Phoenix1 finally got its first win of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split on Friday by sweeping Echo Fox in a swift 2-0 series to close out the first day of Week 4 in Los Angeles.
Echo Fox (3-4, 8-8 match record) seemed to get the dream draft scenario with mid laner Henrik "Froggen" Hansen on his signature LeBlanc, in addition to Xayah and Rakan in the bottom lane. Echo Fox used these picks to get early leads in the laning phase, but once Phoenix1 (1-6, 6-12 match record) found an inch, it took a mile. After only picking up one kill in the first 18 minutes, Phoenix1, led by the damage from AD carry No "Arrow" Dong-hyeon's Jhin and the immense pressure from jungler Michael "MikeYeung" Yeung's Nidalee, found 10 kills in the next 12 minutes to take full control of the game. While Echo Fox managed to come up with a Baron steal, that advantage only lasted for a few minutes until P1 stabilized with a teamfight win that gave way to a Baron and Elder Dragon. With the buffs and Arrow's perfect 9/0/9 KDA (kills/deaths/assists), P1 swiftly locked up the 46-minute win.
Game 2 saw MikeYeung continue to revitalize the struggling Phoenix1 squad. Both teams were built for plenty of teamfighting in theory, but in practice, the game was quite the slow burn. Despite the slow nature of the game, MikeYeung, again on Nidalee, was single handedly putting Phoenix1 on his back. He roamed the map with a presence far more commanding than the 18-year-old should have been able to. He managed to get leads for all his lanes, keeping the team moving towards a victory. Echo Fox once again threatened a comeback in the midgame with a couple kills, but Phoenix1 perfectly focused down Echo Fox jungler Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham's Lee Sin to eliminate the possibility of another Baron steal. P1 easily secured the Baron immediately after and got to work with the buff, securing the 34-minute win before it even expired. MikeYeung earned player of the game honors with a stellar 6/1/6 KDA, which was good for 92 percent kill participation.
Echo Fox will have its work cut out in the next match when it takes on Team SoloMid on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, while Phoenix1 will face Team Liquid at the same time on Sunday.