Quarterfinals day one consisted of two match-ups with a best 2 out of 3 games deciding the victor.
Fnatic and Cloud 9
Many of the NA fans already know the outcome of this match-up. The first game ended in a Fnatic victory. Fnatic was consistently able to catch C9 members in the jungle, due to the mobility of Teleport on xPeke’s Kassadin and sOAZ’s Lissandra. The second game went to Cloud 9, some speculate it was because of Fnatic’s over-confidence from winning the first game. C9 was able to get an early turret. Balls’ Rumble was able to turn around Fnatic’s surprise tactics, leading the way to game 2 victory for C9. The third game was for the victory, and to the despair of NA fans, Fnatic dashed C9 from the quarterfinal’s roster. Game 3 did not start out well for C9; Sneaky and LemonNation were caught trying to ward the river near top lane, giving Cyanide’s Lee Sin 2 kills. Fnatic found opportunities for easy picks and uncontested map objectives, racking up eighteen kills to zero by the time they took the first inhibitor; Cloud 9 was unable to counter this brutal assault. North America’s last hope to bring home the Summoner’s Cup was trampled upon by Fnatics ruthless victory.
Gambit and Najin Black Sword
Najin’s surprising (and discordant) team composition, with Jungle NuNu and Top Lane Diana, got them First Blood, but that wasn’t enough for them to win the first game with Gambit, which snowballed in Gambit’s favor. Second match Najin came back for vengeance. Nagne played Ahri this match and fared much better. Nearing the end of the game, Najin had multiple turrets down, unchallenged Baron, and superior itemization, which allowed them to ace Gambit. Once again, Game 3 was a toss up, deciding who would win the match-up. Najin got serious in this game, and came out the victor.