With a player from each team making their playoff-level debut today, fans and coaches alike had plenty to watch. Many people expected a one-sided series, but both teams had their moments, from straight-up stomps to the momentous first Fearless Game 4 in LTAN history, today was full of surprises.

Game 1:

Team Liquid had the early tempo, even without any kills on the board. Ganbat "Yuuji" Ulziidelger was able to take the first Drake of the game without any contest as Sean "Yeon" Sung and Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in pulled off a lane swap. With four members of Team Liquid at the objective, there was no contest. The momentum continued in their favor until a team fight broke out in the topside river just under fourteen minutes in, where Jett "Srtty" Joye was able to secure a sneaky kill on Yuuji.

Team Liquid took the last of Dignitas’ tier three turrets, and contesting just became even more unfeasible. Team Liquid took their third Drake easily. DIG got engaged in their jungle, leading to Frank "Tomo" Lam dying before everyone reset.

Eain "APA" Stearns got caught out by all members of Dignitas just as Baron spawned, but ultimately three members of DIG fell, giving Team Liquid a free shot at both Baron and Atakhan. The gold lead reached over 6,000 as DIG’s members respawned. Team Liquid was tower diving under the Nexus, securing a solo kill for Yeon as they used Baron to push for a quick end to game one.

Game 2:

First Blood went to Yeon just thirteen minutes into the game, cutting Dignitas’ gold lead. A Pop Blossom set up Dignitas nicely for multiple kills but they did not have the damage to follow up. Srtty went for a risky kill in the river and got taken down by Team Liquid right before they took Rift Herald, their first objective this time around.

First Turret went to Team Liquid and got traded for Soul Point for Dignitas, but TL kept the gold lead. An ult from Jeong "Impact" Eon-young kept DIG away from their botside turret, chasing them off just before Yuuji took Atakhan. Team Liquid also took their first Drake, preventing Dignitas’ run for an early Soul.

A skirmish broke out at Dignitas’ midlane second-tier turret, giving them their first kill, but not much else. An aggressive Flash from Yeon took Srtty out of the equation, but DIG killed APA as they went to start Baron. Tomo secured two kills as Team Liquid attempted to steal the objective, setting the score even five-to-five, and taking the gold lead into Dignitas’ command.

Yuuji looked for a flank as Elder Drake spawned, but got caught out as Dignitas went for the objective. Jungler down for Team Liquid, DIG was able to take the Elder Drake without contest. The momentum was strong as DIG engaged, shoving turrets and taking the game.

Game 3:

The early game was calm, with Dignitas once again putting priority on objectives. They took their second drake of the game, and a teamfight broke out in their topside jungle shortly after. Both junglers fell, and the teams ended the fight even in kills. The bloodshed didn’t stop topside, and the teams continued fighting from the topside river. Yuuji fell, but ultimately Dignitas lost out.

The third Drake went to Dignitas, but they lost out hard on the fight that followed, four-for-none. Team Liquid rushed Atakhan, taking the objective and a kill along with it. Three kills later, DIG was down to one inhibitor, no Nexus turrets, and a dream. A daring teleport from Srtty shut down CoreJJ without issue. One fight at Drake later, with a huge minion wave, Team Liquid emerged victorious.

Game 4:

The early game was calm. Dignitas invaded but lost out on the first Drake of the game for it. All three Void Grubs went to Team Liquid, but Srtty was able to secure the second Drake of the game. Seventeen and a half minutes in, First blood was finally drawn topside by APA as DIG secured their second Drake. Team Liquid took Rift Herald, and the Feats of Strength along with it.

The fighting continued in mid, with Rift Herald shredding through the last of Dignitas’ tier one turrets. A second kill went to Team Liquid as Atakhan spawned. With a sneaky smite, Team Liquid delayed Soul Point for another five minutes. Impact distracted DIG in the botside river as the rest of his team rushed Atakhan.

As the rest of Team Liquid postured mid, Impact put in work to push topside. Multiple members of Dignitas tried to steal Baron, but it just wasn’t enough. With the buff in hand, Team Liquid pushed botside as four while Impact spent his (and his opponents') time up topside, 2v1. The game ended quickly with TL shoving buffed waves from botside.

Result: Team Liquid wins 3-1.

Wrapping Up

Today’s games had a lot of firsts: both teams had a playoff debut for at least one member, and we saw the first Fearless Bo5 to go past three matches. Despite both teams fighting the good fight, Team Liquid landed on top. Today’s matches were the first of four best-of-fives required for Team Liquid to win the split; they’re off to a great start.

Upcoming LTA North Games:

June 1: 100 Thieves vs. Shopify Rebellion (Elimination)

June 7: FlyQuest vs. Cloud9 (Upper Bracket Finals)

June 8: Team Liquid vs. TBD (Lower Bracket Semifinals)

June 14: TBD vs. TBD (Lower Bracket Finals)

June 15: TBD vs. TBD (Split Two Finals)