fight 4-for-2. One active Baron buff was apparently all LGD needed to take control, though, going up by 2,000 gold at the 28-minute mark. Constant fighting meant that LGD's late game composition featuring AD carry Gu "Imp" Seung-bin's Kalista and newly acquired mid laner Yu "Cool" Jia-Jun's Orianna ripped JD Gaming to shreds in late game teamfights, taking a final 5-for-0 teamfight to close out a bloody, 35 kill win in 33 minutes.
JD Gaming hoped that swapping out its duo lane and jungler would help it in Game 2, but LGD Gaming (1-0, 2-0 match record) was firing on all cylinders. Despite giving up first blood in a 2-for-1 skirmish in the bottom-side river at six minutes, LGD out-fought JDG a few minutes later, picking up a 4-for-1 teamfight win to start an unstoppable snowball. Support Chen "Pyl" Bo had a breathtaking performance as Thresh, landing Death Sentence after Death Sentence to give LGD a strong lead throughout several scrappy midgame fights. JDG's lack of waveclear meant that LGD's strong teamfighting composition could bully JDG around the map, especially after picking up an extended 5-for-1 ace at 13 minutes. The man of the match was Cool's Cassiopeia, finishing with a 5/1/11 KDA for 76 percent kill participation. With a 10,000-gold lead at 20 minutes, LGD took a free Baron kill and stormed into JDG's base, using an Imp triple kill to lock up the 27-minute Game 2 win.
LGD Gaming will hope to maintain its momentum heading into a Saturday showdown against Royal Never Give Up at 8 a.m ET, while JD Gaming look to bounce back against OMG at 5 a.m ET on Saturday.
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DAN Gaming might be new to the League of Legends Pro League, but it looked like grizzled vets Friday in its 2-0 sweep of EDward Gaming during Week 1, Day 2 in Shanghai.
EDward Gaming (0-1, 0-2 match record) had a strong start in Game 1 with the duo lane picking up two kills in a 2-vs-2 outplay at five minutes. EDG continued to snowball ahead in the mid game, rotating with its split pushing composition, but sloppy play allowed DAN Gaming to find some crucial kills as time went on. DAN tried to swing momentum in its favor with a desperation Baron kill at 20 minutes, which EDG punished with a 3-for-0 followup team fight win. Despite EDG leading by 4,000-gold lead after the 26-minute-mark, it couldn't shut DAN out in the late game, where the LPL newcomers mounted an epic comeback. Picking up kills throughout the late game, DAN took over the game with two kills and a second Baron at 34 minutes, earning a gold lead for the first time in the contest. After securing an Elder Dragon, DAN had all the tools it needed to pick up a 4-for-0 teamfight win in EDG's base, finally finishing Game 1 in just under 42 minutes.
EDG's woes continued into Game 2, despite subbing in legendary jungler Ming "Clearlove" Kai. DAN jungler Jeong "Karin" Soo-jong's Graves picked up an early kill at six minutes, snowballing ahead as the team (1-0, 2-0 match record) traded back-and-forth kills with EDG throughout the mid game. The gold was dead even between both teams at 20 minutes, but DAN began to pull away late with a 29-minute Baron kill alongside an Infernal Drake. DAN played a methodical late game with its teamfighting-oriented composition, creating space for AD carry Zhang "Qiuqiu" Ming's Varus to carry teamfights and finish with a 5/1/6 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 85 percent kill participation. After a second DAN Baron kill and 36-minute Elder Dragon, DAN completed the series sweep with a 4-for-0 fight in EDG's base, securing the Game 2 win in 39 minutes.
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Week 1, Day 2 of the League of Legends Pro League closed on Friday with Team WE picking up a hard fought 2-1 series win over Invictus Gaming in Shanghai.
Team WE (1-0, 2-1 match record) didn't quite have the hero's welcome it was expecting after a successful playoff run at the Mid-Season Invitational, falling behind early in Game 1 despite jungler Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie's Gragas picking up two kills before five minutes. Invictus Gaming took firm control of the mid game thanks to strong rotational play, eventually securing a free Baron kill at 31 minutes. Team WE's mid game team fighting composition got outscaled by IG's pick comp, powered by mid laner Song "Rookie" Eui-jin's Syndra, who dealt a whopping 27,100 damage to enemy champions, over 10,000 damage higher than his nearest competition. As a result, Invictus Gaming would parlay a final 5-for-1 fight into a 34-minute win.
In stark contrast to the subdued action in Game 1, Game 2 began with a bloodbath as both teams combined for a kill per minute through the first nine minutes. Throughout the carnage, IG top laner Lee "Duke" Ho-seong's Rumble had a miserable time in the early game, holding a score of 0/4 at 10 minutes. WE came out of a blood-drenched early game with a minor gold lead, putting its late game team fighting composition ahead of schedule, leading to a 21-minute Baron. While it took a couple of attempts, Team WE eventually cracked IG's base open, leading to a 11,000-gold lead at 30 minutes. Invictus Gaming (0-1, 1-2 match record) tried its best to stay alive in the face of WE's objective control, taking a 5-for-1 ace on the back of a triple kill from Rookie's Viktor, but it ultimately didn't matter. On the back of two Infernal Drakes, a Mountain Drake, an Ocean Drake, a charged up Elder Dragon, and two Baron kills, WE's smothering objective control gave it the Game 2 win in 39 minutes.
Team WE's Game 3 composition seemed destined for failure as it lacked any kind of wave clear in its highly mobile pick comp, but it ultimately didn't matter as it still clobbered Invictus Gaming. Invictus briefly took control with first blood at seven minutes, but WE responded with Condi's Rengar securing the Rift Herald while WE's bot lane took first tower gold. After WE summoned the Rift Herald to take down the outer two top lane towers, WE had enough gold to finally start tearing through IG's weakened teamfighting composition, taking a 4-for-1 at the Dragon Pit at 21 minutes that led to a WE Baron kill. Team WE, following a recent international trend, then took its lead and ran it down the mid lane, knocking down two towers before taking a 4-for-1 fight to go up 7,000 gold. A final 5-for-1 teamfight win for WE sealed the deal, as it secured the Game 3 win in under 27 minutes, beginning the task of defending its crown with an entertaining series win.
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Newbee kicked off Week 1, Day 3 of the League of Legends Pro League in style on Friday, narrowly edging out Suning Gaming in an action-packed, two-and-a-half hour 2-1 series win in Shanghai.
EDITOR'S PICKS
LoL: Unicorns have no love for Monkeys
The Unicorns of Love swept the Mysterious Monkeys 2-0 on Friday in Berlin, despite a surprisingly close Game 2 to close out Week 2, Day 2 of the European League Championship Series.
Suning Gaming (0-1, 1-2 match record) drafted a teamfighting composition centered around AD carry Lee "Fury" Jin-yong's Kog'Maw, while Newbee picked up several skirmishing champions to go and kill him. Newbee started Game 1 with a lead after top laner Bae "V" Bo's Renekton picked up a clean kill for first blood, but Suning stayed within 1,500 gold going into the mid-game. Throughout a chaotic mid-game, rotations from both sides would eventually lead to picks, with both teams taking turns picking and being picked. After catching three members of Newbee in the bot lane, Suning found the necessary space to secure a Baron kill and an Elder Dragon around 37 minutes. With Fury online as a late-game terror, eventually finishing with a 6/1/10 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), one push is all it took for Suning to take one final teamfight before crushing Newbee's Nexus to take Game 1 in 40 minutes.
Game 2 saw Newbee (1-2, 2-1 match record) draft another high damage team composition, while Suning opted for a stronger teamfighting combo featuring jungler Fan "Avoidless" Jun Wei on Olaf and mid laner Li "dian" Guo-Peng on Galio, respectively. Newbee's started off strong as it found kills around the map through quick map rotations, but Suning hung around due to farm advantages in the top and bottom lanes. Suning's lead would get torn apart by Newbee jungler Baek "Swift" Da-hoon's Lee Sin, though, who applied consistent lane pressure and effective ganks after hitting level six that put Newbee ahead in all three lanes. Newbee rode this early lead to a 22-minute Baron kill, rendering Avoidless and dian effectively useless. Flooding into Suning's base, Newbee took Game 2 to even the series out at 1-1.
The teams swapped roles in Game 3, with Suning taking high damage champions such as Renekton and Kassadin into solo lanes while Newbee drafted a "Protect the Kog'Maw" composition for AD carry Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang. After a scrappy early game, Suning came out on top by winning a 3-for-1 teamfight in the bot lane at the 17-minute mark. Suning pressed its lead and looked to fight, but Newbee took advantage of Suning's over aggression to bring the gold back to even. As both teams danced around the map waiting for one to make a mistake, Suning's misplay in the mid lane led to a free Baron kill at 35 minutes for Newbee. Using the buff to great effect, Newbee quickly pushed into SNG's base and closed out the series at 2-1.
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OMG fought hard to come out on top of JD Gaming in a dramatic 2-1 series on Friday during the third day of Week 1 of the League of Legends Pro League in Shanghai.
OMG (2-0, 4-1 match record) drafted a "Protect the Kog'Maw" composition for AD carry Han "Smlz" Jin, but it couldn't stand up to JD Gaming's extreme early game pressure. Picking up first blood in a four-man tower dive in the top lane at nine minutes, JDG rotated circles around OMG, picking up towers through the splitpushing of top laner Kan "Kabe" Ho Man's Kennen. In a low-kill game, JDG secured its first Baron kill after clever map movements at the 26-minute mark, sprinting ahead while OMG waited for Smlz to scale into a late-game hypercarry. 10 minutes later, JDG picked up its second Baron of the match and dominated the ensuing fight 2-for-0, thanks to mid laner Kim "doinb" Tae-sang's Syndra. Simply put, doinb was a monster, dealing a game-high 30,300 damage to enemy champions for a staggering 67 percent of his team's damage. It was too little, way too late for OMG as Kabe backdoored OMG's Nexus to take Game 1 in 41 minutes.
Game 2 saw JD Gaming (0-2, 1-4 match record) swap several members of its roster around, but it didn't matter in the end as OMG demolished JDG. While JDG did pick up first blood and held a 1,000-gold lead at 10 minutes, OMG surged on the back of star mid laner Xie "Icon" Tian-Yu's Kassadin. After picking up two kills in a 2-for-1 teamfight for OMG, Icon snowballed out of control, picking up a triple kill at 20 minutes and finding crucial picks to give OMG a 24-minute Baron. Icon even went so far as to dive into JDG's base 1-vs-3 while the rest of his team swept through the bottom lane and picked up a double kill, taunting over JDG's corpses with his signature swagger. Finishing with a perfect 13/0/4 KDA for 89 percent kill participation and dealing a game-high 27,400 damage, Icon carried OMG to a lightning fast Game 2 win in 29 minutes.
JD Gaming swapped in its Game 1 roster in for Game 3, but the big substitution was that of OMG jungler Hu "Jiekou" Zi-Xiang, who played Zac to great effect. Getting OMG's high damage pick composition ahead with kills across the map, OMG surged as each member outperformed its JDG counterpart. After a 21-minute Baron kill after taking down three JDG members, OMG's incredible teamfighting and engage potential destroyed JDG before its carries could scale up, taking everything from JD Gaming. In what seemed more like a mercy killing, OMG took a final 5-for-0 ace and destroyed JDG's Nexus to complete a 25-minute destruction to close out the series.
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It wasn't clean by any means, but Royal Never Give Up picked up its first win of the split with a 2-1 over LGD Gaming on Saturday to wrap up Week 1, Day 3 of the League of Legends Pro League in Shanghai.
Throughout the early stages of Game 1, Royal Never Give Up (1-1, 2-3 match record) pulled ahead of LGD Gaming on the back of top laner Yan "Letme" Jun-Ze's Jarvan IV who was largely responsible for RNG's 2,500-gold lead at 14 minutes. By the 23-minute mark, RNG's superior teamfighting/siege composition was too far ahead for LGD's initiation-heavy comp to do much of anything. RNG jungler Liu "Mlxg" Shi-Yu was huge on Elise, setting up picks to give RNG free objectives, such as a 31-minute Baron kill and three Mountain Drakes, finishing with a perfect 2/0/13 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 100 percent kill participation. With a 11,100-gold lead at 35 minutes, and an Elder Dragon secured shortly after that, RNG crushed LGD to take Game 1 in 39 minutes.
LGD Gaming (1-1, 3-2 match record) stormed back in Game 2, drafting a "Protect the Kog'Maw" composition revolving around AD carry Gu "Imp" Seung-bin. Putting heavy pressure on the bottom half of the map, LGD gave Imp two kills by seven minutes, beginning his snowball. RNG was stubborn, however, as Letme's Fiora pushed for several towers as the game entered a massive mid-game lull. LGD seemed to gain control in the mid game, but a 32-minute Baron attempt was stolen by RNG mid laner Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao's Syndra. Xiaohu's heroics allowed RNG to take a small gold lead before LGD jumped back on top, thanks in large part to Imp, who was massive on Kog'Maw. Despite Xiaohu playing well in the late game, Imp picked up a triple kill en route to his 13/2/7 KDA for 91 percent kill participation, mercifully finishing Game 2 in 44 minutes.
RNG made a substitution in Game 3 that paid off in the end with jungler Hu "Y1HAN" Zhi-Wei coming in to play Lee Sin. Y1HAN immediately made an impact as he gave first blood over to AD carry Wang "y4" Nong-Mo's Ashe at five minutes, but LGD kept things close heading into the mid game. LGD's global pick composition did well to find occasional kills, but RNG responded in kind with its similar composition of strong roaming playmakers. RNG then botched a 15-minute teamfight, giving LGD a huge gold lead. LGD held a 10-to-2 kill lead by 19 minutes, but RNG found a huge 5-for-2 ace at 20 minutes to claw its way back. Securing a 21-minute Baron, RNG surged into LGD's base, taking a 5-for-2 ace in LGD's base at 26 minutes to wrap up the 2-1 series win.
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Week 1, Day 4 of the League Pro League kicked off with EDward Gaming quickly sweeping Snake Esports 2-0 on Sunday in Shanghai.
The drafting phase for both teams shaped up to be a little different than the usual meta with Snake Esports (0-1, 0-2 match record) putting mid laner Liu "Zz1tai" Zhi-Hao on Kled in the mid lane, while EDward Gaming jungler Ming "Clearlove" Kai locked in his signature Evelynn. EDG (1-1, 2-2 match record) started off on the right foot, making sure to pressure Snake all around the map. Snake kept up with the pressure at first, but it was only a matter of time before EDG began to crumble Snake's resolve by simply being persistent and forcing Snake to make desperate calls. Snake reacted by attempting Baron at the 21-minute mark, but Clearlove and company moved quickly to take 3 kills and the Baron to break open the Snake base with little effort. Snake was then powerless to stop as EDG took the final teamfight and secured the 29-minute rout.
Going into Game 2, Snake looked to keep Clearlove from snowballing and carrying EDG by spending three bans on jungle champions. EDG reacted to the pick composition of Snake by putting top laner Chen "Mouse" Yu-Hao on Kled and mid laner Lee "Scout" Ye-chan on Galio for a strong teamfighting combo. EDG got out to a lead early on by barely surviving some early skirmishes and turning them against Snake. Before long, Snake executed a four-man dive in the bot lane to earn two kills and a tower with little consequence, flipping the game on its head. EDG managed to even the game out by utilizing RIft Herald in the mid lane to take a teamfight victory and a tower, however. Similar to Game 1, Snake attempted an early Baron at the 25-minute mark, but a wary EDG reacted to take the Baron for itself. With its newfound buff, EDG relentlessly went at the Snake towers and base while eliminating any opposition that Snake set up. It was only a matter of time before EDG locked up the 32-minute win to secure the sweep.
Snake eSports will return to play DAN Gaming next Thursday at 6 a.m ET, while EDward Gaming will play the following game against I May at 9 a.m ET.
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Team WE wasted little time on Sunday, taking a 2-0 sweep over DAN Gaming during Week 1, Day 4 of the League of Legends Pro League in Shanghai.
Team WE (2-0, 4-1 match record) got on the board early as jungler Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie picked up first blood as Kha'Zix at five minutes, snowballing out of control from there. With its high-damage teamfighting composition, WE bullied DAN Gaming (1-1, 2-2 match record) across the map, taking free objectives, including three highly coveted Infernal Drakes, as DAN seemed paralyzed with indecision. With a 4,400-gold lead at 23 minutes, Team WE further grew its lead with a Baron, smashing DAN in subsequent teamfights. Condi was massive for WE, shutting DAN's jungler completely out of the game while support Nam "Ben" Dong-hyun picked up a 1/0/10 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 79 percent kill participation as Thresh, helping WE take Game 1 in under 29 minutes.
DAN Gaming's suffering continued into Game 2, where its pick composition couldn't find picks while WE's versatile, high-damage composition found whatever it wanted, including first blood and first tower gold for top laner Ke "957" Chang-Yu's Jarvan IV. DAN Gaming merely watched as the game almost immediately slipped out of its fingers with a delayed 5-for-0 ace in WE's favor at 19 minutes, leading to a WE Baron at the 23-minute mark. Mid laner Su "xiye" Han-Wei was massive as Kassadin after WE gifted him free kills on the more confused and/or tilted members of DAN, dealing a game-high 24,200 damage to enemy champions alongside picking up a 10/1/7 KDA for 89 percent kill participation. With xiye leading the way, it was all but trivial as WE pushed into DAN's base at 35 minutes to complete a dominant 2-0 sweep.
DAN Gaming will look to recover when it takes on Snake Esports on Thursday at 5 a.m. ET, while Team WE has to wait until Saturday to get its hands on Snake Esports at 8 a.m. ET.
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Invictus Gaming spoiled I May's return to the League of Legends Pro League on Sunday with a hard-fought 2-1 series win to close out Week 1, Day 4 in Shanghai.
I May (0-1, 1-2 match record) had a strong start to Game 1 as its siege/splitpushing composition secured first blood in a 2-for-0 fight at 12 minutes. Despite the strong start, Invictus Gaming (1-1, 3-3 match record) brought the game to a mid-game lull through good rotations across the map. IG had hung its hat on top laner Lee "Duke" Ho-seong's Fiora but once IM top laner Shek "AmazingJ" Wai Ho's Camille got sufficiently ahead, it seemed like IG was completely out of options. Taking advantage of three Mountain Drakes, IM easily took two Barons in the late game to allow its composition to fully come online and pick apart IG. Leading the charge was AmazingJ who finished with an 8/2/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) to help secure the 37-minute Game 1 win.
Invictus Gaming took a "Protect the Kog'Maw" composition into I May's second iteration of the siege/splitpushing playstyle, but this time IG took an early lead. While IM did well to prevent IG from running away with the match, limiting IG's gold lead to under 2,000 gold through the mid game, IG couldn't be held down. IG took a very well played 4-for-0 in the mid lane that led to a 20-minute Baron buff, leaving IM defenseless to watch as IG cut through its defenses. Surging with the Baron buff, IG took another 4-for-0 in IM's base, securing the Game 2 win in under 25 minutes.
Both teams changed strategies heading into Game 3, with I May opting for a pick composition while Invictus settled on a strong teamfighting composition. While IM took the first blood, strong play from the side of IG gave it a 5-for-2 ace at 17 minutes to even things up. IG eventually took control thanks to Rookie's Vladimir, who pumped out tons of damage in the mid-late game teamfights. Slowly falling behind as the game went on, IM attempted a desperation Baron at 34 minutes only for IG to come up with a major punish. Using the Baron buff, IG took one final 3-for-1 teamfight in IM's base, giving Rookie the finishing touches on his 8/3/13 KDA for 100 percent kill participation as it closed out the 2-1 series win.
I May next takes to the Rift to take on EDward Gaming on Thursday at 8 a.m. ET, while Invictus Gaming take on EDward Gaming on Saturday at 5 a.m ET.
