The first phase of the
World Star Challengers International Playoffs is officially over, with EMEA and Korean teams dominating the first round. Of the eight teams still in contention, four came from LCK CL and three from EMEA. In the two domestic clashes,
Solary easily beat
MKOI Fénix,
DNS Challengers took down
DK Challengers in a close 3-2 series.
T1 Esports Academy defeated the only remaining NACL team, Cupid Esports, while
Galions swept
KT Rolster Challengers.The matchup between Solary and MKOI Fénix was fairly one-sided, with Solary's botlane and toplane consistently finding advantages over their counterparts. MKOI's standout player was jungler Enes "XnS" Hansu, who carried his team to a Game 2 win with a strong Nidalee performance.
Galions meanwhile completely ran down KT’s academy, and the series ended in a clean sweep in favour of the EMEA team. Galions just looked better in everything: micro, macro, and teamfighting. In game two, KT looked capable of beating them, but once the game hit its mid phase, there was no room for competition as the EMEA team completely outclassed them. Standout performance from Šimon "OMON" Řiháček on Locke in game 3 who annihilated Jeong "Hwichan" Hwi-chan Lissandra.
Korea answers back
The start of the event wasn't particularly promising for DNS Challengers, as they dropped games to EDG and Fuego. Those results raised questions about the Korean lineup, but they now appear to have found their form. Their upcoming matchup against Solary should provide a much clearer test of how far they can go in the tournament.
T1 Academy, meanwhile, continues to show its strength after easily getting past Cupid Esports. The Korean team had also enjoyed a strong group stage, beating Cupid 5-1 despite the experience of Nicholas "Ablazeolive" Abbott. T1's youngsters ultimately secured the series behind strong performances from Painter and Eclipse. David "Mobility" Rigley also had a standout performance, carrying his team in Game 4 to help T1 close out the series.
With the quarterfinals settled, the battle between EMEA and Korea is about to begin.
Solary will face DNS Challengers on September 30 at 8:00 CET and, right after, T1 Academy will play against Galions to decide which teams will qualify for the grand final.
