Week 8 in the EU. By and large a bland week, all the games were won by the team higher in the standings; no upsets. Most of the games were won by steady rollface, too.
SK Gaming vs Fnatic Gaming
[SK bans: Varus, Nasus, Kassadin][Fnatic bans: Shen, Jarvan, Thresh]
SK: Olaf, Volibear, Diana, Twitch, Sona
Fnatic: Elise, Nocturne, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Lulu
Twisted Fate clinic by xPeke? With games like these, you wonder why everyone doesn't always run Twisted Fate, with the gold advantage on top of the global presence, ganking potential, and stun.
Gambit Gaming vs Evil Geniuses
[GG bans: Anivia, Cassiopeia, Jarvan][EG bans: Zed, Elise, Thresh]
GG: Shen, Nasus, Kha'Zix, Miss Fortune, Sona
EG: Malphite, Malzahar, Akali, Varus, Lulu
You hardly need to watch the game: afterwards, in the interview with Edward and Alex, they were asked what they thought when EG decided to jungle Malz. Alex said: "We all laughed out loud". And then they were given one line to promote themselves for the all-star voting, and Alex said: "I did pentakill. Vote for me." That's about all you need to know, I guess.
Giants vs Copenhagen Wolves
[Giants bans: Zed, Varus, Kha'Zix][CW bans: Kennen, Elise, Kassadin]
Giants: Rumble, Hecarim, Diana, Miss Fortune, Zyra
CW: Shen, Jarvan, Twisted Fate, Graves, Thresh
Whew, quick game, surrendered at 22 minutes, with 23 (!) kills from CW. Another strong argument for Always Play TF strat. And some extreme puns from both commentators.
Against All Authority vs Dragonborns
[aAa bans: Draven, Jarvan, Nasus][DB bans: Shen, Diana, Thresh]
aAa: Elise, Volibear, Lux, Miss Fortune, Janna
DB: Kha'Zix, Udyr, Kayle, Tristana, Zyra
Your games make me sad lately, DB.
SK Gaming vs Evil Geniuses
[SK bans: Anivia, Malphite, Zed][EG bans: Kassadin, Jarvan, Shen]
SK: Rumble, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Varus, Thresh
EG: Akali, Nasus, Lux, Miss Fortune, Lulu
I love to see Wickd on Akali, but this is another Always Play Twisted Fate strat.
Fnatic Gaming vs Gambit Gaming
[Fnatic bans: Shen, Renekton, Thresh][GG bans: Varus, Jarvan, Leona]
Fnatic: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Lulu
GG: Elise, Nasus, Fizz, Ezreal, Sona
Very odd game. 7 kills in the first five minutes? Fish, bear, spider, dog? Card player, music player, pirate hunter, forest fairy, cave explorer? These are by and far the top two teams, and they have either both gone completely mad, or this is their planned strategies, clashing into one another.
Dragonborns vs Copenhagen Wolves
[DB bans: Kha'Zix, Twisted Fate, Lux][CW bans: Draven, Jarvan, Zed]
DB: Jax, Nasus, Ahri, Graves, Thresh
CW: Shen, Xin Zhao, Kassadin, Varus, Zyra
Every individual on DB seems like a good player, but they have no plan? Hire me as your coach/manager, DB! I will give you a plan to follow. The first part of this plan might involve not letting Bjergsen have Kassadin, too.
Against All Authority vs Giants
[aAa bans: Kha'Zix, Volibear, Kennen][Giants bans: Kayle, Jarvan, Elise]
aAa: Renekton, Nasus, Orianna, Tristana, Thresh
Giants: Shen, Dr. Mundo, Kassadin, Miss Fortune, Zyra
How on earth is aAa's new support player able to land all those Death Sentences? Crazy.
Dragonborns vs Evil Geniuses
[DB bans: Lux, Malphite, Shen][EG bans: Jarvan, Draven, Elise]
DB: Lulu, Nunu, Kog'Maw, Nidalee, Janna
EG: Zed, Volibear, Anivia, Miss Fortune, Thresh
DB, you know I love your unorthodox champ choices, but I also want you to not get relegated. Four supports and a Kog'Maw was like watching a train wreck. You knew that EG knew the answer: split push and over-occupy Kog's lane. Anywhere the Kog was not, it was dive-time to consume a delicious support player. EG was totally unafraid of even the Kog, to say nothing of a Lulu vs Zed. The commentators wondered the whole time what DB was thinking, and discussed amongst themselves after the game, too.
Fnatic Gaming vs Against All Authority
[Fnatic bans: Shen, Renekton, Lux][aAa bans: Kha'Zix, Twisted Fate, Katarina]
Fnatic: Rumble, Nasus, Ahri, Varus, Leona
aAa: Elise, Jarvan, Orianna, Ezreal, Lulu
More boring champion choices, but closer game.
Giants vs SK Gaming
[Giants bans: Kayle, Jarvan, Nasus][SK bans: Kennen, Elise, Miss Fortune]
Giants: Rumble, Volibear, Kassadin, Vayne, Alistar
SK: Zed, Shen, Fizz, Varus, Thresh
Fun and exciting level 1 brawl that SK comes out slightly on top. The rest is as you'd expect.
Copenhagen Wolves vs Gambit Gaming
[CW bans: Elise, Shen, Thresh][GG bans: Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Kassadin]
CW: Singed, Xin Zhao, Zed, Varus, Zyra
GG: Renekton, Nasus, Kayle, Miss Fortune, Lulu
Dismantlement, is the word used most often by the commentators here.
Standings
Fnatic 17-4
GG 16-4
SK 13-9
EG 11-10
CW 9-14
aAa 9-13
Giants 6-14
DB 4-16
