2016 Worlds recap: Day 4 of groups

2016 Worlds recap of Day 4 of groups focuses on pocket picks and stunning upsets.

This has definitely been the best Worlds tournament we’ve seen so far. Never have the teams seemed so close. Well, at least teams that don’t hail from the EU LCS. Too soon?

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Day 4 saw several teams bust out surprise champions in the pick and ban phase. Those champions seem to throw some pre-tournament favorites for a loop. The Worlds meta has yet to stabilize, and we may see fewer pocket picks as the tournament goes on and the favorites figure out how to play them.

But for now, enjoy the madness!

ahq e-Sports club defeat INTZ e-Sports

ahq played another controlled game. Jungler Hsue “Mountain” Chao-Hong played well and punished INTZ early. Specifically, ahq got top laner Chen “Ziv” Yi ahead against INTZ’s best laner in Felipe “Yang” Zhao. INTZ need to find ways to roam away from Yang when he’s getting pressured.

EDward Gaming defeat H2K Gaming

EDG showed tremendous patience and unflappable macro play. They’ve looked more controlled overall since their bootcamp, shedding the typically bloody, skirmished-base play of the LPL to higher level playing of the map.

That macro showed in their win over H2K as they slowly boxed H2K in. They could have pressed the issue and invaded more aggressively. But with the belief that they had superior talent, it’s safer to avoid engages until they had a big advantage.

Albus NoX Luna vs G2 Esports

G2 played their best game of the tournament in the loss to Rox. They hoped to build on that in their game against the international qualifer.

Instead, ANX pulled out several pocket picks, including Anivia mid and Brand for support Kirill “Likkrit” Malofeev. Their strategy? “Take it!”

ANX mid laner Michael “Kira” Garmash created a massive zone in the middle that kept G2 frozen. And Likkrit’s damage was just silly. Can we have a Likkrit stream already?

G2 had chances to make plays — they warded decently on their side, and squishy all-damage comps can be punished in teamfights. But they didn’t take advantage of that by grouping and instead, looking completely disjointed as they died one by one.

Albus NoX Luna is not going away and is tied for the lead in the group.

Counter Logic Gaming defeat Rox Tigers

Flash Wolves defeat SK Telecom T1

There was one unified theme in both of these games: the underdogs picked Aurelion Sol. And the LCK teams looked silly.

With the Star Forger unbanned after a spectator fix, CLG and FW took control of the game in different ways. CLG’s Choi “HuHi” Jae-hyun, much maligned for inconsistent play in the past, used Aurelion’s roaming potential to affect other lanes. This sick level one gank was just one instance:

Cloud9 defeat I May

“Top die” was the theme of this game. Impact’s KDA wasn’t amazing: diving or getting dove by multiple I May members will do that. But his play was exemplary. Normally someone who soaks pressure for the rest of his lanes, Impact put on a technical display to put out some damage too.

Could we see three NA LCS teams in the Quarterfinals?

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