The B-word:
Baron Nashor. There, I said it.
Baron's a key focal point in any competitive League of Legends game; and thus, securing Baron has become one of the most difficult things to do because the opposing team is willing to take huge risks to disrupt you. You must find a balance between surviving Baron's damage while holding off all your opponents. And just when you think everything's under control, it happens: the dreaded Baron throw as the enemy jungler deals the final bit of damage to Baron and the game completely turns around.
We’re not going to list the obvious throws that cost a team the game - that would be boring! Instead we're going to look at teams that “tried” to throw at Baron, but won anyway. So here we go: some of the top Baron freebies in the LCS… that ultimately did not matter.
Double Trouble
SK Gaming somehow manages to lose Baron not once, but TWICE in this single game. In the first steal, Shook’s Riven executes Baron with Wind Slash (outsmiting Svenskeren’s Elise), gladly sacrificing his life to give Alliance some breathing room from being behind the entire game. Alliance is then able to stall the game out for...
Their second Baron buff, which unfortunately puts them in position to get caught by Jesiz’s 4-man Orianna Shockwave. And this combined with nRated’s follow-up Morgana Soul Shackles quickly erases any buffs Alliance gains as SK Gaming easily march onto their victory.
You see guys? Smite wars are tough, cut the junglers some slack. Thank goodness for that CandyPanda guy. I guess he had a good game or something.
A Game Ending Ace
SK Gaming's on the receiving end this time around. After coming up slightly ahead in a teamfight (most important killing off Gambit's jungler), SK Gaming goes for the B-word and the rest is history. Gambit Gaming simply lets Baron go and cleans out the weakened SK players. Genja’s Lucian proceeds to decimate the mid lane, including a clutch Intervention from niQ’s respawned Kayle to survive CandyPanda’s Vayne. Morale of the story? It doesn't matter if you get Baron when no one on your team is alive afterward. And oh yeah, full build Lucian hurts a lot.
Pink Ward vs Liandry’s
Alright, so sometimes you really need a pink ward to clear out the Baron pit when it gets flooded with wards. So what do we say to that thought? Not today, going for Liandry’s Torment instead (bloodthirsty supports unite)! While Supa Hot Crew allowed the Wolves’ Brokenshard to steal away Baron, they could afford it since they were ahead by 20K gold. One follow-up kill on Woolite’s Tristana shortly afterward and SHC finally bulldozed through the remaining structures to save the shoutcasters’ voices for the end of a grueling Super Week; no Baron buff required.
Minions For The Win
The only thing Copenhagen Wolves could have done to potentially lose this game was to attempt to take Baron. Had it not been for Super Minions already attacking Gambit's exposed base, this could have been quite the game. Gambit was forced to high-tail back to base, getting picked off along the way. And having to deal with Youngbuck’s Teleport didn’t help either. Winions man. Winions.
Rank 1 Tornado
It's been a while since this one, but it just had to make the list. Howling Gale was probably the last spell you'd expect to steal Baron away, yet Vulcun's Bloodwater somehow managed to pull this one off. The best part is that he shows zero emotion in his player cam; what a god. This play allowed Vulcun to survive an extra ten minutes despite never reaching any of C9’s Tier 2 towers. However, a late-game Rumble Equalizer from Balls caught out mancloud’s Twisted Fate and Zuna’s Kog’Maw to abruptly end the match. By the way, is that an Oracle's Elixir and Runic Bulwark? Wow, I feel old.
Did we miss any other awesome Baron "throws"? Let us know in the comments.
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