Europe LCS Week Four Recap Fnatic v. Gambit
Fnatic's rematch with Gambit Gaming was their chance to avenge the unmerciful beating they received in their first game against Gambit. The Russian team, on the other hand, looked to keep their momentum strong.
Gambit Gaming
Bans: 
Elise, 
Leona, 
Caitlyn
Picks:
Darien -- Top: 
Shen
Diamondprox -- Jungle: 
Nasus
Alex Ich -- Mid: 
Kassadin
Genja007 -- ADC: 
Miss Fortune
EDward -- Support: 
Taric
Fnatic
Bans: 
Xin Zhao, 
Thresh, 
Volibear
Picks:
sOAZ -- Top: 
Rumble
CyanideFI -- Jungle: 
Vi
xPeke -- Mid: 
Kayle
YellOwStaR -- ADC: 
Corki
nRated -- Support: 
Sona
Level One:
As with most games so far this tournament, both teams played rather passively at level one. They placed a few defensive wards before going into their respective lanes and starting their jungle routes. Both CyanideFI and Diamondprox started at their own blue buffs, moved on to red buffs, and remained on opposite sides of the map.
Early game action:
While the top lane stayed fairly even and passive for the first seven minutes, both the middle and bottom lanes were full of aggression. xPeke pressured Alex Ich and slowly built a CS lead in mid. Genja007and EDward returned the favor in bottom. Genja007 stayed at least ten CS ahead of YellOwStaR at all times during the first ten minutes – sometimes boasting more than double his opponent's minion kills. In the mid lane, Kassadin finished off an unsuspecting Kayle, and CyanideFI came in for a counter-gank as xPeke was chased past his own outer turret. Vi laid into Alex and chased him into the jungle as Shen teleported in with Stand United. Both Alex and Darien were melted by Fnatic’s sOAZ.. Directly after the fight in mid, YellOwStaR and nRated turned up the heat in bottom and took Genja007 by surprise. nRated secured the kill rather than the AD Carry.
Mid game tension:
Fnatic leveraged their advantages into the mid game. They snagged more kills and sOAZ pushed down the first tower of the match - the top lane's outer turret. Gambit hooked the first dragon of the game for free and then shifted gears to put the aggression back on Fnatic with a series of kills for Alex Ich’s Kassadin. This assault allowed Gambit to hastily close the gold lead. Fnatic maintained their tower lead, but they were completely unprepared for Alex's aggression and GG’s power spike after purchases such as: Rod of Ages, Warmog's Armor, and Aegis of the Legion.
Late Game:
The tension between these two powerhouse teams persisted. Every time one racked up an objective, the other would respond with a decisive team fight and vice versa; both teams refused to give up a substantial advantage to the other. As the teams invested toward their important end-game items, global gold and kills remained extremely close. The action started to wind down somewhat because everyone was waiting for the perfect moment to make a game changing play without getting caught out of position.
Big Plays:
Fnatic prepared an ambush in a bush outside of Baron's pit to catch out Diamondprox and to pave the way for a free Baron and huge lead. Unfortunately, Gambit’s better positioning let them dropped everyone's health bars dangerously low. Alex Ich gave chase and cleaned up the map by rift walking to close the distance to most of Fnatic. He launched a beautifully placed force pulse for a triple kill, turned on sOAZ, and finished him for a quadra kill cum ace. After they wiped Fnatic off of the map, Gambit used the Baron buff to gain a definitive lead.
Game Closeout:
Gambit Gaming utilized the Baron buff and their fairly scary items to easily push down the inner mid and top lane turrets as well as mid lane's inhibitor. Fnatic were unable to do anything to prevent the push. Fnatic charged in with one last initiation at the edge of their base, and Gambit turned the fight around by securing two kills. The Russians then pushed in and took the nexus, bringing a decisive end to one of the closest matches in the LCS so far.
- Written by Brandyn Boren
- Edited by Marissa Moody Kuo
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