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It was a chaotic bloodbath that closed out Week 8, Day 1 of the League of Legends Pro League, but Invictus Gaming emerged victorious with a 2-1 series win over I May on Thursday in Shanghai.
In a bloody Game 1, Invictus Gaming (7-5, 18-12 match record) took first blood just before the five-minute mark when jungler Ge "KidKid" Yan's Rengar snuck into the bottom lane, but I May struck back with a 4-for-1 teamfight win a few minutes later. Invictus Gaming slowly grinded its way to a gold lead in the mid game before picking up a game-changing 5-for-2 ace at 25 minutes, capitalizing on the pick potential coming from mid laner Song "Rookie" Eui-jin's Taliyah.
After more scrappy fights leading into the late game, iG found a couple of picks to give it the go-ahead to secure a 35-minute Baron, and that was everything the team needed to make a final push. With Rookie's game-high 27,300 damage dealt and 7/4/14 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 81 percent kill participation leading the way, Invictus took a final 5-for-0 ace in I May's base to secure the Game 1 win in 39 minutes.
I May (6-6, 14-15 match record) looked like a completely different team in Game 2, overcoming another strong early game start for Invictus in which KidKid's Graves secured first blood before five minutes for the second straight game. I May roamed around the map to pick up scattered kills, playing around top laner Shek "AmazingJ" Wai Ho's Nautilus. I May earned a gold lead in the mid game through strong objective control, giving the Rift Herald buff to mid laner Kang "Athena" Ha-woon's Talon and knocking down several towers. Despite iG taking a 4-for-1 fight in the bot side river, I May remained undeterred, securing an unofficial 5-for-0 ace and Baron kill around 21 minutes. Led by AmazingJ, who had a perfect 1/0/17 KDA for 100 percent kill participation, I May took a second Baron at 29 minutes and finished its beatdown of Invictus Gaming in 32 minutes to force Game 3.
I May hoped to recapture its Game 2 form, but KidKid's Elise had other plans. After killing IM jungler Sung "Flawless" Yeon-jun's Graves at his blue buff around two minutes, KidKid proceeded to camp the bottom lane, picking up several kills and snowballing Invictus Gaming out of control. While iG wasn't as fortunate with Elemental Drakes, securing three Cloud Drakes with a semi-global team composition, it didn't matter much as Rookie's Ahri popped off, assassinating key targets while iG dominated the objective game. Securing a Baron at 32 minutes and an Elder Dragon at 35, Rookie's game-high 18,400 damage dealt and 4/2/4 KDA led Invictus Gaming to a convincing 38-minute Game 3 win.
Invictus Gaming has a tough task ahead of it in a red-hot Royal Never Give Up squad when the two meet Saturday at 1 a.m ET, while I May will look to recover against Snake Esports at 7 a.m ET that day.