Last night’s match between Samsung White and Team SoloMid was one of the most exciting match ups in the 2014 League of Legends World Championship. In case you missed it, though, here is a recap of everything you missed.
Samsung White
Dandy: Elise
Imp: Twitch
Mata: Thresh
Looper: Rhyse
Pawn: Jayce
Team Solomid
Dyrus: Lulu
Bjergsen: Zed
Wildturtle: Lucian
Lustboy: Janna
Amazing: Kha’zix
Samsung White dominated Team Solomid in the early meta game; they did a much better job than the North Americans in the pre-game match up. It was apparent that the Koreans had done their homework–banning specific, strategic enemies and playing into personal strengths. Imp once again selected Twitch, his strongest, most effective champion. And Looper chose Rhyse–a baffling selection that proved fruitful in the mid and late phases of the game.
Team Solomid played it safe. They banned champions with high universal success rates, which allowed Samsung White to select its most dominant champions. Bjergsen played it safe with Zed, and Dyrus selected Lulu. Both selections were incredibly safe; Samsung White had an answer for both of them.
Samsung White looked confident–cocky almost–in their first match, their backs slouching against their chairs, their fingers resting coolly–deliberately–above their keys. Mata brushed playfully at his hair. Imp smiled and adjusted his glasses. They were having fun. And they had every right to have fun. All five North American commentators had picked them to defeat Team Solomid 3-0. They were undefeated, heavily favored, and paired with their favorite champions.
They crushed Team Solomid in twenty-seven minutes.
Looper quickly took the top lane and began to build experience. He was the first player to reach tier. Imp took a major risk, left the bottom lane, and began to push the jungle. TSM blundered in the lane swap, and White pushed wards deep into enemy territory. After the lane swap, White took advantage of all three buffs in the jungle. They defeated their first dragon at 12:45 and claimed another one around 20:30. They stayed together through the mid game and won a major exchange shortly after 20:00. Imp sacrificed himself for Looper. Looper leveled and eliminated Bjergsen. White then regrouped, waited for minions to spawn, and pushed the Nexus. Dryus fell at 26:30, Wildturtle died at 26:50, and Lustboy died shortly thereafter. With no one to defend the Nexus, Samsung White finished the match in exactly twenty-seven minutes.
Bad move, Looper.
Samsung White
Dandy: Kha’zix
Imp: Twitch
Mata:Janna
Looper: Singed
Pawn: Fizz
Team Solomid
Dyrus: Maokai
Bjergsen: Zed
Wildturtle: Corki
Lustboy: Nami
Amazing: Jarvan IV
The selection was more of the same from both teams. The fire behind Samsung White’s confidence began to burn out of control, though. They were beginning to lose discipline. Looper selected Singed. The character choice infuriated commentator Montecristo, who later called him an “ass”.
That said, Samsung White commanded the second round. They looked unstoppable.
It took Samsung White almost twenty-nine minutes to defeat Team Solomid in the second game. The defeat was brutal; even a chanting auditorium of turned fans could not rally them.
Team Solomid failed to contain Dandy at the beginning of the match. Within the first four minutes, Dandy had taken two buffs and was preparing to take a third. Amazing and Bjergsen both fell before the five minute mark, at 4:00 and 4:25, respectively. TSM was able to gank Dandy and Lustboy shortly after 11:00, but it was too little too late. SSW was already winning 8-2, and they were building momentum. Darius and Bjergsen both fell at 12:10, shortly followed by Amazing (12:25) and Wildturtle (12:30). 12-3, Samsung White. White slew the dragon at 15:22 and began to push the middle lane. Dandy went on a killing spree shortly before 20:00, lengthening White’s lead to 16-3; he also destroyed an inhibitor. Samsung White then shut down Team Solomid in a big exchange, further increasing their lead to 21-4. They fought again shortly thereafter, making it 25-7, Samsung White. At this point, White held a 15k gold advantage over Team Solomid (50.5k to 35k). They took the Baron at 26:30, and they won another exchange. Imp destroyed another inhibitor at 27:30, and Team Solomid’s Nexus fell at 28:47.
The boys are back in town.
Samsung White
Dandy: Kha’zix
Imp: Tristana
Mata: Morgana
Looper: Dr. Mundo
Pawn: Kassadin
Team SoloMid
Dyrus: Ryze
Bjergsen: Yasuo
Wildturtle: Lucian
Lustboy: Thresh
Amazing: Jarvan IV
After their second victory in a row, Samsung White began to break down. They started make silly, arrogant decisions that almost cost them a seat in the semifinals. They felt invincible. Even the team’s coach, Homme, began to lose sight of the victory at hand. In a brief interview before the draft, he said, “…because we have prepared so well… We don’t have to worry about [this match]”. Samsung White wasted their picks. They made foolish, cocky draft decisions that left them defenseless against Team SoloMid’s new, aggressive early game strategy. Imp’s Tristana, Looper’s Dr. Mundo, and Pawn’s Kassadin were among the worst picks of the entire series.
And they paid for it.
The crowd turned against the favored home team. As players locked in their final selections, the auditorium erupted in cheers for TSM. They wanted an upset. The arena was electric. Samsung White thought they had mentally dominated Team SoloMid.
Not yet.
Team SoloMid set their wards at the edges of their territory and gathered in the jungle. From there, they attempted a five-man push on the bottom. It worked. They took the first turret, killed a dragon, and killed five members of Samsung White in the first five minutes of the match. They gathered a blue buff at 7:30 and snuffed Imp at 9:05. Team SoloMid took another dragon shortly thereafter and killed Dyrus at 13:10. They took two middle turrets. Pawn went down at 15:37; 2-7 Team SoloMid. They took their third dragon at 17:43 and downed a second bottom turret. Samsung White was on its heels. They managed three kills around the twenty minute mark, but it was not enough to catch Team SoloMid. Mata and Pawn both died around 20:30, making the score 4-10. TSM killed the Baron and killed Mata around 22:00. They downed an inhibitor at 23:30, and killed yet another dragon less than a minute later. They finished off a second inhibitor at 24:30, and finished the match at 27:00.
The crowd exploded. Team SoloMid claimed their first win against a Korean team–their first in fourteen meetings–and Samsung white admitted their first loss in the tournament. When asked about the victory in a post game interview, coach Locodoco was ecstatic! He replied, “We showed that they aren’t immortal, that they can be beat…we really wanted to show that North America [could] show up.”
And show up they did. In a moment fit for Hollywood, Team SoloMid beat Samsung White.
Yasuo and Lee Sin’s ultimate is the stuff of nightmares.
Samsung White
Dandy: Lee Sin
Imp: Twitch
Mata: Braum
Looper: Kayle
Pawn: Yasuo
Team SoloMid
Dyrus: Dr. Mundo
Bjergsen: Ahri
Wildturtle: Lucian
Lustboy: Thresh
Amazing: Kha’zix
Reeling from their loss in the third game, Samsung White pulled no punches in fourth game. Their champion selection was brutal. Imp selected Twitch for a third time, Looper chose Kale, and Pawn and Dandy teamed up with Yasuo and Lee Sin. Team SoloMid, meanwhile, played it safe with selections of Lucien, Thresh, and Kha’zix.
After getting caught off guard in the early phase of the third game, Samsung White pushed hard in the fourth game. They controlled the tempo of the field, managed the lanes, and initiated all early attacks. Imp began farming the top for the late game. Team SoloMid killed a dragon at 6:42, but it was not enough to stop Samsung White’s momentum. White made eight kills in the first ten minutes, including Wildturtle at 8:30 and Lustboy at 10:30. Team SoloMid pushed high into the mid lane around 13:40, but they suffered a pentakill because of it. Dyrus fell at 17:24, and Bjergsen fell at 18:10. Team SoloMid refused to give up, though. They pushed the lane again and downed one of Samsung White’s inhibitors–an incredible feat given their gold and experience deficits. Samsung White killed the Baron at 30:30. 20-10, Samsung White. White slew their fourth dragon of the match at approximately thirty-five minutes, and killed their second Baron less than a minute later. They were toying with Team SoloMid. They pushed the Nexus at about 36:00, killed a couple opponents (bringing the score to 24-10), and defeated both turrets. They destroyed the Nexus at 39:39.
Team SoloMid gave a great final effort, but, in the end, it was too little too late. If they had adjusted earlier, they might have won the series. They shouldn’t feel bad for themselves, though. They did topple one of the greatest winning streaks in World Championship history, and they defeated a top rank Korean team, a feat that no other North American team has ever done.
Samsung White grew a lot in this match up. They became overconfident in the second and third games, and they paid for it. It would be surprising to see them underestimate another opponent in the same way again.
The 2014 League of Legends World Championships continue tomorrow morning at 1:15AM EST.
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