What a day of Play-In of the Worlds 2021 of League of Legends ! If we were not entitled to any surprises on the side of group A, the cards were completely reshuffled in group B. Without further ado, here is the summary of this day 3 of the Play-In of the LoL Worlds.
The end of the second day of Play-In of Worlds 2021 left no real room for doubt, and indeed, LNG Esports very easily won against the Latin Americans of Infinity Gaming, who therefore officially left the competition. In group B, things went much more difficult with two tie-breaks to play.
LNG Esport eliminates Infinity Gaming and qualifies for Worlds 2021
Unfortunately, there were quite a few surprises regarding the course of the first match of the day which pitted the big favorites, LNG Esports (seed 4 of the Chinese league), against those already seen on the plane back, the Infinity Gaming (champions of the Latin American league). They had no hope of victory, but Infinity Gaming players didn't want to leave by giving LNG Esports players a perfect game!
So, despite a constant and relentless snowball from the Chinese team, who were 7K golds ahead at 15 minutes of play, then 10K golds ahead at 20 minutes of play (before ending the game only four minutes later), the Infinity fought to take 3 kills, the first botlane turret and a dragon. For the honor of their region!
The following match was of little interest, since it opposed Les Red Canids Kalunga (Brazilian league) to PEACE (Oceania league), who were tied for third position. The team of "Vizicsacsi", former Splyce top laner in the LEC, managed to defeat the Brazilians, even though there was no stake. The two teams will meet tomorrow, in BO5 (three winning sets) to determine which one will fight the Hanwha Life Esports (South Korean league) on Saturday.
At the end of this last match, the team will be determined which will in turn join the Main Event of the League of Legends Worlds 2021. For their part, the LNG Esports complete group D in which we find the MAD Lions, the best team in the European league, as well as Gen.G, the seed 2 of the South Korean league and Team Liquid, the seed 2 of the North American League.
Updated Group A standings:
- LNG Sports : 4 wins, 0 losses
- Hanwha Life Sports : 3 wins, 1 losses
- PEACE : 2 wins, 2 losses
- RED Canids Kalunga : 1 win, 3 losses
- Infinity : 0 win, 4 losses
Big surprises in Group B
The first surprise of the day concerned the confrontation between the Japanese DetonatioN FocusMe with the terrifying (on paper) Taiwanese seed 2 Beyond Gaming, which they pulverized without difficulty. The Japanese players already recorded a lead of 3000 golds just 6 minutes into the game, thanks in particular to taking 4 kills, which allowed them to take a significant advantage and keep it throughout the match, which they finally won. closed after 32 minutes.
Then the unthinkable happened. The North Americans of Cloud9 (score: 3-0) were run over by the Russians of Unicorns of Love (score: 0-3). The Unicorns of Love proved to be a brawler early in the game with their extremely solid composition. Did the C9s enter this game too confident that they thought (and we too) had won in advance? Most likely.
It should also be noted that this match was one of survival for the UOL in these Worlds 2021, with a direct elimination in the event of defeat. They therefore played very seriously, and rather cleanly, with a great victory in just 26 minutes.
After these two matches, the classification of group B did not allow to move on to the next phase, since no team was first or last:
1. Cloud 9 : 3 wins, 1 losses
1. DetonatioN FocusMe : 3 wins, 1 losses
3. Galatasaray Esports : 2 wins, 2 losses
4. Beyond Gaming : 1 win, 3 losses
4. unicorns of love : 1 win, 3 losses
Two tie-breaks to decide between the teams
The first tie-break pitted Beyond Gaming against Unicorns of Love. A match under very high tension, since the defeat led to the end of the adventure in these Worlds 2021. The two teams therefore proposed a rather cautious game, marked as much by successful attempts as by very serious errors, on the part of of the two teams, which we shouldn't see at this level of play.
And finally, after 36 minutes of a grueling and chaotic match, Beyond Gaming managed to clinch the victory, which they owe almost exclusively to their botlaner “Doggo”, who made all the difference. We will therefore find them tomorrow against Galatasaray Esports (Turkish league) in a match in BO5 format. As for the Unicorns of Love, unfortunately, this defeat puts an end to their adventure in these Worlds 2021.
The second tie-break therefore pitted DetonatioN FocusMe against Cloud9 for first place in Group B and direct access to the Main Event of Worlds 2021. A match that we have already seen on the first day of this Play-In with a clear victory and flawless from the North American team. Once again, the tension was palpable, although a loss is less punitive at this stage: the losers will play Saturday in BO5 against the winner of tomorrow's match.
It would seem that the C9s never really entered their match, as they were unconvincing during this match, with monumental mechanical errors. Conversely, the DFMs proved effective and they never lost the advantage they gained very early in the game. So, they have earned their place in the Main Event, after their victory after nearly 40 minutes of play. For now, we do not know which group they will be in, it may be necessary to wait until the end of the game. Play-In to find out.
