On October 2, the LoL Worlds began in Berlin. The first day saw some strange plays at the League of Legends World Championship. Many teams took some heavy hits. Only the Europeans from Splyce remained undefeated. In the spotlight of criticism: the US team Clutch Gaming. A really poor Baron play caused some head-shaking.
What was being played? On October 2, the first 6 matches of the League of Legends Worlds 2019 in Berlin took place. This is the 1st round of the “Play-In Stage”, where 12 teams compete against each other.
These are the rather “weaker” teams of the World Championship. The third-placed teams from major regions or representatives from smaller regions face off against each other.
The teams form 4 groups – the last place team in each group will be eliminated. The 3 teams in a group compete against each other twice.
US Team Clutch Gaming in Trouble
These were the highlights:
The day started with a surprise. The US team, Clutch Gaming, had managed to defeat TSM to qualify for the World Championship. Normally, such teams from “major regions” are the favorites to win the Play-Ins of the Worlds.
However, Clutch Gaming lost their first match against the representatives of the Russian league LCL: against the Unicorns of Love.
The top laner of Clutch Gaming, Heo “Huni” Seung-hoo, often found himself in trouble. He finished on Akali with 3/5/4.
He was too aggressive; here he took a heavy hit during a tower dive. In this situation, the 2 attackers from Clutch Gaming apparently underestimated the damage from the Boss on Neeko. Additionally, help was teleported in.
The LoL World Shakes Its Head at This Baron
Even in the second match of Clutch Gaming, the US team looked quite beatable. Despite a clear lead with 5:1 kills, they allowed the Baron to be stolen from the “Mammoth” team from Australia, even though they were in a strong position.
In LoL, it doesn’t matter who does the most damage to the Baron: only who takes away the last health points and delivers the finishing blow counts. Then the team receives a powerful buff.
Actually, in such a situation, it is the jungler’s job to kill the Baron. He has the ability, Smite, which deals damage to “PvE opponents”.
However, the jungler of Clutch Gaming, Lira (featured image), missed his Smite: he used it too early when the Baron still had too many health points and could not kill him. Therefore, a “W” from the opposing Kai’SA was enough to steal the Baron.
At this level, it is a mistake that angered many LoL fans. Securing a “Baron kill” is part of the basics for pro LoL players.
The situation is judged as critical because the opposing jungler did not have his Smite ready – that is actually the greatest risk in such a situation. How Clutch Gaming lost the Baron here really frustrates LoL fans.
Nevertheless, Clutch Gaming managed to win the match. A key factor was the top laner Huni on Tristana, who faced such problems in the match against Unicorns of Love. Here he secured a double kill that nearly decided the match.
These are the first results: Group A will likely be especially exciting at the LoL Worlds 2019: The Unicorns of Love managed to defeat Clutch Gaming, but lost against Mammoth eSports. Therefore, all teams in the group now have one win and one loss.
The picture is clearer in Group 2, where the Europeans from Splyce managed to win both matches.
The actual stars of the LoL World Championship will only enter the tournament later.
