Season Two Championship: Day Two

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M5 BenQ vs Invictus Gaming

Moscow Five once again started out struggling, but took the lead with their successful team fights and put on an enthralling performance. Even when they were losing (sometimes significantly) they were able to control their team fights and earn comebacks. After Falling behind in both games, Moscow Five forced engagements across the map at multiple objectives. Despite heavy pressure on Darien in lane (and failed ganks), superior positioning in team fights allowed M5 BenQ to take back control in games one and two.

The cause of the matches' successes for M5 were Genja and GoZu Pepper. Picking the vulnerable but late-game powerhouse champion Kog’Maw in both matches, Genja lead their lane (due in large part to the aggression of GoZu Pepper). After Sona and Nunu bans in game one, GoZu Pepper ran support Zyra (an uncommon move to say the least) instead, locking down iG’s entire team with his ultimate and securing kills for the rest of his team.

NaJin Sword vs. Taipei Assassins

After just annihilating their Group B games, NaJin Sword seemed to come into their match full of confidence. That confidence didn't last for long as TPA showed exactly how they earned their seeded position. They dictated the first game of the match from beginning to end, starting off in style by picking up first blood before minions even spawned. Once the team fights started in that match,  TPA eliminated all hope of a comeback.

Even in the second game of the match, where NaJin Sword managed to take an early kill lead, TPA stacked gold generation items (A very effective strategy for Tournament length games) and stabilized the game. TPA's pull strategy with Blitzcrank and Skarner faced an unfavorable team comp in Sword's three strong initiators that almost wanted to get pulled in: Morgana, Jax, and Maokai. Taipei Assassins, however, still managed to make it happen. They pulled smart, and set up some great hooks over terrain that was hard for NaJin Sword to cross, allowing them to break up fights and waste Sword's strong initiations. Taipei Assassins picked up an impressive and well earned sweep over NaJin Sword.

Team Solo Mid vs. Azubu Frost

Without a doubt this game was scheduled to be the epicenter of Day Two's match-ups. Both of these teams have an incredible amount of support from the League community, and the fans couldn't wait to brag at the end of this showdown. The first game of this matchup was probably the most white-knuckle game of the tournament. TSM simply showed incredible tenacity, and proved hard to put down. Despite being at a significant disadvantage, Reginald on Karthus started Flash-initiating fights with Wall of Pain, and Dyrus started making plays in spite of early game setback. In the end, however, Azubu Frost proved just too reliable a team. Knowing they couldn’t stop Team SoloMid’s first Baron attempt, Frost traded the Baron for an inhibitor. This put TSM in an uncomfortable position, ultimately forcing them to pick a little bit of a disadvantageous fight before Baron buff expired. The 4 – 2 fight allowed Frost to clean up TSM’s base and ultimately win the game. The rather short game shocked some spectators, and TSM was eager to make up for it in the next match.

In the second match, TSM got off to a great aggressive start, this time taking a kill lead of their own. But once Azubu Frost hit their stride, they once again took the lead. CloudTemplar on Skarner seemed to be all over the map, dragging Team SoloMid members to their deaths every time his ultimate was ready. Frost closed the massive gold gap of the early game by repeatedly out-fighting TSM in team situations, a familiar story in this Season Two Championship. Frost's positioning was near-perfect in every fight, and after taking Baron, they quickly eliminated Team SoloMid from the tournament, closing the doors on any chance of a North American finals.

Tomorrow starts with the last quarter final match, CLG EU vs Team WE, followed by the semi-final matches to determine who will move on to the World Championship Finals. To watch these sure to be thrilling matches go to The Season Two Championship Live Stream Coverage hosted by League of Legends founders RIOT.