Esports Vainglory News

Weekly News Round Up

In Vainglory news over the past week, we have seen a couple guides and giveaways to go through and to take part in along with some more action from the eSports scene.

Phinn Skin Giveaway:

In case you haven’t had much luck winning the special seasonal skin from your favorite streamers, SEMC has announced a giveaway of their own.  To take part, you just have to tweet an image of you doing a Phinn cosplay with the tag #PhinnishMe. You must be following @Vainglory to be eligible. Read the full details here.

Guides; Samuel, LP Queue:

Following the release of Samuel, the latest hero on the fold, an official breakdown of the hero has been released. Read it here to give yourself an edge over the other early adopters. We also have a new article from BicycleSquid explaining the new Low Priority Queue that can be read here.

skin sales:

With the 1.21 update, we got a bunch of new skins to show off. To our delight, SEMC has announced that all these skins will be on sale for a limited time. The Summer Party Kestrel skin is 50% off while Tier 3 Reim and Tier 2 Alpha are both 25% off. All these skins can be bought with ICE or crafted. Note when buying with ICE, you do not have to buy the skins in order. This means that you can buy that Tier 3 skin which you can’t seem to save essence up for directly without using up your precious ICE on the other Tiers.

esports:

The main headline for eSports this week was the fight for the top seed in the  Live Championships. Read on to see how your favorite team fared.

Day 1:

EU:

Series 1 – Team Secret vs Snow Tsunami –

TS already has a guaranteed spot as the top seed for the Live Championships, but that didn’t stop them from showing Tsunami what they’re made of. The early game was very passive from the Jungle on TS’ side which is good considering they were running a Krul. In the seventh minute, though, Tsunami had a really good engage bringing out a double kill for their first turret and a full gold mine. Lookatme on Koshka looked very dominant. They were meant to win the early game with their draft and they were doing it. They got a three kill lead early but the following 2 fights were one-for-one trades. By the 15th minute, TS got a wonderful engage for a very clean Ace, turret and Kraken. They went from not taking a single turret to having just one turret left to push through. Team Secret followed it up with a one-for-three fight, getting an Ace and Kraken at the 20th minute. Tsunami tried to engage after the release to save the game, but couldn’t hold Secret off.
The second game started off pretty strong for Tsunami with a strong Saw from Lookatme but TS quickly got a couple kills of their own in the 8th minute while also cashing in on a huge gold mine. Later on, they were ever so slightly overextended in Lane and gave up a kill which Tsunami converted into a turret. Tsunami took a risk, trying to take gold mine in the 13th minute with TS close, and Secret was able to steal it away. In a drawn out fight in the 15th minute, TS got an Ace after Tsunami looked for a fight that they didn’t need. Team Secret got the Kraken and a turret from the Ace, but could only get one more turret from the push. The Glaive + Lance combo was really working out for them and didn’t seem to be falling off too bad. After winning a few more fights, Secret took the Kraken and a win to continue their dominance in the EU.

Series 2 – Gankstars Cerberus vs Snow Avalanche –

We got a double CP comp from Avalanche with a CP Ringo from Kentysik and Skaarf from WalDeMar. The game started out very strong for GSC with a rather large 4k gold, 4 kill lead in the 8th minute. Avalanche lost their first turret in the 10th minute after GSC got a kill on WalDeMar. AeOn had a very strong CP Skye and L3oN showed a strong roam Lyra as well. Well timed heals and slows from Iraqi were also super helpful. They pushed up to a 6k gold lead by the 13th minute. GSC got two kills with a huge engage in the 17th minute for Kraken and won with the push.
In the second game, AeOn went for Krul with IraqiZorro on Skye. Even so, GSC were very aggressive and got a large kill lead in the early game. In the 16th minute, GSC got a pretty strong fight but noticed kentysik was AFK and chose to wait it out, bringing on the pause. In the 17th minute, GSC started out kraken and got it before Avalanche could respond. In the ensuing fight, GSC got an Ace for a very strong push. They were forced to back off, though with only one crystal turret remaining for Avalanche. They got another Ace right after, losing Iraqi but still able to push for the series win.

Series 3 – SK gaming vs Rising Lotus –

The first half of the first game wasn’t streamed but in the 16th minute, SK got a clean Ace after what seemed to be a very even first half of the game. They got Kraken from the Ace and ultimately won after getting two kills during the push.
The second game saw SK taking a very commanding lead in the early with a huge 10 kill lead in just 6 minutes–even taking 3 turrets down in the same time! They also had a 7k gold lead at this point. Playing Kestrel like a true Saw push comp, they finished the game in just 9 1/2 minutes.

Series 4 – G2 Esports vs Mousesports –

The first game started off pretty even between teams. Despite a slight kill deficit for G2, the gold was rather even. REDemption brought out a CP Ringo.  In the eighth minute, G2 were able to get themselves an Ace and a turret. They got another three kills to follow for the gold mine. G2’s momentum staggered, as the team gave up several kills. It was anybody’s game. Mousesports were running a WP Lance which was a real variable that seemed to affect G2. Again, G2 got two kills in the 15th minute for Kraken, a turret and then a final Ace during the push to take the first game home.
The next game was also very close. Despite a grim start from Mousesports, they came back with some very good wombo combos using Phinn and Kestrel. They even got a large gold lead and three turrets down by the 15th minute. MagestiC’s Reim was falling way too quickly in fights, owing to a double range comp from Mousesports, who got a series of kills in the minutes to follow and looked to the Kraken in the 17th minute. In the fight that ensued, Moousesports got two kills and pushed for the win.
With the newfound confidence and momentum, Mousesports started out the third game very strong. The WP Kestrel from SLAINE was very strong and Emirking had a strong Roam Lyra as well. They had about a 13 kill lead by the 15th minute. After getting two kills in the 15th minute, they got Kraken and started their push. Asater was afk during the push, so they weren’t able to get the win from it. The teamplay from Mousesports was spot on this game. Asater did not come back before the pause limit was reached, however, and the game went on without him. Being one player down, G2 were able to get two kills and Kraken from it. Asater came back at this point. They got two turrets from the push. In the next fight, G2 lost out two-for-one and Mousesports started on Kraken. REDemption engaged 2v1 and got one kill and G2 got the Kraken. During the push, though, G2 gave up an Ace and Mousesports base raced for the win.

NA:

Series 1 – Team Solomid vs Nemesis Titan –

TSM started pretty strong with a strong WP Lance from VONC. They got an Ace in the 8th minute, leading to a turret and full gold mine. In just 13 minutes, TSM took down two turrets and had an 11 kill lead. TSM got another Ace in the 16th minute for Kraken. They were able to push with it up until Titan’s final turret. DragonDagger on the side of Titan brought out a Crystal Taka which is seldom seen in competitive play, and it was seen why when FlashX actually built a bunch of vision! In the 19th minute, though, Titan were able to get two kills but couldn’t get much more from it. TSM bought the game back with a 21 minute clean Ace for the win.
The second game saw VONC going Reim, with didn’t really go well in EU. TSM started out with a relatively quick 3 kills and had 2 more soon to follow. The kills and the lead kept building up for TSM as they pushed down all the lane turrets before the fifteenth minute. BestChuckNA showed off a very strong WP Kestrel. TSM took a risk and tried to start off Kraken and it actually worked out for them. They were able to release it and got an Ace from the fight that ensued for the win.

Series 2 – Ardent Aurora vs Phoenix Reborn –

WizardSibs brought out a Koshka, a hero which got a couple buffs over the past two updates putting her right back in the meta. It does fall off pretty hard late, though. Then again, Reborn had a WP Lance on XenoTek which is also known for having a pretty bad fall off. The early game, as can be expected, was pretty close. Double CP didn’t seem to be working out so well for Aurora and they started to allow a small lead to grow of about 2k by the 9th minute. Just with the tenth minute, Reborn were able to pick up a very decisive Ace. Aurora did not have nearly enough damage for a fight at the point. They got a turret from it and tried taking gold mine but Aurora were able to take it away from them. Aurora also traded a death on WizardSibs for a shutdown on XenoTek which allowed them to get a turret of their own. In the 15th minute, the double fountain on Reborn was used to perfection allowing them an ace and Kraken. Reborn got two kills during the push and were able to secure the win.
In the second game, WizardSibs stole away the WP Lance from Reborn and XenoTek went WP Kestrel. In the fourth minute, Reborn was slightly overextended in lane allowing Aurora to get the first two kills. Reborn were slowly able to get the two kills back, though. In the tenth minute, Reborn got another two kills with a huge Solar Storm from StartingAllOver, and the team got a Turret from it. They also took gold mine for a 6k gold lead by the 12th minute.  Reborn got an Ace for the second turret owing to a well farmed Kestrel on XenoTek. Ardent got two kills during the push allowing them to kill Kraken just before it destroyed the turret, but to no avail: Reborn went straight for the crystal and shattered it.

Series 3 – Hammers Kinetic vs Nemesis Hydra –

For the first game, PONtheOriginal went for Saw after a really long absence on the Hero. He put a huge amount of pressure on Lane and Nemesis lost their first two turrets very early. Kinetic were also able to get a gold mine for a 5k gold lead in the 9th minute. They got the third turret in the tenth minute after getting a kill on Hydra’s Skaarf. They got another kill on Skye with a very well placed ult from MICSHE forcing the rest of Hydra back to base. Kinetic took advantage of this for Kraken. They got two kills during the push for the win.
Game 2 saw PONtheOriginal going for WP Skye.  Even going against a WP comp, Kinetic had a very clean game. The only thing they really got from the game was a turret that they burst down in the 12th minute. Apart from that they didn’t even get a single kill. MICSHE had a very dominant CP Vox. They got Kraken in the fifteenth minute after getting a kill on LostBoyToph and won with the push.

Series 4 – Hammers Velocity vs Phoenix Reign –

StatusBaked brought out a WP Lance and got a quick kill for first blood. He had insane damage to start the game out with WP Lance’s early game prowess and pretty much owned the jungle. With a good hook from e36 in the 13th minute, Reign were able to get a turret, gold mine and Velocity’ backs for a 5 1/2k gold lead. In the 16th minute, another great pull by e36 and great kiting by Oldskool for two kills and Kraken. They got the ace during the ace for the win bringing out a TSM special.
In the second draft, Reign were able to bring back Celeste and Phinn. They couldn’t draft their WP Lance again, and picked Skye to replace Lance in Jungle. CP Skye, mind you, for a double CP comp. Zio also opted for a CP Saw which isn’t really seen that much in competitive play. The early game saw a couple kills going to either side; the game remained more or less even. For the most part up until the 13th minute, both teams got very close to getting kills but couldn’t seal the deal and ended up backing off. In the 13th minute, there was another one-for-one trade. Six minutes later, Reign got two kills which allowed them to get two turrets, but no one was going for Kraken quite yet. In the 21st minute, though, Reign were able to get an ace for Kraken. Reign used all their abilities just as you would expect pros to. During the push they got another ace for the win.

Day 2:

EU

Series 1 – Team Secret vs SK Gaming –

Team Secret opted for a Koshka, which really hasn’t seen much success in the series yet. KValafar also went for a Lane Rona which lead Raph on the side of SK to go for Reim to counter the double melee comp. TS started out very strong early as would be expected with Koshka.  They kept picking up kills every now and then, racking up a pretty large 11 kill lead by just the 10th minute. They also had a 6k gold lead. They picked up a turret whenever they could after getting a kill or two and got the second turret in the 11th minute. In the 13th minute, Palmatoro was able to lock up Reim for a kill and another turret at the choke point into SK’s base. In the 14th minute, KValafar and Mowglie went 2v3 and Still won the fight for two kills and SK were able to finish the game, granting Koshka her first win of the week.
This game, Palmatoro went for WP Lance and KValafar got his signature Saw, going the CP route this time. They got the first turret just 2 minutes in, not even bothering to wait till they get a kill or two. They did, however get two kills in the 7th minute and used it to get a gold mine. Secret tried going for another gold mine in the 10th minute but SK was able to steal this one away. TS got another Ace in the thirteenth minute and leveraged it for another turret. SK got a kill of their own in the minutes to follow, but not without losing one to KValafar. They always seemed to lose any slight advantage they could muster by being slightly over aggressive. In the 16th minute, TS got yet another ace with Helga to go. They got two kills even before Kraken could push forward and won the game.

Series 2 – Gankstars Cerberus vs Mousesports –

We saw another WP Lance for the day on AeOn, this time. GSC were very strong through the early and mid game, picking up kills one after another but not really managing to get an Ace. They got the first turret in the 7th minute after getting a couple kills in the Jungle. They got another 2 kills in the tenth minute and got the second turret from it. GSC had a 13 kill and 6k gold lead by the 12th minute. They got an Ace in the 15th minute, nearly losing AeOn but managing to get through without giving up any kills. They got Kraken and a turret from the push. GSC gave up an ace during the push, but were able to destroy everything except for the crystal with the push. In the 20th minute, AeOn tried to backdoor while SK were taking the Kraken. The backdoor failed when all of SK recalled–except Emirking, who was able to finish capturing the Kraken alone. Mousesports got two turrets with Helga and brought the gold lead down to 3k. There was an incredibly close two-for-two trade in the 23rd minute where Mousesports nearly lost it all, but Asater on Skye cleaned up, taking down Aeon and IraqiZorro forcing L3oN to flee. In the 27th minute, GSC seemed to make good with a 2 for 1 trade in their favor but they ended up losing Iraqi to a great Snipe from SLAINE on Kestrel. L3oN feigned a backdoor, forcing SLAINE to recall and preventing him from pushing a turret. Keep in mind here, that the side of Mousesports had very good vision with scout traps while GSC had none. Finally, in the 29th minute, following a bad engage by Mousesports owing to a slightly overextended Asater, GSC were able to get an Ace for the win in this marathon match!
SLAINE on the side of Mousesports picked up a Glaive for Game Two and was countered by a Roam Lyra pick by L3oN. Mousesports started out the second game way better than the first actually taking down the first turret in only two minutes. GSC were down three kills until the 7th minute when they got an Ace, from which they got their first turret. From here on, GSC started to slowly build up a kill lead and amassed a 2k gold lead by the 13th minute. At this time, GSC got another Ace for the second turret and a gold mine. By the 15th minute they had 10 kill and 5k gold leads. In the 18th minute, GSC went for a sneaky Kraken capture and got away with it since Mousesports had very little vision this game. GSC lost the Kraken with one crystal turret left but Mousesports got a little ahead of themselves with an engage that they really didn’t need and gave up an Ace–which GSC took all the way to win the game.

Series 3 – Mousesports vs SK Gaming –

The early game went slightly in the favor of SK with a very strong Jungle Adagio from Raph. Following a kill on Asatar, SK rushed for the first turret in the 6th minute.They also got an Ace in the 10th minute for another turret. SK seemed to be bringing out the classic buff comp with a very strong WP Ringo and CP Adagio. Despite losing Cr3am early in a fight in the 12th minute, SK got another Ace after a huge Verse from Adagio that picked up a double kill and allowed Bayu to finish off Emirking. They got another turret from this along with a gold mine to increase their gold lead to 5k. They got another Ace in the 15th minute and finished the game.
The second match saw another WP Lance, this time on Asater, and as expected they had a very strong early game despite going up against a Reim on the side of SK. In the 5th minute though, SK were able to pick up three kills of their own to equalize the kill score. The kills remained about equal throughout the early-mid game. Even gold leads were pretty non-existent. In the 16th minute, SK were able to get 2 kills and picked up Kraken afterwards. During the push, SK got two kills to push up to the crystal, but gave up an Ace after due to their full team being very low on energy. Even with that turn, the game remained very close in terms of gold. Mousesports got two kills to follow, and took a turret of their own. SK quickly came back to get two final kills and ignored Asater as they destroyed the turret and Vain Crystal for the win.

Series 4 – Team Secret vs Gankstars Cerberus –

As before, Palmatoro tried his luck on Koshka but it didnt seem to be working out that great in the early game with AeOn on WP Lance pulling off some good jungle invades and GSC getting 3 kills early. After getting another two kills in the 7th minute, GSC went on to get a gold mine for themselves. By now they built up a 2k gold lead and a 7 kill lead. After getting a kill on KValafar in the 10th minute, GSC pushed for the first turret. Between then and the 15th minute, GSC have built up a pretty large lead with a couple more kills for a total of 11 kills to nil and a 7k gold lead. GSC took a huge risk in starting off the gold mine without having Crucible up. This lead to Mowglie pulling them all in and a shut down on IraqiZorro and AeOn, forcing L3oN to retreat. TS took the Kraken for themselves. During the push, GSC got an Ace but lost three turrets to the push. They got another Ace in the 18th minute getting the Ace for the win. A major factor for this was IraqiZorro missing out on blocking the Koshka ult. The comebacks were real.
KValafar got his signature Saw for the second game. The early bit of the game was a lot more even with 4 kills apiece and GSC still having only a slight gold lead. Cerberus put huge pressure on the lane during the seventh minute and were able to get the first turret without even having to get a kill. That didn’t stop Iraqi from getting the kill on KValafar after the turret fell, though. By the 11th minute, GSC had built up a 6k gold lead and a 4 kill lead to go with it. They got another turret when the whole of TS was down in the Jungle. Again, they destroyed a turret in the 13th minute with all 3 members of TS still up. Only the crystal turrets remain. In the 15th minute, GSC got an Ace in the base of TS and pushed for the win. Nevermind on that comebacks thing, Team Secret lost for the second time this split.
The final game was way more typical of TS. They built up a 6 kill lead by the 9th minute with the last two games being a mirror image of this one, this was good for them. Even with the kill lead the gold was very close due to superior Jungle farming from the side of GSC. This was expected, though, since Palmatoro was playing a Krul. TS got a kill in the 13th minute and used it to get the first turret. They also got a gold mine for a 2k gold lead. TS started out the Kraken but GSC tried to contest it. Bye, Iraqi! TS disengaged Kraken and caught Iraqi while the rest of GSC retreated. They went back to Helga after this, much to her joy. She returned the favor by helping TS win the game after getting one final Ace during the push.

NA:

Series 1 – Phoenix Reign vs Hammers Kinetic –

The first game started out very even with the only real advantage being with Kinetic in that they got a turret after a pretty aggressive play from MICSHE. Apart from that, the gold and kill leads were non-existent. In the 13th minute though, Reign was able to get an Ace from a grim looking fight after a beautiful Solar Storm from Oldskool. Phoenix took down a turret and captured a gold mine on the back of the play. After this they got another two kills with some insane mechanics from Oldskool. Yeah, Goldskool is the perfect name for him. They got another turret from this. Reign followed it up immediately with an Ace. They didn’t use it to get Kraken, but they did get another turret and the entirety of Kinetic’s Jungle. Seeing that Kinetic went after their minion mine, Reign took a Kraken anyway. In a very close mid push fight, two members each of Kinetic and Reign fell, leaving only StatusBaked and PONtheOriginal to battle it out. PON had a narrow edge and got Kinetic the Ace, but the damage had been done with only Kinetic’s crystal left standing. In the twentieth minute, Reign got an Ace and finished the job.
This next game, PON got his signature Saw. MICSHE also stole Celeste over from Oldskool. They took the early game for themselves. Kinetic put massive pressure on the lane and got the first two turrets in just 6 minutes. Kinetic also got a gold mine for a 4k gold lead in 8 minutes. After an Ace, Kinetic got the third turret in just 9 minutes. They got another Ace and a gold mine payout in the 10th minute. In the 14th minute, Kinetic got another Ace, pushing down everything for the win before Helga could even make an appearance.
In the third game, PON got his Saw yet again. This time, though, Reign were prepared for it with a nice double heal comp to help them along. It seemed to be working with the early game kill advantage going over to Reign. Despite this, gold leads were negligible. In the 5th minute, though, PON took down the first turret when Reign was missing from the Lane. Five minutes later, Reign returned with some pressure of their own and destroyed Hammers’ first turret. Reign were also able to get the gold mine for a decent gold payout without Kinetic noticing. In the 15th minute, Reign pulled another sneak one and got Kraken on their side. They won with the push.

Series 2 – Team Solomid vs Phoenix Reborn –

TSM started off with a pretty strong early game. VONC on WP Lance was doing work. They pushed up into a 6 minute turret. They took a risk and tried getting the gold mine in the eighth minute but R3cKeD made a great save–he stole it away using Lyra’s Imperial Sigil. TSM were not deterred and aggressively fought for another two kills and the second turret. They built up a 3k gold lead by the 10th minute along with a 7 kill lead. In the 16th minute, TSM got 2 more kills for a turret and Kraken. During the push, TSM got the Ace for the win.
The second game saw a WP Kestrel on XenoTek, and Rona on VONC, Oh, and yeah.. A Roam Koshka on FlashX! The early game went the way of Reborn. They built it up to a 3k gold, 5 kill lead by the tenth minute. CP Saw wasn’t working too well for BestChuckNA. TSM did get the first turret but Reborn answered immediately with a turret of their own and a gold mine. Reborn got a clean Ace in the 18th minute for the third turret and Kraken. They got another Ace during the push for the win.
The final game was a lot more even in the early part. This time ’round, BestChuckNA went for Lane CP Joule with FlashX going for a Roam Adagio. It was a somewhat slow early game as well, with only a total of 7 kills by the 13th minute, but TSM lived up and took the first turret at that point. They got a bit over-aggressive after the small victory and lost two members. In the 16th minute, TSM sneaked a Kraken without any contest from Reborn. During the push, TSM only got the third turret and conceded an Ace, not quite pulling off the TSM special. Reborn got their first turret from the Ace. TSM lost out, giving another Ace to Reborn, who answered with Kraken and a turret. TSM got two kills during the push and were able to kill Kraken with one turret left. Team Solomid lost out on the next fight as well with the ults from BestChuckNA being rather underwhelming. Reborn took home the victory.

Series 3 – Phoenix Reborn vs Phoenix Reign –

For the finals, we have yet another match between sister teams, Reborn and Reign. The game started out with a pretty strong early game from Reign. They built up a slight kill lead by the sixth minute. Reign took a risk in trying to get the gold mine in the 7th minute, and it payed off despite contest from Reborn. This gave them a 2k gold lead. After getting a kill on XenoTek in the eighth minute, Reign took down the first turret. They got another two kills in the 9th minute allowing them to push for the second turret and take it down as well. Reign also got the gold mine afterwards for a 6k gold lead and followed that up with an Ace in the 12th minute. StatusBaked was an absolute monster on Glaive, bringing out insane damage, and Oldskool also used his abilities perfectly for maximum damage and crowd control on Reborn. The later part of the game wasn’t streamed but Reign ended as the first match victors.
The second game started out with the kill lead going over to Reborn, but the gold lead was in Reign’s hands anyways. Reborn got an Ace after catching out Oldskool and e36 deep in their Jungle, and got the first turret from this advantage. In the tenth minute though, Reign got themselves two kills under Reborn’s turret and they destroyed the turret after. Reign also got another gold mine for a 1k gold lead. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was good considering they were down by 6 kills at that point. Reign got a kill on XenoTek that allowed them to take the second turret. By the come of the 15 minute mark, Reign pulled out a sneaky Kraken and in the ensuing fight, got two kills and went on to get the Ace for the winning push.

Series 4 – Team Solomid vs Hammers Kinetic (Third Place Match)

These games weren’t streamed; Hammers Kinetic won 2-0.

 

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This past week we saw some sweet opportunities for skins, more detailed information on Samuel and LPQ, all on top of a ton of competitive action in the Evil 8. Hope you enjoyed this week’s news, be sure to return next week for another Weekly News Round Up!