League of Legends World Championship: Day 2 Recap
Updated: 12:49 PM EDT
It’s day 2 of the Play-In stages at Worlds 2019! Just like yesterday, I’ll be recapping the action of each match as it finishes up. Let’s dive right into our first game of the day.
Royal Youth vs. Damwon Gaming
This was one of the matches I was most looking forward to today. We haven’t seen a Korean competitor in the play-in stages before and they had a lot of expectations on their back. I wonder if that’s not what lead to a rather sloppy performance. Both teams under-performed in this match, but Damwon was far and away the better team. That kind of CS differential tells the story. Damwon Gaming wins, but they’ll need to be better later on in the tournament.
Hong Kong Attitude vs. MEGA
This was a tough game to watch, and I’m sure a very tough game for people higher ranked than me. I’m a silver tier scrub, and the problem is this match looked very familiar. While their CS was way better and their mechanics were better, I saw the same problem that I see every day in Silver. MEGA got a lead and didn’t know how to translate that into a win. Hong Kong Attitude eventually hung around long enough to get Baron and push for the victory.
Damwon Gaming vs. Flamengo Esports
Yikes. What a bloodbath. If you were looking for some excitement, look no further. Flamengo put up a valiant effort against Damwon Gaming, and for a long time looked like they had a real shot. Flamengo just made too many mistakes. They’d take a good team fight, and then give two kills back by getting picked off in silly ways. They hung tough with the LCK competitor, but eventually Damwon managed to pull away and take the win.
Mega vs. Lowkey Esports Vietnam
Is it just me or has there been a million ocean drakes so far in the play-in stages? Anyway, MEGA vs Lowkey Esports! This was a very even matchup. At the 33 minute mark, there was a 500 gold difference, same number of turrets taken, and same number of kills on each team. I’m not saying either team is a world-beater, just that they’re relatively even and that made for a fun watch. And fittingly enough, it ends with MEGA grabbing baron and an ace.
Royal Youth vs. Flamengo Esports
Well this is the game that Brazil was hoping for. Flamengo takes a risk picking Draven, but was it actually a risk at all? Anyone who watches the CBLOL region knows full well what BRTT can do on Draven. That said, it was the Lee Sin play that really carried Flamengo to victory in this one and gives them a chance heading into Saturday to take the group. To do so, they’ll need to clean up their act a bit while staying aggressive against Damwon Gaming.
Hong Kong Attitude vs. Lowkey Esports Vietnam
In our final match of Day 2, Lowkey Esports powers back from a first game loss. Vietnam has been a rising phenomenon in League of Legends and this was the first time the Vietnamese VCS region got to send two teams to worlds. Lowkey looked much better this time around, punishing mistakes and making things work. They also picked Syndra-Leona bot lane, so you have to respect that. I’ve always been a fan of the AP carry bot lane, which is proof above all else that I’m where I belong in Silver. Still, appreciate the always creative Vietnamese region and a good win for Lowkey Esports.
Group C Results
Well, after 1 day of play, Group C looks an awful lot like Group A. Three teams played, three teams are 1-1, and we don’t know much more about the group than we did at the beginning of the day. Unlike group A, where there’s an expected winner, I’m not sure I can make a pick for who’s going to win this one. Vietnam would be a fun region to get out of play-ins, justifying the second team they got to send this year. That said, Honk Kong Attitude is fighting for the LMS region in what will be its last year. Either way, this is going to be a fun group to watch on Saturday.
Honk Kong Attitude (1-1)
MEGA (1-1)
Lowkey Esports (1-1)
Group D Results
Group D was really a tale of two teams, Damwon Gaming and Flamengo. If you’ve already forgotten the third team in the group, you’re forgiven. They forgot to show up. Royal Youth had a difficult day, falling to 0-2 after losses to both teams in the group. I’m not sure how to feel about Damwon Gaming. I didn’t think they looked particularly good in either match despite the fact that they won both of them. Flamengo meanwhile got better as the day went on. They gave Damwon a scare before some poor decision making caused them to fall off, however they were dominant against Royal Youth. The Flamengo-Damwon match on Saturday will likely be the match of the day.
Damwon Gaming (2-0)
Flamengo Esports (1-1)
Royal Youth (0-2)
And that’s all for Day 2 of the group-stages. Looking ahead to tomorrow we’ll learn our first two teams that will survive the play-in stages and advance to the group stage. Can Clutch gaming live up to their potential and take their bracket? Can anyone stop Splyce? Tune in tomorrow to find out!