GAME 1
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Phase,TSM,HHV
Ban,Ardan,Adagio
1,Skye,
2,,Fortress
3,,Vox
4,Catherine,
5,Ringo,
6,,Glaive
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Despite an early kill advantage to HHV, TSM managed to stay even on gold for the vast majority of the match. Both teams attempted high-risk, high-reward plays, with some working out, and some failing. By far the most dramatic play was when TSM was attempting to push with the Kraken to win – TSM committed completely to finishing the game, but Kraken was one hit away from finishing the game before HHV finally took it down. At the 23:00 mark, HHV took down TSM’s gate turret and aced TSM for the win. Though every player on both teams played extremely well, DNZio’s play was just mechanically stunning.
Result: TSM: 0 HHV: 1
GAME 2
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Phase,HHV,TSM
Ban,Skye,Adagio
1,Vox,
2,,Ardan
3,,Ringo
4,Catherine,
5,Reim,
6,,Petal
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TSM had a much better draft than HHV – TSM’s early-game comp countered HHV’s double crystal power late-game comp, and the double ranged comp hard countered HHV’s Reim pick. From the very beginning, TSM pressured HHV, invading aggressively. By the 5:00 mark, MICSHE’s Ringo had 5 kills to his name, and TSM had a 1k gold lead by 6 minutes. This expanded further with excellent pressure and teamfights, opening up to 6k by 14 minutes. At 15:30, TSM lost MICSHE but managed to get an ace. In the signature TSM move, they double infused, grabbed kraken, and pushed to the win.
Result: TSM: 1 HHV: 1
GAME 3
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TSM,HHV
Vox,Ringo
Adagio,Adagio
Fortress,Fortress
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An almost mirror match, the biggest difference between the teams was HHV’s Ringo vs TSM’s Vox. DNZio on a jungle Ringo pushed hard against TSM, completely shutting down CullTheMeek on jungle Adagio. HHV grabbed a 1k gold lead by 5 minutes, which only got bigger and bigger – it was 5k by 10:00, and 8k by 13:00. In by far the diciest fight for HHV, at 12:00, CullTheMeek was able to zone DNZio out of the fight at first, allowing TSM to pick up a kill on Aloh4 very early. However, DNZio was so far ahead by that point that he still cleaned up the fight and aced everyone. At 13:30, HHV secured the last ace of the game and mowed through the remaining two turrets and secured the win.
Result: TSM: 1 HHV: 2
In a stunning three-game series, HH Velocity won by a hair in the first game, then TSM dominated the second game. In the blind pick match, DNZio showed his prowess as a Ringo and completely shut down TSM with excellent support by Vains and Aloh4. HHV moves on to semifinals, and TSM will have to play in the elimination round against Liberation X to secure their place in the semifinals.
After an intense, hard-fought series, TSM and HHV shake hands.