Welcome to Dawnbringer, your daily recap of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship.
Every day of Worlds competition, I’ll post a brief rundown of each game, along with some larger takeaways about the team and player performances we’re seeing and what it might mean for the rest of the tournament.
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Game Recaps
T1 vs EDG: EDG win
T1 Jayce Xin Zhao Twisted Fate Ziggs Shen
EDG Graves Jarvan IV Sylas Jhin Leona
Meiko Jiejie great timing on pro+reactive plays into top. T1’s win condition is totally stifled. T1 rush Baron, get it but lose fight. EDG get soul+Baron2, that’s it.
RGE vs DK: DK win
RGE Graves Fiddlesticks Orianna Lucian Nami
DK Jax Talon Ryze Aphelios Lulu
Ghost BeryL bully 2v2. Khan multiple solo Ks, up 40 CS at 9:00. DK languish inexplicably, RGE get picks, win a 5v5->Baron. DK dive bot, get inhib, use it to get Elder.
PSG vs HLE: PSG win
PSG Gwen Talon Leblanc Jhin Yuumi
HLE Camille Jarvan IV Azir Draven Pyke
Deft Vsta Willer win bot. HLE passive w/ lead. PSG attack sides with much better pace than HLE, win skirmishes, outscale, win every 5v5, good Baron setups to create fights.
FNC vs RNG: RNG win
FNC Olaf Lee Sin Sylas Ashe Pyke
RNG Kennen Viego Twisted Fate Kai’sa Rell
RNG play faster than FNC w/ Cryin mobility, always up tempo. BEAN Hylissang get short-lived traction bot, Adam 3K makes things spicy, but RNG lead + team fighting too good.
C9 vs FPX: FPX win
C9 Camille Qiyana Ryze Ezreal Leona
FPX Kennen Jarvan IV Malzahar Miss Fortune
Blaber Vulcan link early. C9 get H1, 2-0. FPX attack C9 weak map posture constantly. C9 get 4v5 fight and Baron. Perkz perma-splits, gets picked more, FPX 5v4 nexus while he’s pushing.
DFM vs 100: 100 win
DFM Gnar Lee Sin Zoe Miss Fortune Rakan
100 Graves Viego Ryze Lucian Nami
DFM dive mid for FB. 100 smash bot lane, FT pre-10 w/o HLD. 100 play a refreshingly clean, quiet macro game for a while, gets a little hairy around late Baron and Elder fights.
MAD vs GEN: MAD win
MAD Wukong Qiyana Leblanc Lucian Yuumi
GEN Graves Xin Zhao Azir Kalista Nautilus
MAD get early kills in every lane. GEN lead in farm and objectives. MAD use great 5v5 comp very well, Armut/Kaiser/Elyoya engages and Humanoid primary cleanup.
TL vs LNG: LNG win
TL Gnar Talon Twisted Fate Ezreal Leona
LNG Fiora Viego Leblanc Aphelios Thresh
TL get H1 but no value from it. LNG find picks and dragons, gold surge from turrets. Icon creates solo Ks; LNG bait objs. TL get one good 5v5 setup but it’s too late.
Takeaways
Bits and Pieces
- MAD vs GEN was so much fun to watch!
- TL’s snoozer of a game was very disappointing after what they managed to bring out on day 1.
- Thank goodness 100 Thieves took care of business against DFM.
- EDward Gaming have become my clear number 1 pick to win Worlds. I thought it was FPX coming in but, like last year when I pivoted from TOP to DWG within the first couple days, I’m making my switch right here and now.
Now Do You See?
If you didn’t already believe me that Hanwha aren’t very good, maybe seeing them lose to PSG Talon like this will help. PSG are pretty good, so it’s not like I’m saying HLE are garbage, but… Yeah. They’re not a strong team, and don’t deserve to be in the top 8 conversation in my opinion.
Watching Cloud9 Really Hurts Sometimes
From game to game, Cloud9 can either look like a total write-off, or like a team that can steal games from the best in the world. Today against FunPlus Phoenix, they pulled out both looks in the same game.
Perkz himself had an incredible first half to the game, followed by an awful second half, and ugh, it’s just painful to think about.
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND – OCTOBER 12: Cloud9’s Luka “Perkz” Perkovic competes at the League of Legends World Championship Groups Stage on October 12, 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo by Michal Konkol/Riot Games)
Great roaming and engage work from Vulcan was paired with terrible map setups / deployments in the mid-game. Blaber had big micro outplays and also a complete whiff on a speculative engage near Baron that gave FPX a free pass to take control of the game. Fudge had some good fights but also slow-played side lanes with no TP to make it easy for FPX to engage 5v4 elsewhere, and then Perkz overcompensated later with constant pushing that was easily, and harshly, punished.
What do you with this, as a fan? I guess you just try to enjoy the ride for what it is.
Fun Fact Redux
Did you know red side when 6-2 today, after blue side went 7-1 yesterday? Ain’t life a funny ‘ol thing.