Week 3, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series began with a clash of teams looking to stay near the top of the standings as Team SoloMid took on Phoenix1 on Sunday. With both teams entering the Los Angeles studios tied for second place, TSM picked up a crucial 2-1 series win.
Phoenix1 had a rocky start to Game 1 as mid laner Ryu "Ryu" Sang-wook's Corki gave first blood over to TSM, but jungler Rami "Inori" Charagh's Kha'Zix was able to find a couple of kills around 15 minutes to keep P1 in the game. Phoenix1 made good use of rotations to keep within striking distance of TSM, leading to a long period of passive, objective-based play from both squads in the mid game. Inori broke the stalemate with a series of kills in mid and bottom lane around 28 minutes, giving P1 control of the map. Securing a Baron kill at 29:30, Phoenix1 took the ensuing teamfight with a clean 5-for-0 ace and pushed for a Game 1 win on the back of Inori's flawless 7/0/6 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 100 percent kill participation.
Although Ryu's Corki picked up first blood at three minutes, TSM took control of Game 2 through early picks and objective control. Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg's mid lane Ekko put tremendous pressure on P1's backline while top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell's Shen and jungler Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen's Rengar tore them apart. With Bjergsen and Hauntzer split pushing well, TSM took control in the late game despite some defensive heroics from Phoenix1 in their base. Hauntzer continued the domination in teamfights using his Stand United en route to a 6/1/10 KDA for 89 percent kill participation as TSM eventually closed out Game 2 in just over 45 minutes.
In heartbreaking fashion for P1, Inori's Ivern got caught trying to steal TSM's blue buff by Svenskeren's Kha'Zix for an early first blood to kickstart Game 3. Svenskeren continued to assassinate P1's tank-less team comp throughout the early-mid game, punishing P1's poor positioning. While Ryu's mid lane Jayce was able to deal decent damage in a losing effort, the rest of P1 struggled to carry their weight against a TSM side with crisp macro play along with formidable gold and objective leads. While Phoenix1 stalled the game out, TSM's five Elemental Drakes, two Baron kills, and a devastatingly powerful Elder Dragon buff gave them the edge they needed to close out the series in a hard-fought 44-minute win.