The 3rd place matches and finals are coming up soon, and the battle for Worlds is reaching its peak. The 8 teams that have a best-of-five match locked in the regional finals are fighting for the autoqualification spots. In this article, we will explore the matchups.
EU 3rd place: H2k vs Unicorns of Love
Two opposite styles fighting for worlds
Head-to-Head: 2-0 in favor of H2k
Assuming that Fnatic wins the final, the winner of this match will go to Worlds as the second seed. Unicorns have 70 points, H2k 50, but the winner of the second place will get 70 points, and the loser 40. In the case that Origen upsets Fnatic, the winner of this match will get the best seed in Regional Finals, while the loser has to play an additional best-of-5 against either ROCCAT or Giants.
Unicorns went down 0-3 against Fnatic, but we can’t judge them based on that performance. They struggled against Roccat, but their wild card factor saved them. H2k clean swept Giants as expected but fell 1-3 to Origen. H2k didn’t seem to get control of the games they lost, but they played game 4 cleanly.
Ryu was the shining light against Origen. Will he perform again against UOL?
The matchup is interesting because the styles are completely opposite. Unicorns like to run a chaotic game, relying on individual talent. H2k plays more tactical and makes use of laneswaps to get gold advantages.
If one thing was showed during the semifinal of H2k vs Origen then it is that Ryu is the shining light for H2k. The same game showed that Hjarnan is fantastic as a cleanup AD. However, the top side is struggling.
UoL is always a hard team to predict. Their messy style messes themselves up more than once, but they have the wild card factor. PowerOfEvil might have some new pocket pick saved.
LANE TO WATCH: Ryu vs. PowerOfEvil (Midlane).
NA 3rd place: Team Liquid vs. Team Impulse
Broken Dreams
Head-to-Head: 2-0 in favor of Team Liquid
Some predicted this match to be the finals. Fate was less fortunate for Team Liquid and Team Impulse, who saw their dreams crushed in the semifinals. Impulse lost 0-3, Liquid managed to scrape a game off TSM. Liquid will try everything to win, because if they win and then TSM wins the split, they go to Worlds as the second seed.
Liquid had great early games against TSM, but things started to go wrong after 15 to 20 minutes. Poor baron calls and disappointing performances from FeniX and the support staff.
Impact needs to go back to carry champions, as tanks didn’t work out for TIP.
Impulse had okay early games in all 3 games against CLG, but fell apart after the 10 to 15 minute mark. They need to go back to their old formula and let Impact play carry champions.
Liquid seems to be in a better state right now, but they need to fix their poor shotcalling, teamplay, and strategical play.
LANE TO WATCH: Quas vs. Impact (Toplane).
EU Finals: Fnatic vs Origen
The Old Guard trying to get their throne back
Head-to-Head: 2-0 in favor of Fnatic
Origen is the more experienced team, but experience doesn’t guarantee a higher chance of winning. Fnatic has been unbeatable in Europe and Origen is the underdog. If Origen can keep Fnatic down in the lane and punish Reignover, they might have a shot at winning.
Fnatic is amazing at backing each other up and have very low deaths across the board. Origen need to be aware that Fnatic will punish every mistake they make hard.
LANE TO WATCH: sOAZ vs. Huni (Toplane).
NA Finals: TSM vs CLG
The rivalry and Doublelift’s trophy case
Head-to-Head: 2-0 in favor of TSM
It’s been a while since we had a TSM-CLG matchup in a final. Both teams had good performances in the semifinals. TSM looks like a completely different team with improved teamplay and strategy. CLG shut down Team Impulse and showed improvement in teamfighting.
This is a hyped final with the curse of Doublelift winning not a single LAN and the old rivalry between CLG and TSM. TSM is the favorite, but CLG has a chance if they can minimize mistakes and take advantage of their playstyle.
LANE TO WATCH: Xmithie vs. Santorin (Jungle).