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Team Dignitas took a 2-1 series victory against Echo Fox to cap off Sunday's action of Week 8, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split in Los Angeles.
It didn't look like the series was going to be much of a contest as Team Dignitas (10-6, 26-19 match record) easily won Game 1. Dignitas built up a 2,400-gold lead in the first 15 minutes, knocking down three turrets and securing a Rift Herald without killing anyone on Echo Fox. When Echo Fox (5-11, 16-23 match record) did try to put up defense in the second half, it always resulted in losing the trade as well as objective.
Echo Fox ditched its sheepish demeanor in Game 2, however, after AD carry Yuri "Keith" Jew's Varus secured first blood in a two-on-two skirmish in the bottom lane. Echo Fox took the early advantage and pushed the tempo with rotations to take first turret. With its gold lead slowly snowballing, Echo Fox wasn't afraid to teamfight for objectives and ending up winning nearly every trade on its way to tying the series at 1-1.
Top laner Brandon "Brandini" Chen's Poppy supplied crucial front line protection and engages for Echo Fox throughout its dominant teamfight performance in Game 2. Poppy had plenty of abilities to counter nearly every engage that Dignitas was dishing out. Brandini's constant blocking of Dignitas's dive attempts with Steadfast Presence and divide-and-conquer plays with a Keeper's Verdict earned him a 2/2/9 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) as well as Player of the Game honors.
In Game 3, Echo Fox decided to draft almost the exact same team composition that it had in Game 2. Team Dignitas's response was to focus on the bottom lane early as it funneled plenty of resources in AD carry Johnny "Altec" Ru's Kalista, helping him grow a gold and experience lead that held for the entire game.
Echo Fox's deficit in gold and experience gave it few options other than hoping for mistakes from Dignitas. Picked apart by Rocket Grabs from Dignitas support Adrian "Adrian" Ma's Blitzcrank, Echo Fox fell apart as Dignitas showed why it deserves a spot in the playoffs. That flat performance in Game 2 was quickly forgiven and forgotten as it pushed to a 27-minute victory in Game 3, securing the 2-1 series sweep.