Analysis and Opinion

NIGHT VISION: Semifinals, TES vs. SN

Night Vision is your nightly recap of the 2020 League of Legends World Championships.

Look below for Recaps, Takeaways, and my pick for which player had a Night to Remember.

Recaps

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Game 1: SN win
TES Jayce Sett Orianna Jhin Pantheon
SN Wukong Lee Sin Azir Ezreal Rakan

SofM shuts down 369’s lane. JackeyLove gets fed early off huanfeng SwordArt int dive. TES get 2 Heralds, 3 drakes. SN defend 4th drake, get Baron, win 5-1 fight at next drake to end.

Game 2: TES win
SN Ornn Kindred Zoe Jhin Bard
TES Gangplank Lee Sin Orianna Ezreal Leona

Karsa poor early coord with lanes. SN get 3 drakes, team fighting better; 369 scaling v. hard. Karsa yuyanjia find picks, SofM some little ints, TES get the dragons/Barons they need.

Game 3: SN win
TES Renekton Lee Sin Ekko Caitlyn Lux
SN Jax Shen Orianna Ezreal Leona

SofM Bin dive top at 3:00 for 2 kills, huanfeng SwordArt all-ins deny Caitlyn/Lux bullying. Game’s “over” early but TES pull it back with drakes and knight. SN lead too big in the end.

Game 4: SN win
SN Jax Jarvan IV Akali Ezreal Leona
TES Ornn Graves Orianna Ashe Tahm Kench

SofM lvl 3 gank bot -> SN 3-1. Angel is fed on Akali. SN funnel into Angel with plates, side turrets. TES can’t contest side lanes or team fights against fed Akali/Jax.

Takeaways

The LPL is a completely different beast in its game flow, with higher risk appetites and greater willingness to chase after comebacks and attempt to fight out of deficits.

Look at the win probability charts for the first two games and you can see how much more volatile the Chinese teams are, compared to expectations trained on global pro play.

There were definitely moments in games 3 and 4 that made it seem like TES might be able to mount a comeback there, too.

This style of play makes for some very entertaining games! No lead is safe…

Night to Remember

The series MVP was SofM, both on broadcast and in my mind. His ganking flipped games early, his reactive pathing in Game 3 shut down TES’s entire game plan, and his clutch smites solidified the comeback in Game 1. He was playing to play the champion pool that fit the series and the opponent, moving away from the general Worlds meta and making great use of a Shen and Jarvan IV. SofM really made the difference for SN in this Semifinals win.