Samsung Galaxy took down H2k in the second semifinals of the League of Legends World Championship to qualify for the grand finals against SK Telecom T1. In arguably the biggest mismatch of the tournament, the favorite Samsung Galaxy took down the European powerhouse in three well-played games.
Samsung Galaxy was the team that averaged the shortest game length and won the fastest games at Worlds, and the momentum kept going in the matchup against H2k. Samsung Galaxy was the dark horse from the South Korean region with newer players in an unfamiliar environment but played like elites throughout the tournament. H2k was the surprise European representative that emerged from the group stage. The lineup was well-known, and the play style was consistent, but it was not too battle-tested against international talent.
The underdog H2k pulled off every stop to win the set. H2k attempted to snowball the top lane to transition Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu into a stronger team fighter for the mid-game lead and prioritized ganks and rotations with Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski during the early game. Unfortunately, Samsung Galaxy weathered the storm in every game and pulled a lead out of every lane phase. It all proved too difficult for the Europeans to overcome.
Samsung Galaxy won the set by playing a better macro game than even the macro-oriented H2k. The team prioritized the middle and bottom lanes with concentrated rotations and better trades to ensure the farm of Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Lee "Crown" Min-ho. In addition, Samsung Galaxy traded better in the macro game; when H2k took down one champion, the rest of the lineup would push out the side lanes or take the dragon. Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong was the MVP, as he played disruptor in the early and mid game. He, alone, kept the game in check and allowed for the mid game to flow in Samsung Galaxy's favor.