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The story of Game 5 between Misfits and Splyce in the EU LCS Quarterfinals: PowerOfEvil’s LeBlanc doing an absurd amount of damage, and Splyce’s Kennen (this time in the top lane) once again doing absolutely nothing of substance.
Misfits took an early lead on a roam from PoE’s LeBlanc for the second straight game, and snowballed that into a dominating victory to complete the reverse sweep.
Wunder ended the game 0/7/1, with his lone assist coming after his final death, while PoE was 9/1/4 on LeBlanc in the 20-4, 39-minute final game of the series.
With the win, Misfits will move on to face the Unicorns of Love in the semifinal round. Splyce will go home disappointed, having blown a 2-0 lead in the series.
3:55 p.m. ET: Game 5 picks and bans are in. Splyce has thrown a curveball, picking Kennen early once again but this time flexing him to the top lane, putting Kobbe on Lucian for the first time this series.
Splyce: Kennen, Elise, Viktor, Lucian, Braum
Misfits: Shen, Graves, LeBlanc, Varus, Lulu
3:36 p.m. ET: We’re going to Game 5! Misfits takes an advantage in the mid game and never lets up despite multiple positive Splyce fights, winning 22-9 in 44 minutes. PowerOfEvil finishes 9/1/7, while IgNar has another excellent game with a 0/3/19 performance on Lulu.
Are you ready for some Silver Scrapes? @MisfitsGG take down @Splyce in game 4 and force a deciding game 5! #MSFWIN pic.twitter.com/LTg8cRczy8
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
3:14 p.m. ET: It’s been a very close Game 4, with not much separating the two teams. The biggest lead in the game goes to Wunder’s Renekton, with Hans Sama’s Varus right behind. This game is very much still up for the taking, and a win for Splyce sends Misfits home.
2:44 p.m. ET: Game 4 picks and bans are locked in, as Splyce has managed a powerful first rotation of Elise and Syndra. Misfits continues with the Shen + Rengar combination, and is going to go with LeBlanc as the possible answer to the Syndra pick. Splyce will also return to the Fiddlesticks support from Game 1, while Misfits brings Lulu to further empower Rengar.
Misfits: Shen, Rengar, LeBlanc, Varus, Lulu
Splyce: Renekton, Elise, Syndra, Kennen, Fiddlesticks
2:25 p.m. ET: After the third pause of the game, Misfits is able to close out Game 3, 22-7 in 48 minutes. Hans Sama ended up an incredible 11/0/6 on Kalista, IgNar was 0/1/18 on Thresh, and every member of Misfits had at least 10 assists.
.@MisfitsGG fire back as they take down @Splyce in game 3! #MSFWIN pic.twitter.com/OJEi6WxlUG
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
We’re headed to Game 4.
2:09 p.m. ET: We’re in pause No. 2 in the past few minutes. In between them, Splyce fought back: taking a quick Elder Dragon and killing KaKAO as he ran in to steal. Riot is replacing two of Splyce’s computers, and we’ll see if the pauses have any impact on the teams’ focus.
1:53 p.m. ET: Misfits is in complete and total control, taking Baron and holding a 15-5 kill lead. Hans Sama is now 8/0/5 at 30 minutes, while Ignar’s Thresh is 0/1/14. It sure looks like we’re going to Game 4.
1:43 p.m. ET: Well, Misfits has taken control. Shortly after the 10-minute mark, Misfits started two fights over the next three minutes, winning them by a combined 5-2 and sieging multiple Splyce towers. Hans Sama’s Kalista is a whopping 5/0/2 at 20 minutes, but Splyce has shown better ability to win late game team fights so far this series.
1:33 p.m ET: Both teams grab kills in the early game — Trashy ganks mid and Sencux kills PowerOfEvil, and Hans Sama follows up almost immediately with a kill on Mikyx. Then a few minutes later, both Trashy and Wunder arrive mid, killing PoE again but granting him a kill back against Wunder. It’s 2-2 at 10 minutes with an even gold score.
1:22 p.m. ET: The team comps are locked in, and Splyce is sticking with what’s working. Misfits returns to the Shen+Rengar combination that didn’t work in Game 1, but brings out the Kalista+Thresh bot lane that has been so popular in years past.
Splyce: Gragas, Graves, Ahri, Kennen, Braum
Misfits: Shen, Rengar, Syndra, Kalista, Thresh
1:03 p.m. ET: Splyce still has Baron and sieges once again, taking two inhibitors at 39 minutes. Misfits very nearly wins the fight, leaving Wunder dangerously low, but Splyce is able to escape safely and setting up a play for Elder Drake.
Instead of recklessly going for the dragon with Misfits there to potentially steal it or win the fight, Splyce shows patience, baiting Misfits to stay nearby and waiting for its two super minion waves to push in. Once the minions arrive in the base in the base, Wunder teleports in as the rest of his team fights, and Misfits are left with no way to stop him from taking the base and the game.
As both teams battle for the Elder Dragon @Wunder_LoL teleports in for the backdoor: It's 2-0 for @Splyce! #SPYWIN pic.twitter.com/74SMkGOoHc
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
2-0, Splyce.
12:58 p.m. ET: Armed with Baron, Splyce picks up a pair of kills and sieges Misfits’ base, taking down one Nexus tower. Splyce overextends and is punished with two Misfits kills, but the game is clearly in Splyce’s control.
After resetting, Splyce takes another Baron at 36 minutes, but Misfits answers the siege by killing Sencux and Mikyx. Misfits is still down by more than 9k gold, but there’s a chance if they can keep that up.
12:46 p.m. ET: There was a 10-man party in the bottom lane at five minutes, with each team taking a kill (but Alphari earning First Blood). But Alphari foolishly tries to take on Splyce’s bot lane after a clever lane swap top, and Trashy rotates to help finish him off, earning Splyce first tower.
Now we’re at 25 minutes, and the teams keep trading kills. Splyce leads 6-5, with a 3k gold lead and strong objective control thus far.
12:20 p.m. ET: We’re headed to the Rift for Game 2, with Splyce holding a 1-0 lead. Misfits has switched things up, putting Alphari on a carry top laner, and there are no natural tanks on either team. Wunder’s also bringing out Kled for some extra power in the top lane, and look for Splyce to try to make things happen on that side of the map.
Misfits: Rumble, Rengar, Cassiopeia, Ashe, Zyra
Splyce: Kled, Kha’Zix, Syndra, Varus, Malzahar
12 p.m. ET: After a long time of baron posturing, a huge fight breaks out at 38 minutes. Splyce takes it 5-1 and takes control back — they never lost the lead, but Misfits kept chipping away.
A Tripple Kill for @KobbeLoL, the ace for @Splyce and a win in game 1 against @MisfitsGG! #SPYWIN pic.twitter.com/oVZVuc5xeP
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
Splyce ends the game trailing 7-9 in kills at 39 minutes, taking the first game of the series. Kobbe ends the game 3/1/4 as Ezreal, while Sencux’s Syndra was the game’s top gold earner.
11:46 a.m. ET: Uh oh, Splyce! Mikyx gets caught near Baron, and then Misfits wins a 3-0 fight thanks to multiple excellent Shen Taunts from Alphari.
.@AlphariLoL pulls the trigger and @MisfitsGG find 3 kills in mid lane! #EULCS pic.twitter.com/IHXqFRgnzP
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
The end result is a double kill for KaKAO and a lot of needed gold for Misfits, but Splyce still holds the lead.
11:41 a.m. ET: Splyce has been controlling the game, but has finally broken through for a kill.
Caw Caw Caw! #EULCS pic.twitter.com/Kqbrltu2dF
— lolesports (@lolesports) April 8, 2017
Misfits gets something back, though, as three head top and Hans Sama kills Wunder. Splyce leads by 4k at 20 minutes, with a 3-0 tower advantage.
11:31 a.m. ET: We’re 10 minutes in, and Splyce has taken an early 1.8k lead without any kills. Both junglers tried to make a play bot, but it went Splyce’s way both times — KaKAO couldn’t get anything going, and Trashy was able to scare away Misfits’ bottom lane and earn the first tower. Trashy has a big lead over KaKAO, and Splyce is leading in every lead.
11:20 a.m. ET: The team comps are in for Game 1! Splyce locks in the surprise Fiddlesticks, and has an oppressive bottom lane that could give Misfits Kennen/Braum combination a very hard time. Misfits is bringing the lethal Shen-Rengar combination to the table, however, so both teams have clear compositional advantages as we head to the Rift.
Splyce: Gragas, Graves, Syndra, Ezreal, Fiddlesticks
Misfits: Shen, Rengar, Viktor, Kennen, Braum
The 2017 EU LCS Spring Split playoffs kick off Saturday with the first quarterfinal matchup, between Group A second-place finishers Misfits and Group B third-place team Splyce. The winner will move on to the second round to face either G2 Esports or Unicorns of Love, depending on the results of the quarterfinal round.
For more information on the EU LCS playoffs, including the format, schedule and how exactly re-seeding works, check out this post.
These teams played each other once in the regular season -- back in Week 4, a 2-0 win for Misfits. Misfits finished the split 8-5, a strong first split after winning last Summer’s Challenger Series, and learned today star support Lee “Ignar” Dong-geun was named first team All-EU LCS.
Splyce’s Spring Split was not nearly as successful as last Summer’s second-place finish, but a 7-6 record was still good enough for a playoff spot. The big advantage Splyce comes in their experience playing together, especially in best-of series — the team kept its entire roster from last split, and four of the five starters have been playing on this team for over a year.
The best-of-five series will start at 11 a.m. ET.
Lineups
Misfits
- Top: Barney “Alphari” Morris
- Jungle: Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon
- Mid: Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage
- AD Carry: Steven “Hans Sama” Liv
- Support: Lee “Ignar” Dong-geun
Splyce:
- Top: Martin “Wunder” Hansen
- Jungle: Jonas “Trashy” Andersen
- Mid: Chres “Sencux” Laursen
- AD Carry: Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup
- Support: Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle
Series info and how to watch
The series finale will be watchable on Lolesports as well as on the EULCS1 Twitch channel, with the first match likely to kick off around 11:15 a.m. ET.