Game of the Day: Team SoloMid vs Team Dignitas

By Helmight

            While TSM and Dignitas don’t have quite the same rivalry as SK and Fnatic or TSM and Cloud 9 do, both teams know better than to play poorly when their coach’s hairstyle is on the line. Locodoco and Scarra shook hands on-stage before the game, promising to get a bowl cut should their team falter and setting the stage for the wild game that TSM and Dig would play. In the end though, it was TSM’s newly anointed coach who would take the trip to the barbershop as Dignitas took the win, 14 kills to 10.

            TSM had been accused by Crumbzz in a pregame interview of playing not to lose, instead of to win, and perhaps because of that TSM opened the game with an aggressive early-game invasion of Crumbzz’s red buff. However, they made the mistake of leaving Bjergsen in the midlane, allowing Dignitas to collapse on the hapless TSM squad and pick up first and second blood. Despite the early losses, TSM’s aggression continued and paid off after two four-man dives under Dig’s bot tower equalized the score. Though Amazing’s Jarvan continued to look for ganks against Imaqtpie’s Jinx, Dignitas managed to pull their marksman out of the fire and pressure other objectives, garnering a slight early-game advantage.

            However, TSM’s pressure continued unabated, and the pair of teams would clash twice during consecutive sieges of Dignitas’s mid inner tower. Though Dig always appeared to be at a disadvantage, clutch plays by Imaqtpie and Shiphtur’s Orianna allowed them to answer Team SoloMid and take kill advantages from the fights. An inability to pressure objectives following the fights meant that the game stayed almost perfectly even through the middle of the game.

            The first break came after Dyrus left his team to splitpush bot, a move which gave Dignitas their first Baron of the game and then TSM’s inner middle tower without a fight. Jumping out to a 4k gold lead, Dignitas looked perfectly positioned to create a good teamfight – but the waveclear from TSM’s Jarvan, Syndra, and Lucian prevented Dig from snowballing the lead further and kept their inhibitors safe from harm. Finally, Dignitas was forced into another Baron attempt that ended with Crumbzz barely smiting the Baron as TSM collapsed on them. Fortunately for Dignitas, four of the five team members escaped – and a clutch Super Mega Death Rocket snipe from Imaqtpie took down Amazing and kept TSM from pressuring anything.

            Though Dig managed to grab the middle inhibitor, TSM never gave up fighting and forced Dig into a third and final Baron attempt. An amazing Teleport by Dyrus split Dignitas’s team outside of the pit and for a moment it looked like TSM was poised to wipe Dig off the map – however, Imaqtpie was left untouched. Dignitas’s marksman kited TSM backwards, staying alive thanks to ZionSpartan and Shiphtur’s shields and picking up three kills for his team. After Bjergsen was chased down by Zion a moment later, it was a simple matter for Dig to push into the base for the victory.

           

Player	Champion	K/D/A
ZionSpartan	Lulu	3/0/7
Crumbzz	Nocturne	0/5/10
Shiphtur	Orianna	6/0/5
Imaqtpie	Jinx	5/0/7
KiWiKiD	Braum	0/5/12
Dyrus	Shyvana	0/1/7
Amazing	Jarvan IV	4/6/6
Bjergsen	Syndra	1/3/5
WildTurtle	Lucian	4/1/4
Gleebglarbu	Thresh	1/3/8

  

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