Team Liquid Take Down Fnatic at Rift Rivals

Opening the second day of competition in the NA vs EU edition of Rift Rivals saw the defending champions of their respective regions taking to the field to see if they could propel their region ahead of their enemy. Here’s a breakdown of the match.

Team Liquid claimed first blood in the mid lane with a counter-gank before the bot lane also stepped up their attack, picking up another kill to give them a lead. Fnatic responded just a few short minutes later in the bot lane with a dive that claimed two kills, before a larger team fight broke out that saw more members of both teams falling. Continuing the pressure on the bot side, Team Liquid picked up the first Dragon of the game before both teams pulled back to reassess the situation.

Team Liquid made another play in the mid lane to claim another kill, before rotating to the bot lane to pick up yet another Fnatic member. Fnatic did respond in the mid lane to claim a kill of their own, but lost another member in the process. The skirmishes in the mid lane continued with both teams picking up more kills, before Fnatic moved to the top lane to apply pressure there, picking up a kill and the tower. Team Liquid were able to secure the next Dragon after another skirmish before both teams returned to the mid lane to look for map positioning. Fnatic made their attempt at a dive in the mid lane, but Team Liquids response secured them more kills in the long run as they extended their lead.

Fnatic picked up a kill in the bot lane to target TL’s split pusher before teleporting into the Baron pit to prevent Liquid from claiming the buff. Due to the staggered arrival however, Liquid were able to pick up two kills with relative ease before both teams pulled back. Moving to the bot side once again, Liquid picked up their third Dragon of the match before pushing multiple lanes for pressure. After forcing Fnatic back, Liquid moved to the Baron pit and rushed it down, claiming the buff for themselves. Team Liquid used the buff to push multiple lanes at once before Fnatic made an attempt to push out and engage a fight. The resulting team fight saw Fnatic wiped from the map as Team Liquid moved to destroy the nexus and push North America ahead of Europe.

For more on the NA vs EU Rift Rivals tournament, check out the match recaps from yesterday’s games, here.

(All images via Riot Games Flickr)