League of Legends Worlds 2019: play-ins Day 3 stock up/stock down recap – Clutching it it out
By Josh Tyler
Day 3 of the League of Legends 2019 Worlds play-in stage is complete. Who advanced and fell short of the knockout round?
It was a wild Day 3 at the League of Legends 2019 Worlds play-in stage with multiple upsets and two tiebreakers to end the day. By the end, though, Splyce and Clutch advanced as the two #1 seeds in the knockout round, while Unicorns of Love and Isurus took the #2 seeds, leaving DetonatioN FocusMe and Mammoth out in the cold. Who surprised us, in a good and bad way, on Day 3?
Stock up
Upsets
More from International Tournaments
- 2023 League of Legends Worlds Finals Preview
- 2023 League of Legends Worlds Quarterfinals Bilibili Gaming vs Gen.G
- 2023 League of Legends Worlds Quarterfinals Weibo vs. NRG Recap
- Worlds 2023 Swiss Round Three Preview
- League of Legends 2023 World Championships Storylines to Watch
A couple of massive upsets came through in Groups A& B, starting with the very first game of the day when Unicorns of Love (UOL) ran back their domination over Clutch Gaming to beat them for the second time in play-ins. However, Groundhog Day then continued for Group A as Mammoth upset UOL before Clutch completed the cycle by beating Mammoth. Over in Group B, there were fewer upsets, but there was one massive upset as DetonatioN FocusMe stunned Splyce to secure their first (and only) win.
Bonus League of Legends
With Group A stuck in a vicious cycle of UOL > Clutch > Mammoth > UOL, all three teams ended the second round robin with identical 2-2 records. As a result, viewers were treated to two bonus tiebreaker games to determine who would advance to the knockout round and who would take that all-important first seed in the knockouts.
False hope
And now ends the hopes and dreams of Mammoth and Oceania fans of League of Legends. Far outperforming their initial ranking as the worst team at Worlds, Mammoth took down UOL in their first game of Day 3, setting up a scenario where they would clinch a spot in knockouts by winning one of their next two games.
The first game against Clutch, with all the pressure on the North American representative who were facing the possibility of being the first team from a major region to not make it out of play-ins, wasn’t even close, as Clutch dominated every single lane and took the win in 24 minutes. Then, in the tiebreaker round, Mammoth faced the UOL team they’d already beaten twice at Worlds. Unfortunately, UOL was able to adapt to Mammoth’s strategy and close out the OPL’s season in under 30 minutes.
Stock down
DetonatioN FocusMe
Apparently, I gave DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM) too much credit in how strong of a team they would be at Worlds, as they became the first team eliminated from the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. However, they did justify some of the hype from the LJL by pulling the upset of the tournament so far, taking down Splyce in 33 minutes on the back of some ridiculous Rakan play by Gaeng.
Macro
Speaking of DFM, though, their tournament run ended after their second loss on the day to Isurus Gaming. But let’s be honest, no one really “won” that 63-minute atrocity of poor macro.
Next. Ranking all mid laners at 2019 Worlds. dark
In a game that had Latin American and Japanese fans – along with the coaches of the two teams – pulling out their hair, the teams made misstep after massive misstep throughout the late game. The game saw four total Barons taken (two by each team) and three Elder Dragons (two by Isurus, one by DFM), yet the game dragged on. That doesn’t bode well for Isurus – who advance to the knockouts as the second seed from Group B – going against whatever first seed they draw.