Day 1 kicked of with the group stages, these were the teams that qualified in 2nd and 3rd place in there region (1st place having automatically qualified for the quarter-finals).
Group A consisted of CLG.NA (Prime), SK Gaming, Invictus Gaming and Azubu Frost. Each team would play each other once in a best of one. Azubu Frost were favourites going into this group and they moved onto the next stage in the tournament going 3-0 in the group. Also going through was Invictus Gaming going 2-1 in the group only losing to Frost in a very close game. CLG.NA and SK Gaming went out losing to both Asian teams.CLG.NA beat SK, meaning SK went 0-3 in the group. I was personally dissapointed with the performance of CLG.NA and I'm sure many of their supporters were to. SK were definately the underdogs coming into this bracket and I think they had suppassed everyone expectations by just getting to this stage, I'm sure with Ocelote leading they will come back even stronger in S3.
Group B consisted of Najin Sword, CLG.EU, Saigon Jokers and Dignitas. The format was the same and Najin stormed the group going 3-0 with a very close game with CLG.EU who took second place in the group, again with an extremely hard match against Saigon Joke. Team Dignitas really didn't show up to this event, they went in with big expectations and really didn't deliver, another big NA team that didn't perform at this event although I'm sure they are already looking ahead to S3. Saigon Jokers were the surprise stars of this group, even though they didn't make it they definately surpassed the expectations of everyone and could have very easily made it to the next stage, I'm am positive we be seeing alot more of them in S3.
The games in the group stages were all really exciting, even though some were clearly dominated by one team, all the players involved made huge plays and showed why they are among the top few players in the world, it really kicked off event and quarter finals would be even better.
The quarter finals were drawn by a member of the team from each group drawing a letter which contained the name of team they would face. Azubu Frost drew TeamSoloMid, Invictus Gaming drew Moscow 5, Naijin Sword drew Taipei Assassins and this left CLG.EU to face World Elite. These were now the top 8 teams in the world, all trying for a place in the finals and $1million, they would play a best of 3 against the team they drew, the winner would then move onto the semi-finals.
First up was iG, who were 2-1 in there group stage and M5 who look unbeatable when looking at their track record for Lan events, having only lost to CLG.EU. However the Russians proved too strong for iG and beat them 2-0, both games were extremely close but M5 are just able to dominate teamfights with superior communication and leadership from Alex_Ich.
Next up was Taipei Assassins v Naijin Sword, no one was sure who would win this one, with both teams looking extremely strong it was going to be a close set of games. However, TPA proved too strong and beat Sword 2-0 to advance to the semis.
The might of the NA scene were up next, TSM v AZF. This was expected to be a really close set, with huge home support for TSM. However, AZF showed that there superior training regime had payed off and they took the set 2-0 out-playing TSM in every aspect. This game attracted massive controversy when Azubu Frost were fine $30,000 for cheating and looking at TSM's minimap during a jungle invade, ultimately saving Azubu from giving first blood.
CLG and WE came next, with CLG having huge support from the crowd and are definately a fan favourite. The first game went to CLG, the second to WE who really crushed CLG with some great early aggression. The third game seemed to be going WE's way aswell until the internet at the venue cut out and so did everyones stream watching at home. This lead to the game having to be re-made. CLG took the initiative in the remake playing a very slow and calculated game, all was going well up until the 60min mark when a team fight finally broke out and the internet died again! This lead to the game being abandoned and the semi final games also had to postponed. The game was held later with a CLG.EU winning the series 2-1.
The first semi-final game saw M5 v TPA, could TPA beat the unstoppable Russians, well in game one they were crushed by M5's superior laning mechanics and Alex_Ich's evelyn. However, game 2 went every much TPA's way and this set game 3 up to be huge, unfortunately M5 got off to a really bad start and they were never able to recover losing the series 2-1. TPA became only the second team to beat M5 at a lan event and would now face either Frost or CLG.EU which no one would have predicted.
All Europe's hopes now lay with CLG and it would be huge task to beat AZF, they had already faced them in Korea in the OGN and lost, so could they beat them this time? Game one went to CLG.EU very convincingly, however game 2 saw AZF adapt to CLG's play style and totally out play them. Game 3 went to AZF and they won the series 2-1.
It would now be a full Asian final with AZF and TPA facing each other for $1million and the to be crowned #1.
Taking place the following weekend on October 13th at the NBA arena, Riot managed to fill the place. They kicked off the event with a montage of the season accompanied by a full orchestra and laser show. The hype around the event was amazing, and felt like a esports superbowl.
The first game bans were to be expected, eliminating the big play makers such as Blitzcrank, Jayce and Skarner as well as toyz's rather scary Orianna. The game was close, but in the end some amazing karthus play from AF left Taipei Assasins one game down.
The second game showed the same match up mid but reversed. Karthus going to Taipei assasins this time, dominated Azubus Anivia, and they snowball the game hard to level up the score. It seems even the korean team couldnt handle the fast push technique they are faimed for, and the gold deficit was just to high.
In the third game Azubu decided to run the risk of allowing toyz his Orianna. The game exchanged a few kills at the start, although both teams seemed to be fairly even. Unfortunately Taipei picked up the rather unauthordox vayne which after hitting the 20 minutes mark with a few turret and kills advantage, Taipei snowballed the game hard. Toyz playing his orianna like a assasin, and then turning every fight into an absolute inferno for Azubu and litterally melting their faces. The surrender vote came in and left Taipei needing just one more win to take the trophy.
It seemed Toyz was just as scary with any ap carrys in Azubus eyes, leaving Orianna up again in the 4th game. However Shy bagged Jayce top, and Azubus lux mid was expected to handle Orianna. Taipei outplayed Azubu heavily, taking a early 4 kill lead, and not letting any mistakes slip. There coordination in the tournament was unrivaled by any opponent and the drive to win gave them the third victory and picking up the championship.
It was fantastic to see a team work so hard for the game, and really showed how serious esports needs to be taken when the prize pools pushed to millions of dollars. A few teams need to smarten up their acts if they are to remain the best in the world, and realise every one is fighting to be the best, and regardless of your status in the community, if you aren't willing to put in the time, someone will knock you off your pirch. While riot made there mistakes in the quater and semi finals with there servers dropping, the finals were truly amazing. I think league of legends is more than a craze, and i can see it living on for many seasons to come. I can't wait for season 3, and possibly try and even play in the amateur series!
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