EU CS Quarterfinal Recap Part 2

With the EU CS Summer 1 now in the Round of 8, we are getting down to the best of the best within the Challenger scene. That being said, we were quite surprised by just how one-sided the matches were this week.

Games of the Week

Denial eSports EU vs. Lublin Shore: Game 1 Denial eSports worked up a slight early lead with a first blood and the first two turrets of the game, allowing them to go on the offensive. This offensive slowly sputtered out, though, as Lublin Shore showed discipline and a strong focus. Heavily warding their own jungle, Lublin Shore patiently waited for the right opportunity, which presented itself as a momentum-swinging rumble in the jungle. Lublin Shore’s team composition begged for a tight-corridor fight - what with Orianna’s Shockwave, Irelia’s Transcendent Blades, and Lucian’s...everything. Although the fight netted them only two kills, it seemed to change the flow of the game. From here on out, Lublin Shore began fighting on Denial eSports’ side of the river, taking objectives one by one until they had fought their way right up to the nexus and shattered it. Their tight decision making and disciplined play style played a crucial role in Lublin Shore’s victory. Throughout the forty minute game, Lublin Shore went a combined 14-3-47, where even the least involved players had a 78% kill participation. Denial eSports EU vs. Lublin Shore: Game 2 Game 2 of this series played out nearly identically to the first. Denial eSports found themselves outplayed by Lublin Shore at nearly every turn, especially in the top lane where Kubon put on a second 5-0-4 performance on Irelia compared to Babunia’s 0-3-0 Shyvana. Denial eSports managed only three kills on Lublin Shore and chose to surrender with zero inhibitors standing and a 16,000 gold deficit. H2k-Gaming vs. SK Prime: Game 1 H2k and SKP played an exciting back-and-forth match where the two teams sought out any excuse they could find to engage on each other. The majority of those engages went in favor of H2k, however, thanks to their strong team-fighting composition which included Orianna, Evelynn, and Thresh. Nevertheless, SKP managed a few picks of their own, even grabbing the first baron of the game for themselves. In the end, it was not a team fight or a pick that determined the game, but an out-of-the-blue base race with H2k reaching the Nexus multiple lengths ahead of SKP, who barely managed to take down the inhibitor thanks to Odoamne’s wise defensive teleport. H2k-Gaming vs. SK Prime: Game 2 SKP opted for a far more defensive approach in Game 2, attempting to slow the game down after they failed to out-aggress H2k the first time around. H2k took an even larger advantage this game, though, with an ever-increasing gold lead despite SKP’s early baron thanks to quick, decisive plays that helped net them turrets and dragon with little danger to themselves. After one final fight outside of SKP’s base, dropping them to a gold deficit of more than 15,000 gold and widening H2k’s 23-3 kill lead, SKP opted to surrender, bringing their run in the EUCS Summer 1 to an end.

Biggest Surprises

Kikis Can’t Kick the Bucket Between Lublin Shore’s two matches against Denial eSports EU, Kikis was not always the biggest threat in terms of kills or damage. However, his careful and well-chosen plays kept him alive throughout both series while simultaneously picking up 19 assists, more than anyone else on Lublin Shore. He played safely but took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself, setting his teammates up for a number of kills. Base Race! Without warning, H2k and SK Prime both decided to go all-in and engage in a base race with each other. More surprisingly, SK Prime hesitated to return to their base after it was clear H2k were pressing straight for the Nexus. In the end, a couple members returned just in time for the Nexus to blow up in their faces.

Biggest Disappointments

2-0 Sweeps While it’s exciting to see the caliber of play H2k and Lublin Shore can bring to the Rift as Challenger teams, we were hoping for more out of SK Prime and Denial eSports. Denial eSports actually placed third in the EU CS Spring Playoffs and defeated H2k in EU CS Spring 2, but then again, Denial eSports shares little with the team that did so well last split. The team lost two of its members to the LCS (niQ and Woolite) and Kikis now plays for Lublin Shore, the team that defeated Denial eSports so handily this week. The team will need to take some time to regroup to become the force it once was. As for SK Gaming Prime, the players have only played under the “SK” name for a month now. Like Denial eSports, they have no choice but to take this loss in stride and try to learn from their mistakes before EU CS Summer 2. Gilean split his time between feeding bot, writing about eSports, and feeding mid. If you’d like tips on how to feed harder, you can follow him @HHGilean

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• EU CS Quarterfinals Recap Part 1