The Summer EU Challenger Series 1 took a backseat while Europe's LCS teams went through Super Week to open the EU LCS Summer Split, but now it is time for two of four Quarterfinal matchups. Ninjas in Pyjamas locks horns with Unicorns of Love and Shantao Macht Wau battles Gamers2. These two matchups will be a best-of-three and will be broadcasted at the end of the day's EU LCS action.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Unicorns of Love
When: Thursday, May 29 shortly after Team ROCCAT vs SK Gaming
How they got here
Ninjas in Pyjamas fell into the bracket stage due to a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at the hands of Millenium in the Summer Promotion Tournament.
Unicorns of Love defeated Kevlar Z Limonki and then Kappa Team in the Play-In stage.
What to expect
Unicorns of Love enters this matchup with momentum off the back of their third place in the 2014 Black Monster Cup Europe Summer. They only gave up eight kills while scoring thirty-four of their own during the Play-In round of EU CS. The two common champions between those two games are mid laner PowerOfEvil's Syndra and top laner Vizicsacsi's Irelia, which the Ninjas in Pyjamas may look to ban away due to both players strong performances on that champion. While the Ninjas in Pyjamas top laner, former Gambit Gaming mid laner Alexey "Alex Ich" Ichetovkin, is renowned for his mechanical skill, he is still acclimating to the top lane role.
Alex Ich is not the only new member of NiP. The team also acquired Tri Tin "k0u" Lam from Cloud9 Eclipse following the EU Summer Promotion Tournament. The team has hit the ground running with their new roster acquisitions and scored a pair of wins in the SoloMid EU Tournament Circuit over the past month. There aren't the flagrant champion trends on the NiP roster like there are for Unicorns of Love, but there is individual skill for the Ninjas in Pyjamas. Four of the five members of the roster, Alex Ich, Nukeduck, Freeze & Mithy have LCS experience. The fifth, k0u, is one of the biggest talents in Europe, but his age had precluded him from participating in LCS competition.
If the Ninjas in Pyjamas are able to settle into a slower paced game, which is their preferred style, then this best-of-three is NiP's to lose. It will be incumbent upon Unicorns of Love to find a way to make NiP play at a quicker tempo. Unfortunately, k0u is one of the most aggressive junglers in Europe which is a bulwark against the Ninjas in Pyjamas being knocked out of their comfort zone.
Shantao Macht Wau vs Gamers2
When: Friday, May 30 shortly after Gambit Gaming vs Supa Hot Crew
How they got here
Shantau Macht Wau defeated Megabulbajebutronozordy in the first round of Play-In and NoMERCY in the second round.. Their win against NoMERCY was a nail-biter where SMW were finally able to peel off the dive team that was NoMERCY's frontline, and squeak out a victory due to long death timers after being dominated for most of the game.
Gamers2 annihilated the Balkan Bears and Heavy Botlane in Play-In.
What to expect
A major part of Shantao Macht Wau's success was their AD carry, Shantao. In the two games that the team has played during EU CS, he has played Jinx to success. He had 10/2/5 KDA in the first round, and a 4/5/5 KDA against noMERCY. If Jinx is banned, mid laner avenuee has played a solid Orianna for two games. While SMW has been around since January 2013, and they've been in previous seasons of EU Challenger Series, there isn't a lot of available data on the team which makes them tough to prepare for.
Where Shantao Macht Wau flies under the radar, Gamers2 is full of well-known players. Former SK Gaming mid laner ocelote scored a 7/0/10 KDA against Heavy Botlane while top laner Jwaow, who has been around the scene for years posted a 7/1/4 KDA on Irelia. What makes the team so intimidating is that the AD carry, Yuuki60, is also a major threat to carry, as he did in the first round against the Balkan Bears (7/0/7 KDA).
All of the threats that Shantau Macht Wau has to deal with is a dicey proposition. They had to hang on and wait for NoMERCY to make a mistake, they didn't dictate the flow of the game. Gamers2 plays an aggressive game, but they aren't consistent. That is the main thing SMW has to hope for. If SMW can take advantage of some of Gamers2's mistakes that come to fruition through their inconsistency, they have a puncher's chance at pulling off the upset.
Make sure your browser stays pointed towards
Lolesports.com for all of your Challenger Series news. The Quarterfinals begin Thursday, May 29 at the conclusion of the EU LCS.
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