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Royal Never Give Up lived up to its namesake with a 2-1 win over Invictus Gaming in a back-and-forth series Saturday to start Week 8, Day 3 of the League of Legends Pro League in Shanghai.
Royal Never Give Up (10-2, 22-9 match record) took control of Game 1 early on as top laner Yan "Letme" Jun-Ze's Kled picked up a first blood double kill at four minutes. Letme picked up another double kill at 15 minutes in a 3-for-0 skirmish for RNG and quickly snowballed out of control from there, engaging relentlessly as RNG took a 4-for-1 fight to secure a Baron kill. Although Invictus Gaming's scrappy defense gave it a few kills later in the game, it couldn't stop Letme for long, who finished with a game-high 20,500 damage dealt alongside a flawless 8/0/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 87 percent kill participation as RNG took a second Baron buff to close out Game 1 in 35 minutes.
Invictus Gaming came storming back in Game 2 despite Letme's Renekton securing another first blood at four minutes. On the back of a 3-for-0 skirmish in the top lane, Invictus Gaming (7-5, 19-13 match record) surged ahead of RNG, led by mid laner Song "Rookie" Eui-jin's Talon and his impressive roaming abilities. Finding kills and assists throughout the midgame, iG took complete control and secured three Infernal Drakes and an Ocean Drake. After a 4-for-0 fight for iG that gave it a Baron kill, Rookie was officially out of control, dealing a game-high 26,300 damage to enemy champions. Finishing with a KDA of 8/2/10, Rookie was a rock in Invictus Gaming's 34-minute win.
Although RNG mid laner Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao's Lucian got killed for first blood just over two minutes into Game 3, RNG pulled ahead when a horrific iG dive went 3-for-0 in RNG's favor a few minutes later. RNG snowballed in the mid game, holding a 7-to-2 kill advantage at the 15-minute mark that it parlayed into objective control. Securing a 25-minute Baron and a 3-for-1 teamfight win, Royal Never Give Up never let up on the map pressure, knocking down towers while securing two Ocean Drakes and a Cloud Drake. Invictus Gaming made a desperate push around 33 minutes, but a 4-for-2 teamfight win for RNG led to a fast push and eventual 35-minute win.
Royal Never Give Up next face Snake Esports at 8 a.m ET on Friday, while Invictus Gaming will have to wait until 4 a.m ET on April 8 to meet Snake Esports on the Rift.