Phoenix1 outlasts FlyQuest in Vancouver

Pigeons. Silver Scrapes. A raucous crowd. The third place match at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum had a little bit of something for everyone -- especially Phoenix1, who claimed victory in a thrilling five set series to grab an extra 20 circuit points.

The series hinged on action generated from the middle of the map, as Phoenix1 rolled to victories whenever Inori managed to get Ryu going. On the flipside, when Hai and Moon found a way to slow Ryu down, FlyQuest would rotate quickly from turret to turret to choke out P1. The series basically came down to who could secure first blood -- and it was almost always in the mid lane.

The first four games of the series featured convincing wins from both sides. There weren’t any haphazard Baron throws. No fiestas in mid lane. Just clean execution once one team managed to secure a lead.

Phoenix1 top laner Derek “Zig” Shao -- a Canadian native -- was a little surprised the games were so clean. For both sides. P1 has had a bit of a rough week of scrims. He says, “We can only play against C9 and TSM in scrims [right now]… and sometimes that doesn’t go too well. It was a hard end of the season, but it was all worth it after today.” He suspects FLY had a similarly rough week in practice.

As the series evolved, Ivern found himself a permanent home on the ban list. Balls played tanks. Zig played carries. And Arrow and Hai both played five different champions.

It was certainly a testament to their ability to adapt -- or at least willingness if not ability. It definitely piqued the pigeon’s interest.

Zig says, “I was saying even in the dressing room that Game 1 felt too easy… I was expecting more out of FlyQuest, but then I had to eat my words. It was a stressful series for sure. FLY fought really hard and showed a lot of strength, but we were just better.”

Game 5 started off with Hai dying first. It was a poor omen for Fly. But as the game progressed, it became clear Fly wouldn’t go down without a fight -- especially from Altec, who’d been dominant all series. Even against P1's star carry, Arrow. Despite being down some 10k gold, FLY held on in their base and drove P1 back a couple times. All of it was for naught, though, as P1 found a pick onto LemonNation that sealed the set.

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FlyQuest’s wins then came on the back of crisp rotations, while P1’s wins were thanks to picks and individual outplays. The stylistic contrast was emblematic of their seasons thus far. FLY wins more thanks to superior macro play, and P1 wins more thanks to individual prowess.

Suffice to say, both teams are probably much more satisfied with their performance in this game than in the Semifinals, where they were both summarily swept. And now they have the offseason to recollect and improve.

Zig thinks they have the staff around them to achieve even greater heights. He says, “Our team atmosphere is always pretty good, so our support staff has a lot of impact on how well we’ve been playing. Coach Fly especially has been the best thing that’s happened to me. A lot of my improvement can be attributed to him.”

It’s been a long journey for Zig, who has been in the professional scene for some five years now. He was part of the P1 squad that was nearly relegated last season, so standing in front of the loud ovation from the Canadian crowd must have been euphoric. The reversal in fortune for both him and his team has been remarkable.

“I definitely feel like I’ve been grinding for a long time,” he says. “And it all just built up to moments like this.”

Make sure to tune in tomorrow at 12 pm PT as Cloud9 and TSM collide with championship hopes.