Team SoloMid, once considered North America’s best hope for the League of Legends World Championship, has been eliminated in the group stage. They were defeated by China’s Royal Never Give Up, who finished with a better record in the group.
Despite strong performances earlier in the tournament, both Team SoloMid and Royal Never Give Up put themselves in a difficult position with losses in their early games on Saturday. Team SoloMid fell to Samsung Galaxy, who finished with the top seed in the group.
In the decisive game against Royal Never Give Up, Team SoloMid struggled from the beginning. Royal Never Give Up’s aggressive playstyle resulted in early kills, allowing them to secure the first turret, an infernal drake, and a sizeable gold lead. Despite their best efforts, Team SoloMid couldn’t recover from the disadvantageous start.
Star mid laner for Team SoloMid, Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, made valiant efforts to keep his team in the game with his fed Ryze. They even managed to secure an unlikely ace while defending their base. However, the initial setback proved too difficult to overcome.
With Team SoloMid’s elimination, North America’s last hope lies with Cloud9. Currently tied with SK Telecom T1 at the top of Group B, Cloud9 will need to perform well in their remaining games to secure a spot in the next stage of the tournament.