EU Challenger Series 2 Quarterfinal Part 1 Recap
This week, four teams fought to advance into the CS semifinals where they will be one step closer to a shot at the LCS Summer Promotion Tournament.
Day 1: Cloud9 HyperX Eclipse vs. Departed
Cloud9 secured nearly 90% of fan votes preceding this match, but either fans had immense faith in C9's abilities or they didn't realize Departed was three-fifths of Pulse eSports, the team that handed C9 their single loss in Spring Challenger Series 1.
C9 opted for an early-aggression strategy in Game 1. Ihaz spent the early part of the game ganking top lane repeatedly, hoping to shut down Babunia's Dr. Mundo. Despite C9's best attempts and multiple kills on Babunia, Departed's top laner became an immovable wall who was always on the front line for his team when the time came.
C9's struggles were exasperated when Ihaz had built mostly damage items on Wukong. As C9's composition became ever squishier, Departed's hit its prime in the mid game and sealed the deal in style. niQ 760 and Woolite were untouchable throughout the entire game, ending 6/0/10 and 9/0/9, respectively.
In Game 2, C9 focused their full efforts on bottom lane, and Ihaz split his time almost equally between the jungle and bottom lane. C9 figured if they couldn't shut down a top laner, then they'd shut down an AD carry.
Unfortunately for C9, things never quite came together. Departed scored an ace a little over 20 minutes into the game and C9's hopes of back-to-back 1st Place finishes were ended.
In two impressive matches, Departed beat the odds and shut down the fan favorites and defending champions.
Day 2: Awsomniac vs. Steve Bakes Cookies
Awsomniac and SBC put on an intense back-and-forth series which neither team ever sat in a comfortable, dominant position.
We predicted that Draven would be a hot ticket between these two teams coming into the matchup, and that proved to be the case. In Game 1, SBC left Draven unbanned and Awsomniac subsequently first-picked the marksman. Ironically, Awsomniac's mid laner Bebe proved the biggest difference maker in Game 1, and not in a good way. Bebe farmed well on Syndra, but his poor positioning allowed SBC to catch him away from his team on numerous occasions, leading to multiple 5v4s in SBC's favor. Bebe's poor positioning, among some other small mistakes, cost Awsomniac the first game.
In Game 2, Awsomniac banned out Draven, knowing both teams equally coveted the marksman and SBC would almost certainly pick him up first. Hot off their win, SBC made some aggressive plays in bottom lane that netted them an early lead. That early lead must have went to their heads, as SBC ramped up the aggression even more. Their repeated ventures into enemy territory helped them pick up a few kills only to give up more in the exchange. Awsomniac's ability to coordinate and collapse on SBC's engages put them back into the lead, and Morsu's impressive 8-1-1 performance on Lee Sin helped seal the deal.
With everything on the line, both teams buckled down in Game 3. Awsomniac inched ever ahead, however, by focusing down one turret at a time. At 30:00, Awsomniac had destroyed five turrets to SBC's two, and while the match would continue for more than twenty minutes, the disciplined focus on objectives pushed Awsomniac through to the semifinals.
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Overachievers of the week
Morsu After a weak first game against Steve Bakes Cookies, Morsu turned up the heat in back-to-back matches, showing off his ability pick up kills and push the aggression with both Irelia and Lee Sin.
niQ 760 niQ has been a reliable cornerstone for Departed all the way through this Challenger Series. He may have finally given up a couple kills as Kayle in Game 2, but his mid lane prowess has pushed teams back on their heels, including the likes of Cloud9.
Departed While most followed Cloud9's story coming into this week, Departed have begun writing a storyline of their own. After their impressive performance against Cloud9, most now expect Departed to win the whole Challenger Series. While anything can happen in the coming weeks, Departed have the momentum on their side.
Disappointments of the Week
Cloud9 HyperX Eclipse C9 were the undisputed favorites coming into this week, expected to win it all. While they haven't lost their opportunity to compete in the Summer Promotion Tournament, they certainly dropped a peg on the "awe-scale"...even if Departed were the only team to take a game of C9 last Series.
Bebe & Awsomniac, Game 1 Even though Awsomniac secured the series in the end, Bebe was caught out of position a number of times by SBC. If Awsomniac hopes to have any chance against the more-polished Departed in the semifinals, they'll need to tighten up the hinges a bit in the short time they have before their next series.
Gilean splits his time between feeding bot, writing about esports, and feeding mid. If you’d like to receive tips on how to feed harder, you can follow him @HHGilean