The TLDR - July 23-27
Riot·7/28/2014, 9:58:20 PM·2 votes·1,022 views
Here's a cruel reality: Watching every professional League of Legends match from every professional League of Legends league leaves little time to look at much else. You also may find yourself overusing words that begin with the letter "L." Wouldn't it be nice if someone would just come along and suggest the very best games to watch? Good news! We are just that someone! Each week, we'll put you to the five stand-out games of the week--one from each region--as well as pick our top play. Think there are games we missed? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
Top Play
The Double Nuke Fnatic and Millenium trade blows directly following a teamfight. In the Ahri vs. Gragas match up, no one wins.This Week, Around the World
NA LCS: Cloud9 vs. Team Dignitas If you're still wondering why Cloud9 is still considered by many to be the best North American team right now, look no further than their win over Team Dignitas this week. Cloud 9 was looking at a lost game, down 2-6 in kills, 1-3 in dragons, and 0-1 in barons. Using Balls' Mundo as a meat shield and distraction, they outmaneuvered Dignitas to take a baron, and from there they took control of the game, taking 2 dragons, 1 baron, and 7 uncontested towers without losing a single objective. More interestingly, they did this almost entirely without bloodshed, with only 4 more kills for them, and 2 for Dignitas. Written by Mattias 'GentlemanGustaf' Lehman. EU LCS: Fnatic vs. Millenium While Fnatic's match against Alliance was a brilliant display of strategic map movement, the FNC/MIL game was a wild thrill ride that featured 36 kills in 45 minutes. Fnatic did maintain control for the majority of the game, but Millenium managed to keep it interesting through several teamfight victories that featured Kerp's Gragas combining Barrel Roll & Explosive Cask to kill someone in the blink of an eye. It was not enough, though, and Fnatic finally put MIL away following a four-for-none near the Baron pit. The win pushed Fnatic to 16-8 on the season, with a two game lead on Supa Hot Crew in third. Millenium's loss dropped them to 13-11 and into fourth place. They trail SHC by a single game, and are one up over SK Gaming for fifth heading into Super Week. Written by Thomas Watts. GPL: Logitech G Fighter vs Neolution Full Louis, Game 2 The quarterfinal showdown between the newly sponsored Fighters and Neolution Full Louis wasn't supposed to end so decisively in the Vietnamese team's favor. While the Fighters have only ever lost games to reigning champions and fellow Taiwanese team Taipei Assassins, Full Louis had spent three splits so far suffering under a chronic malaise of tetchy ISP issues and inconsistent play. Yet their relocation to Garena's Singaporean esports stadium was like a breath of fresh air to the team -- or the dramatic removal of training weights. Improbably, Full Louis conned the otherwise wily and street-smart Fighters into four Baron Nashor baits in a row, shattering the favored team's confidence for the rest of the set. Written by James 'Obscurica' Chen. LPL: OMG vs. World Elite, Game 1 Though the intense back-and-forth games are sometimes more exciting to watch, OMG exhibited a kind of play in this game that we have yet to see in LPL. From Drug’s proactive top lane ganks on the Teleport-bearer to the team’s decision to bait Baron and instead rush for the mid lane inhibitor at the end, OMG proved they’re a head above the competition in terms of strategy. Their map movements and strategic play kept World Elite guessing until they lost their nexus. Despite playing fewer games compared to the other teams vying for the top (World Elite and Edward Gaming), OMG finished out Week 7 with sole ownership of first place. These games represent just how far OMG has come since Chinese teams began to emphasize strategy and breathed new life into hopes that China might pull an upset at the 2014 World Championships. Written by Kelsey Moser. OGN: SK Telecom T1 K vs. Samsung Galaxy White, Game 2 Game 2 of the T1K/White series was sublime. Counter Logic Gaming's Dexter summed it up best when he tweetedWatching the SKT vs White series here at the @Razer office .. second game of this series was probably the best game of the year so far
— Marcel Feldkamp (@CLG_dexter) July 23, 2014Regional VODs
Check out all of this week's matches from each region on their VOD pages! We've got delicious statistics, item builds, and of course the most exciting games.
