Day 5 of the League of Legends Worlds Play-Ins served us with two very exciting series. DAMWON Gaming, the South Korean third seed, took on the Vietnamese Lowkey Esports, who advanced to the knockout stage after securing second place in their group. The second series saw North America’s Clutch Gaming face off against the Turkish Royal Youth.
Both teams in this matchup had to fight their way through a tiebreaker to determine their seeding – or, in Royal Youth’s case, whether they’d advance or not. With that being said, let’s take a look at how both series played out in the League of Legends Worlds Play-Ins!
DAMWON Gaming vs Lowkey Esports
Game 1
The first series of Worlds day 5 was expected to be a complete stomp by the South Korean representatives. After all, Lowkey is only the second seed from the Vietnamese region. However, they have once again proven that their region shouldn’t be underestimated. Fans were in shock as Lowkey took control in the early game. They were able to completely shut down Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon’s famous Vladimir and take the early lead. On the wings of Nguyá»…n PhÆ°á»›c “Celebrity” Long Hiệp’s Tristana, Lowkey managed to keep their lead throughout the mid-game. DAMWON actually kept up with Lowkey, though, and at one point, it looked like they would be able to swing things around.
However, after a stolen Baron, Lowkey was able to use Tristana’s earlier lead to secure some crucial objectives. DAMWON was very close to ending the game, but Celebrity’s Tristana wasn’t going to let that happen. In an epic base defense, Celebrity managed to fight DAMWON off. Following that, his pushing power along with his teammates was enough to end this rollercoaster of a game.
Games 2 & 3
After the unfortunate first game, DAMWON managed to recover without breaking a sweat in the second. The early game was fairly even, but Lowkey made many mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.
The third game was especially action-heavy in the early game as both teams traded several kills and objectives. After a mid-game team fight, it looked as though DAMWON would be able to close it out. However, once again, the South Koreans failed in their attempt to obtain Baron and got aced. Unfortunately, Lowkey wasn’t able to use the momentum as DAMWON finally acquired the Baron and finished the game. This brought DAMWON to match point heading into game 4 of Worlds Play-Ins Round 2.
Game 4
Game 4 started out explosively, with DAMWON’s Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon acquiring a massive lead after a failed dive from Lowkey. Judging by their play, DAMWON were determined to end the series in game 4. They played the map near-perfectly and had amassed a big gold lead by the 20-minute mark. They finished the game in just under 23 minutes and advanced to the Worlds main event as the first Play-In team.
Clutch Gaming versus Royal Youth
North America’s third seed at Worlds faced off against the TCL’s Royal Youth in the second series of the day. The series was onesided, to say the least, and most games went the same way, so I’ll quickly sum up the series.
The early games were quite even, with Clutch always having a slight lead. However, come mid-game, Clutch took advantage of their earlier lead and completely took over the game. Game 3 proved slightly different, with Clutch Gaming having a massive lead from the very start of the game. Sun “Cody Sun” Li-Yu ended the series with a monstrous 35 KDA. What’s more, he didn’t die a single time in the entire series, which is even more impressive for a player known by his flunks.
This concludes the first day of the 2019 Worlds Play-Ins Round 2. Do you think DAMWON or Clutch could make it out of groups at the main event? Let us know in the comments below!
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