There are times when pro teams are up against the wall. At Worlds, on the brink of elimination, that’s a terrifying place to be.
Much of the time, giving up an early lead can directly cause a loss, but some squads have the capability to make huge comebacks. During the group stages, Taipei Assassins and AHQ managed to pull out victories from the brink of defeat. This is how they did it, and some tips on what you can do to communicate those strategies in your own matches.
Patience is key -- TPA vs SHR
Check out the detailed match history right here!
Thirty minutes into TPA’s first match of Worlds, they were up more than 7,000 gold on Group B favorites Star Horn Royal Club. They were in command of the match, containing the normally deadly Royal Club and taking objectives at will. With the early game pressure of Winds’ Lee Sin, and the midgame advantages that Morning’s Syndra and Bebe’s Lucian brought to the Rift, they looked poised to roll their lead over into a huge upset victory.
SHR knew there was really only one thing to do: stall. By slowing down the pace of the game, they had a chance to beef up the late-game carries of Uzi's Caitlyn and Cola's Ryze. They knew they would outscale TPA’s roster, and they made sure to play safe until then.
Through significant ward coverage, they managed to allow Uzi, Cola, and Corn to safely find the necessary farm in the side lanes. The vision also allowed them to pressure the necessary objectives of the dragon and Baron Nashor, making sure the global gold either ended up in their pockets -- or out of TPA’s, at least. They didn’t need to catch up in gold, they simply needed to get to the point where they could start one of their signature brawls.
Ten minutes later, it was time to fight. Cola had nabbed Ryze’s three core items in Rod of Ages, Seraph’s Embrace, and Frozen Heart, while Uzi’s Caitlyn was stacked with an Infinity Edge, Statikk Shiv, and Last Whisper. They drew TPA to the Baron pit, knowing they could fight just about anyone that jumped in.
The gamble paid off. inSec won the Smite fight, and the rest of the squad wiped up, putting Royal Club in the driver’s seat. They had scared TPA off, established themselves as the aggressors, and rode that momentum -- and their hypercarries -- to the comeback victory.
How to keep the faith solo queue: If you find yourself on a heavy scaling champion, pick yourself up some wards, toss ‘em in the jungle, and let your teammates know that you’re going to farm for a bit to get powered up. While you do that, make sure your teammates know to hold the other lanes and get vision on objectives. Your Ryze will get going eventually.
Make a decision -- TPA vs. SK
Check out the detailed match history right here!
It’s amazing what a decisive move to Baron will do.
Down nearly 6,000 gold, Taipei Assassins knew they were in a dire situation nearly 40 minutes into their first match against SK Gaming. Thanks to a lack of vision control in the mid game, they had given up dragon kills and tower destructions left and right, allowing SK’s engage-heavy composition to run rampant through the jungle.
However, they knew their strengths. With the insane burst damage of Winds’ Kha’Zix, Morning’s Syndra, and Bebe’s Lucian -- bolstered by the heavy CC of both Ryze and Janna -- they knew if they caught any member of SK even slightly out of position, they could blow them up immediately while keeping the rest of SK out of the fight. By exerting that pressure, the Taiwanese squad was able to scare SK off of Baron at the 39 minute mark.
As it turns out, that little scare tactic was all they needed. With just a moment of hesitation, they sprinted directly back to the pit, swiftly bringing the big worm down. From that moment forward, it was teamfight time. The purple buff allowed them to siege up, shoving down turrets, inhibitors, and eventually, the Nexus.
How to make the call in solo queue: If you are 100% sure -- and I do mean 100% -- that the other team won’t be able to contest Baron in time (the entire team jumping back to base, for example), go ahead and call it. A decisive call can be a massive gamechanger.
Money isn’t everything -- AHQ vs EDG
Check out the detailed match history right here!
Death timers are brutal. They can’t care less how far ahead you are; they only know how long you’re going to stay off the Rift when you die. They don’t care how many objectives you’ve taken, how many kills you’ve racked up, or how many minions you’ve mowed down. The only thing that matters is the time on the clock.
EDG learned that lesson the hard way in their second match against AHQ. The Chinese squad had killed the dragon four times, Baron twice, and even brought down AHQ’s mid inhibitor on two separate occasions. Their lead had ballooned to more than 10,000 gold, and had planted themselves firmly in the lead.
However, GreenTea and his Thresh weren’t ready to give up that easy. After warding up the Baron pit, he stuck around to see what he could hook. As it turns out, he found EDG’s star ADC NaMei. The rest of AHQ converged on the position, and in short order brought down Namei, U, and Clearlove.
Thanks to the 45 minutes on the clock, all three had more than a minute on their death timers, allowing AHQ to sprint their way up the mid lane, dropping EDG’s Nexus in one of the absolutely most exciting finishes of Worlds 2014 so far.
How to get the pick solo queue: Wards, dude. Make sure everyone has them. The more vision you have on the map, the higher likelihood that Death Sentence out of nowhere will land on a key opponent.
Taylor 'Riot RoboTayCo' Cocke is a Web Content Coordinator for Riot Games. He only goes all-in, preferably on Leona or Alistar. You can follow him on Twitter, where he will talk your head off about supporting and bands no one has ever heard of.
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