We’re back for Week 5 of the second split of LTA North, and today’s best-of-threes were full of energy. Expectations from fans and casters alike were high, and the teams definitely delivered.

FlyQuest Vs. Shopify Rebellion

Game 1:

Draft was interesting today, with Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau bringing back Nidalee top for the first time in our region since Summer 2014. The early game was back-and-forth, with both teams taking light trades and going one-for-one on the early objectives. FlyQuest drew First Blood over a fight at the now one (and only) spawn of Void Grubs.

Up two Drakes and the Feats of Strength, FlyQuest pushed their luck with a daring dive mid and Shopify Rebellion was able to kill the gold lead. Four kills and Rift Herald in hand, SR needed to take the shift in momentum in stride, but unfortunately fell short. In a devastating turn of events, FlyQuest took back the game, regaining their gold lead, stealing Thornbound Atakhan and earning an ace.

Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek’s Corki damage shredded through the squishier members of Shopify Rebellion and secured Baron, destroying two inhibitors. One clean push later, FlyQuest closed out the game 19-8.

Game 2:

Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami opened strong with First Blood onto Bwipo's Yorick, while Juan “Contractz” Garcia grabbed Void Grubs and Kacper “Inspired” Słoma secured Drake. Shopify kept the momentum rolling and picked up the second Drake as well as a solid gold lead.

The gold lead was settled following a gank from Alan “Busio” Cwalina and First Turret going to FlyQuest. Shopify Rebellion was the first to three objectives, with two drakes and Void Grubs claimed. Fudge secured the Feat of Warfare, and SR were able to claim Thornbound Atakhan, but ultimately lost the ensuing skirmish.

Kills stayed low throughout the midgame. Neither team hit 5 kills until almost 30 minutes in. Shopify Rebellion took Hextech Soul and killed Inspired, thanks to a long chain of crowd control and a solid Bullet Time from Ju “Bvoy” Yeong-hoon. As SR took Baron, FlyQuest pushed mid turret, looking to gain a lead.

A huge skirmish took place at Elder Drake, and Shopify Rebellion took command over the fight, acing FlyQuest and grabbing the buff for themselves. Pushing the team down through mid, SR took a victory of their own, 12-6, in 35 minutes.

Game 3:

Contractz, on a rare Shen jungle pick, made an early play topside, flashing in on Bwipo to secure First Blood while denying the one-for-one trade. Inspired hit back with a Nocturne ult tower dive, taking out Fudge and setting the kills even before grabbing the team’s second objective of the game. A sneaky Shen ult from Contractz teleports his toplane for a gank, eliminating FlyQuest’s slight gold lead.

A kill botside gave Shopify Rebellion the Feat of Warfare, but the Feat of Monster Slaying went to FlyQuest at the Drake fight, along with two kills. Inspired secured the Rift Herald, but SR got the first turret, giving them the boot buff.

FlyQuest pulled an insane teamfight at Mountain Drake before taking Atakhan, setting the gold lead at about 3k. They claimed Dragon Soul and—following a number of small skirmishes across the map—took Baron Nashor. Simultaneously pushing bot and mid lane, FlyQuest’s pressure was high. They initiated a 5v5 botside, immediately pushing to win just over 31 minutes into the game.

Result: FlyQuest won 2-1.

Team Liquid vs. Disguised

Game 1:

Sean “Yeon” Sung kicked off the game with an explosive double kill for Team Liquid. Moments after Disguised took Drake, TL picked up two more kills and claimed the Feat of Warfare. Lawrence “Exyu” Xu snagged all three Void Grubs, giving them an early Monster Slaying bonus. Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon took Drake after Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in caught Jeremiah “ScaryJerry” Leathe out.

Team Liquid had a very strong teamfight at Rift Herald, securing their second epic camp of the game. Felix “Abbedagge” Braun took the first turret, setting both teams effectively at Feats of Strength-point. With Disguised claiming their second Drake of the Game and the Feats of Strength, it seemed that DSG was not planning on going down without a fight.

With the teams tied at two Drakes, a fight broke out in botside river, ScaryJerry picked off UmTi, giving Exyu the chance to get their third Drake for free. Team Liquid shot back with a major teamfight, but ultimately lost the Baron to a perfectly-timed Q from ScaryJerry.

DSG locked in Mountain Soul with three stacked Mountain Drakes—but the cost was high. They lost four, and TL shoved straight down mid for the win in a heartbreaking succession.

Game 2:

This one was explosive off the rip, with first blood immediately going to Team Liquid following a three-camp gank in toplane from UmTi. Just under four minutes into the game, Yeon got a clean double kill, giving the Feat of Warfare over to Team Liquid.

Team Liquid grabbed their second drake of the game, and aced Disguised just moments after. The kills continued as TL fought over the soon-to-spawn Ocean Drake, claiming their third of the game. Just over 20 minutes in, TL had claimed all objectives, an almost 11k gold lead, and 20 kills over Disguised. While the game was not a complete shutout, TL was breaking down DSG’s inhibitors under 25 minutes in. The snowball did not look close to slowing, let alone stopping.

Team Liquid shredded through Baron’s HP as Disguised looked for an angle to approach. Seconds later, TL was at their enemy’s base, pushing through inhibitors, and closed out the match in an unrelenting push as five.

Result: Team Liquid won 2-0.

Until Tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 Pacific Time, the matches of 100 Thieves vs. Team Dignitas, and Cloud9 vs. LYON, will begin. With every team fighting for their place in the standings, each match carries a heavy weight with it. We’ll see who shows up, who falls short, and who might plan on wrecking the bracket. Stay tuned!