Match to Watch Out for on Day Two of the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational
By Zac Cameron ·
If there's only one game you can watch on Day Two of the Mid-Season Invitational, make sure it's this one.
Each day the teams of the Mid-Season Invitational will be battling it out to prove which region is the strongest. Some of the biggest rivalries in League of Legends will be continued as each team looks to assert dominance over the rest. As we look towards Day Two, the match that stands out the most will be the initial clash between Europe and North America, as Fnatic and Team Liquid battle for the “Best in the West” bragging rights. Here’s a brief look at the teams and how they got to this point.
Fnatic
The undisputed top team from the European League of Legends Championship Series, Fnatic has a long and storied past when it comes to International LoL events. From winning the very first LoL World Championship, to the fabled Europe vs Korea 2015 showdown, Fnatic have got what it takes to square off with the top dogs. Their regular season performance saw them finish with a match record of 14-4, a 78% win rate which planted them firmly in the top spot, and their performance in the playoffs certainly helped showcase their success, dropping only 1 game in the 7 that they played. Their current line-up of top laner Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau, jungler Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen, mid laner Rasmus "Caps" Winther, AD Carry Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, support Zdravets "Hylissang" Iliev Galabov, and substitute top laner Paul "sOAZ" Boyer, look to challenge for the title of Best Western Team in their showdown with Team Liquid.
Team Liquid
After a long and gruelling season, Team Liquid eventually emerged as the top team in North America. Their regular season record was not the best, ending with a match record of 11-7, a 61% win rate, and they did not fully win the tie-breaker series, falling to TSM to finish fourth overall. Their performance in the playoffs was much more convincing, as they too only lost a single game out of the seven they played overall. The squad of top laner Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong, jungler Jake "Xmithie" Puchero, mid laner Eugene "Pobelter" Park, AD Carry Yiliang "Peter" "Doublelift" Peng, support Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung, and substitute support Joseph "Joey" Haslemann will all be looking to firmly establish their brand of Western dominance against Fnatic.
Just like in the previous match to watch, the outcome of this game is likely to be determined by the performance of the bot lane duo’s, with both holding arguments for being the Best AD Carries in the West. For more information on when the match will take place, check out the Official Schedule, here.
(cover photo courtesy of LoL Esports Photos, Flickr)