Royal Never Give Up overcame a weak start to take a commanding 2-1 series win over Newbee on Sunday during Week 2, Day 4 of the League of Legends Pro League in Shanghai.
Despite picking up first blood to kick off Game 1, Newbee (2-1, 5-2 match record) fell behind early as RNG's teamfighting composition held a minor lead through objective control. Everything changed when Newbee's top laner Bao "V" Bo's Fiora picked up a quadra kill at 26 minutes after RNG tried to get away with a sneaky Baron kill. Newbee's composition struggled late despite a massive lead, trying to play both a split-push and "protect the Kog'Maw" style with both suffering as the action slowed down. Still, AD carry Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang was a monster on the Kog'Maw, dishing out a game-high 31,300 damage to enemy champions and Newbee eventually took a 3-for-0 teamfight, closing out Game 1 in 45 minutes.
Perhaps it was the way Newbee took Game 1, or the fact that Newbee dared to challenge Royal Never Give Up (2-1, 4-3 match record) in the first place, but RNG came into Game 2 with fury and focus. Utilizing its early game pick/teamfighting composition, a three-minute first blood for AD carry Wang "y4" Nong-Mo's Jhin led to a 2,000-gold lead for RNG by 10 minutes, which only grew once mid laner Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao's Taliyah got involved. After increasing its lead on the back of strong objective control and teamfight after teamfight win, RNG secured a 26-minute Baron, cracking open a stunned Newbee's base. Xiaohu was relentless in the 32-minute win, dealing a game-high 32,400 damage while posting a ridiculous 8/1/13 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) in a clinical RNG stomp.
RNG continued to bring the heat in Game 3, with a surprise flex pick that gave Gragas to support Shi "Ming" Sen-Ming. RNG capitalized on its early teamfighting composition with a 4-vs-4 skirmish in the bottom lane that went 3-for-0 in RNG's favor at eight minutes, handing Xiaohu's Orianna first blood and two assists. Newbee's pick composition got flattened by RNG's pressure, finally finding a kill at 23 minutes after RNG had built a 6-to-1 tower lead and an 8,000-gold lead. RNG's decisive objective control was crucial to all of its wins, shown here with a great Baron rush at 28 minutes, thanks to two Mountain Drakes and superior vision control. A 13,000-gold lead at 30 minutes might've made other teams cocky, but RNG remained vigilant late, waiting until Xiaohu's Orianna picked up a triple kill on the back of a great initiation from Ming, who finished with a 1/0/12 KDA, to take a 5-for-0 ace and a 34-minute Game 3 win.