League of Legends: remembering the 2017 Dignitas that never was

Dignitas started off taking their first two games and seemed to be soaring to an easy sweep. Yet the third game was anything but easy for them, and they saw their team crumble under the pressure of C9’s double-ADC comp.  In a game lasting barely 30 minutes, their Nexus dropped and Dignitas headed into Game 4 still one win away from closing out C9 to advance.

The fourth game began, incredibly close as the teams traded kills. When DIG finally called for the Baron, an apocalyptic fight ensued, feeding Sneaky three kills as his team snagged the buff. However, Dignitas wasn’t out of the game yet, and the team rallied as C9 blasted through their base, taking a last-minute team fight at the base of their Nexus turrets.

With the game reaching 40 minutes, and still basically even, both teams reset and tried to contain the waves of adrenaline rocketing through the arena. Crossing themselves, Dig headed for Baron and towards what would have to be the final fight of the game, whichever way it would go.

There’s no way to do justice to the fight that ensued – or to any other fights in Game 4 – but when the dust settled, Dig emerged, bloody and battered and making a beeline for the C9 base. They finished the series with a close 3-1 victory.

However, the inverse score would happen in their next game – this time against the TSM squad who would eventually hoist the NA League of Legends Regional trophy.

Despite the loss, Dig seemed to be keeping their heads in the game and everyone looked forward to seeing them in the first round of the Gauntlet. Maybe this would be the Dignitas squad that finally went to Worlds – the first since 2013. But it wasn’t to be.