:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50680557/29005202190_349b637579_k.0.jpg)
Splyce has become the final European team to qualify for Worlds, defeating the Unicorns of Love three games to two in the Regional Final Monday. This is the first Worlds appearance for Splyce -- the team was formed shortly after Worlds last year.
Splyce joins G2 Esports and H2K as the European teams who have qualified for Worlds. All but one team has been decided -- the winner of the North American Gauntlet final between Cloud9 and Immortals, a series directly following Splyce’s win.
Splyce won Game 1 pretty convincingly, shutting down Vizicsacsi’s unconventional Renekton pick. The Unicorns fought back and won Game 2 convincingly in a much less bloody game, but disaster struck in Game 3.
UOL had a huge lead, up 10.2k gold at 48 minutes, but a variety of missteps including a stolen Elder Dragon by Kobbe led to a Splyce comeback victory.
Elder Drake is secured by @SplycePro! #EULCS https://t.co/VaFw6DUgVa
— lolesports (@lolesports) September 5, 2016
But Unicorns fought back with a dominant win in Game 4, including five kills for Veritas’s Sivir. Splyce answered with an equally strong Game 5, taking the game after an attempted UOL comeback, winning the series to earn its Worlds spot.
Splyce established itself as the second-best team during the regular season, never falling out of the playoff spots and holding second place for the final two weeks of the split. Splyce beat H2K in a hard-fought five-game semifinal before losing the EU Finals to G2 three games to one.
That’s tremendous growth from last split — as a new team straight out of the Challenger Series, Splyce struggled with a young roster to an eighth-place finish, winning its spot this summer in the Promotion Tournament. After just one roster change, subbing in Mikyx at support for Nisbeth, Splyce is now going to Worlds.
The Unicorns got here after winning the first two stages of the Gauntlet, sweeping both Giants Gaming and Fnatic. UOL is another Challenger-to-LCS success story, making the finals in its first LCS split (2015 Spring). The Unicorns have yet to miss playoffs as an LCS team, but have never made Worlds.