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IEM WC: Quarter-Finals

By Daniel 'd1dx' Yordanov
Mar 8, 2013 12:08


ImageThe second day of League of Legends action is upon us! The quarter-finals will determine who will continue marching on towards the ultimate goal!

The four teams that will duke it out with each other are - KR CJ Entus Frost, PL Anexis , EU Millenium and KR CJ Entus Blaze. The Koreans will seek revenge for their previous IEM performance while the two European teams are to face their biggest opponents thus far!

KR CJ Entus Frost vs. EU Millenium

Game 1

Bans:
CJ Entus Frost: Fizz, Kayle, Lee Sin
Millenium: Xin Zhao, Singed, Thresh


Picks:
CJ Entus Frost: Urgot, Taric, Kha'Zix, Shen, Rumble
Millenium: Renekton, Miss Fortune, Sona, Amumu, Diana


The game started perfectly for the Europeans as they not only picked up first blood, but also racked up two more kills to extend their lead to a quick 3-0! Everyone at this point thought that Frost had their backs against the wall, but the Koreans were having none of it.

The retaliation was swift and we were once against showcased the trademark Korean consistency and sharp team play. Thanks to a piece of brilliance by KR Jung 'RapidStar' Min-sung, Millenium were denied further extension of their lead. Thanks to his faithful Kha'Zix, the Europeans gave the kill and gold lead back. Things got so bad, Frost was able to double the kill score of their opponents.

We had another gem at the end as the infamous KR Jang 'Woong' Gun-woong scored the second pentakill of the tournament. The contrast was unbelievable as Creaton's Miss Fortune was sitting on 0 kills. CJ Entus Frost simply pushed and took the first game of the series.

Winner: KR CJ Entus Frost

Game 2

Bans:
CJ Entus Frost: Fizz, Kayle, Rumble
Millenium: Xin Zhao, Singed, Renekton


Picks:
CJ Entus Frost: Elise, Shen, Lulu, Twitch, Lux
Millenium: Thresh, Tryndamere, Varus, Lee Sin, Ezreal


The game had an explosive start as CJ Entus baited Millenium near the blue buff and despite the Europeans smartly poking, MadLife's Lulu picked up first blood and the total exchange ended in both teams trading two kills. The game returned to the "normal" rhythm as the lane switch for Frost happened. It is interesting to note that Tabzz picked Varus against Lux which definitely promised interesting plays on mid.

Creaton's kill advantage and aggressive laning against Elise was fruitful as Millenium took the first turret of the game. The counter-switch came next when the AP Tryndamere faced Elise on bottom lane as the others went top. Despite failed gank attempts from both junglers, they efficiently traded blue and red buffs. While Frost pushed top, Millenium took the first dragon of the game to spearhead into the gold lead. The Europeans took the mid turret and won a skirmish in the enemy jungle by killing Shen, but Shy returned the favour by eliminating Tryndamere on bot lane.

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The Koreans got back in the driving seat after a skirmish on bot lane, taking two kills in the process. However, the gold lead still favoured Millenium. Tabzz and his lads managed to sneak a very key Baron and with the help of the menace that is Tryndamere - split push and took two inhibitor turrets and an inhibitor. They did overstay their welcome though as Frost took two kills.

Crazy exchanges ensued as Millenium were trading kills for inhibitors which opened a window for Frost to return one. Millenium kept pushing but the kill trade made these exchanges their doom. Despite the Europeans taking their third baron buff, Frost were too strong and confronted the split push composition of Millenium, obliterating them in mere seconds. After a crazy defense, the Koreans took game two and proceeded to the semi-finals!

Winner: KR CJ Entus Frost

KR CJ Entus Blaze vs. PL Anexis

Game 1

Bans:
CJ Entus Blaze: Twisted Fate, Taric, Lux
Anexis: Nidalee, Singed, Kayle


Picks:
CJ Entus Blaze: Caitlyn, Jarvan IV, Volibear, Thresh, Jax
Anexis: Rumble, Xin'Zhao, Ryze, Soraka, Urgot


This game marks the return of Soraka to competitive play. Overall, both teams opted for some very unorthodox picks. Ambition took a page from Shushei's book as he picked Jarvan mid. Caitlyn and Thresh immediately went mid to crash the party for Ryze while Jarvan was up against the sustain lane of Soraka and Urgot. Cpt. Jack showed us why he is considered one of the best AD Carries as he made quick work of both Ryze and Soraka to put Blaze in front. Anexis tried to retaliate, but in the end they gave up 4 kills just to take two.

Blaze continued with the strong performance as a gank by Anexis turned into an AD mechanics lecture by Cpt. Jack who managed to eliminate Xin'Zhao and Rumble only with auto-attacks while retreating. The poles desperately tried to somehow equalise the game, but what started as a siege on the Korean mid tower ended as a quadra kill for KR Ambition's Jarvan.

From that point on the game just steamrolled in favour of CJ Entus Blaze who won two more skirmishes and proceeded to end a very one-sided game.

Winner: KR CJ Entus Blaze

Game 2

Bans:
CJ Entus Blaze: Twisted Fate, Caitlyn, Elise
Anexis: Nidalee, Singed, Kayle


Picks:
CJ Entus Blaze: Thresh, Jarvan, Ezreal, Miss Fortune, Rumble
Anexis: Darius, Xin'Zhao, Lux, Varus, Lulu


This time Anexis bet on a safe composition while Blaze opted for a teleport Ezreal mid lane, starting with a Doran's Blade. After a rather quiet start, Flame got the first blood on Darius and mere second later, took another kill onto Overpow. The Poles responded with two kills but their opponents still had full control over the match.

The continuous trading of kills equalised the game and despite the score being even, the gold lead was still in favour of the Koreans. Two more teamfights were dominated by Blaze as they capitalised on every small mistake their opponents did. At the 20 minute mark the kill score was doubled in favour of the Koreans as they dictated the tempo of the match.

Consequently, Baron buff was secured and the siege of the Polish base commenced. A quadra kill on Cpt. Jack led to an additional mid turret and inhibitor for Blaze as they came closer and closer to victory. The very last skirmish was simply a deja-vu as Anexis were devastated in a matter of seconds before their nexus fell.

Winner: KR CJ Entus Blaze

This concludes the quarter-finals and we will now jump onto the semi-finals which include: RU Gambit Gaming vs. KR CJ Entus Frost and KR CJ Entus Blaze vs. KR SK Telecom T1 . For more live coverage stay tuned to SK Gaming!


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