Day 4 of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship gave spectators a day to remember, as both elimination best of fives went the distance.
In the second match of the day, PEACE and RED Canids gave fans a back-and-forth affair. But after trading both blows and games, PCE came out the victor. With the win, they move on at Worlds 2021 to face Cloud9 for a shot at the Group Stage.
The path through play-ins
With the top two teams in Group A being decided at the group draw (due to the strength of their regions), the three other teams in the group were effectively fighting for third and fourth place. After all PCE, RED and Infinity Esports went a combined 0-6 against the top seeds, LNG Esports and Hanwha Life Esports.
In their own mini, three-team round-robin, PCE ended up getting the best of INF and RED by going 2-0, making their overall record 2-2. This clinched them the third seed. The fourth and final seed would then fall to whoever won the competition between RED and INF.
But with RED winning that contest back in Day 1 of the play-ins, the fate of the group was practically sealed heading into Days 2 and 3. RED ended up with a 1-3 record, locking them into the fourth seed and a date with PCE in the first round elimination match in the play-in knockout stage
A knockout best of five
Game 1 of the five-game series saw RED strike first. After an even first 30 minutes, RED’s bot laner, Alexandre “TitaN” Lima dos Santos, proved to be the difference-maker, going 15/3/4 in a statement game. The casters mentioned that this was a “dream start” for the The Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends reps. But the next couple of games turned that dream into a nightmare.
While not the bloodiest game in the history of worlds, @REDCanids @titannlol1 ended Game 1 of the series against @pce_gg with a 6.3 KDA!#Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/rQWqrH1PL8
— Upcomer (@Upcomer) October 8, 2021
In Game 2, TitaN went back to Ezreal but didn’t have near the same impact he did in Game 1. PCE controlled the game from minute one and never let go. In a sub-30 game, PCE evened up the series. Game 3 went nearly the same for PCE, as they once again captured an early lead and ran with it. RED were left hopeless, and with a near 10,000 gold lead at 20 minutes, PCE easily ended the game.
RED then decided to wake up in Game 4. Despite being led to Worlds 2021 on the backs of their rookie enigma, Daniel “Grevthar” Xavier, he hadn’t been performing well enough in the series. As a result, RED subbed in their veteran mid laner, Adriano “Avenger” Perassoli, just to see what would happen.
The much-needed adjustment paid off big time. Avenger set out to prove himself on the world’s stage and did just that. Less than three minutes into the game, Avenger’s Zoe rushed up to the top lane and secured first blood in a super aggressive move. That play dictated the rest of the game. In the quickest victory of the series, RED tied the series up at 2-2. The Avenger miracle run was officially a possibility.
Unfortunately for RED, the run stopped as fast as it started. The beginning of Game 5 was an absolute disaster for Avenger and the rest of the RED squad. Even though Avenger had an early kill eight minutes into the game, PCE had six (two of which were at Avenger’s expense). That helped PCE jump out to an insurmountable 5,000 gold lead at just the 12-minute mark.
Even though RED won Game 4 in 24 minutes, Game 5 ended just as fast in the opposite direction.
What’s next for PEACE at Worlds 2021
With their win against RED, PCE will now get a chance to play against Group B second seed, Cloud9. The best of five will put the 16th and final Worlds 2021 group stage spot on the line. After their historic loss to the League of Legends Japan League reps, DetonatioN FocusME, C9 will be looking to take their frustration out on someone. PCE enter the series against C9 as the underdogs, but with C9 not having the best year, anything could happen.
PCE will take on C9 on Saturday, October 9 after the conclusion of the first best of five series of the day between Hanwha Life Esports and Beyond Gaming. The scheduled start time is subject to change but is currently listed at noon ET.
