<
>

Royal Never Give Up slows down the DAN hype train

LPL rookies DAN Gaming have looked strong, but seemed to be no match for the experience of Royal Never Give Up. Provided by Riot Games

Royal Never Give Up slowed down the DAN Gaming hype train on Thursday to open up Week 4 of the League of Legends Pro League, earning a 2-0 sweep in cross-group play in Shanghai.

Royal Never Give Up (4-2, 9-6 match record) came into Game 1 with something to prove against the LPL rookies of DAN Gaming, taking a strong poke/pick composition. DAN Gaming got the action going early on with a nine-minute Infernal Drake, but RNG quickly responded with first blood in a 2-for-0 exchange. Seemingly unafraid of the vaunted RNG squad, DAN Gaming (4-2, 8-4 match record) came right at RNG with a 5-vs-5 fight in the bottom lane 12 minutes in to take an extended 4-for-3 teamfight win. RNG wasn't content to let DAN run away, however, picking up a quick 3-for-1 teamfight before the game settled into a lull, with almost 20 minutes going by without a single kill from either side. At the 32-minute mark, however, the dam broke for RNG, as support Shi "Ming" Sen-Ming's Thresh landed hooks with impunity to give his team a 4-for-0 teamfight win. RNG used that window to take down the Baron and, with the Baron buff in tow, march right into DAN's base to secure the 36-minute Game 1 win.

RNG came into Game 2 with an aggressive siege/pick composition, putting immense pressure on the top lane to get Yan "LetMe" Jun-Ze's Kled ahead with first blood at 10 minutes. Not only did RNG's top lane priority put Letme ahead, but it also activated mid laner Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao's LeBlanc. After picking on the top lane for a couple of kills, Xiaohu became a terrifying side-lane duelist, shutting down DAN's splitpushing threat. DAN tried to engage a few teamfights but couldn't get past jungler Liu "Mlxg" Shi-Yu's Gragas, who picked up MVP honors with an 1/4/11 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 86 percent kill participation. Spiraling out of control after a 24-minute Baron kill, RNG had DAN against the ropes, prompting it to attempt a desperation Baron rush at 32 minutes. Unfortunately, Mlxg came up with a big Baron steal, allowing a splitpushing Letme to simply end the game with a massive minion wave in 32 minutes to complete the 2-0 sweep.

DAN Gaming next faces OMG on Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, while Royal Never Give Up prepares for a huge clash against EDward Gaming at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday.