With the conclusion of the fourth day in the League of Legends World Championship group play, the contenders started to distance themselves from the pretenders.
Whether it was a team that was expected to do well (EDward Gaming) or a necessary loss to wake up overconfident teams (ROX Tigers), this was a critical day for group play. There were two upsets that rocked the status quo, with victories from Counter Logic Gaming and Flash Wolves over ROX Tigers and SK Telecom T1, respectively. With SK Telecom T1's loss, the last undefeated team was no more.
Winners: ahq e-Sports Club, Counter Logic Gaming and Flash Wolves
A dominant victory by ahq e-Sports Club over INTZ e-Sports was absolutely necessary for the Taiwanese club. The team took each fight and rotation in a slow and methodical manner, piloting its poke composition to kite and force advantageous fights throughout the game. Most importantly, ahq e-Sports Club prioritized the shutdown of INTZ's top laner, Felipe "Yang" Zhao, by supporting Chen "Ziv" Yi. With the micro play established, lanes won and the gold lead accumulated; it was just a matter of time before ahq wrapped things up.
Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) not only rebounded after its first loss in group play, it won its best game of the year. Coming in with a 1-1 record against the ROX Tigers, a team that was labeled the potential tournament favorites, the pressure could not be higher. It may only be the third game of the group stage, but the victory was monumental and CLG dominated the ROX Tigers to boot. Choi "HuHi" Jae-hyun was a one-man wrecking machine and there was no answer for his Aurelion Sol.
But the game and victory of the day went to the Flash Wolves. In another upset victory with an Aurelion Sol involved on the winning side, Flash Wolves picked the best opponent and opportunity to flex its collective muscles. Hung "Karsa" Hau-Hsuan and Huang "Maple" Yi-tang combined to form the duo that created chaos for the defending champions. It was surgical. The Flash Wolves finally drafted a lineup that allowed its playmakers both the mobility and disruptive properties necessary to truly capitalize on their strengths.
Losers: G2 Esports, ROX Tigers
The staple of this segment, G2 Esports made another appearance after its loss to Albus NoX Luna and fell to 0-3 in group play. The issues were everywhere: vision control, map awareness, team fight execution, rotations and the overall lane phase. The team's third loss in a row may just end its hopes to advance to the bracket stage at Worlds.
ROX Tigers looked too lackadaisical in its first two games and it ended up being the biggest factor in the loss against CLG.
Players put less emphasis on the early game, but it came back to haunt them. They were outplayed in every facet of the game; this loss could act as a wakeup call to bring back the Tigers that earned the title of "tournament favorite."
Needs improvement: I May
The honeymoon is over. I May will need some drastic improvements in the early game because the team's transition to the midgame is weak. A loss to Cloud 9, an average team in the lane phase at best, will alert other teams to rotate aggressively and fight early to punish I May's average fundamentals. Improvements will need to come from the jungle first and then the middle lane for a complete turnaround, but it's very possible. The talent is there; I May just needs more work.