TL;DW – MSI Edition: Battle of AL vs FLY

The champions banned were Varus, Vi, Casseopia, Twisted Fate, Azir, and Poppy during the 1^st round and Alistar, Lucian, Kalista, and Ezreal during the 2^nd. AL picks Rumble (top), Xin Zhao (jungle), Taliyah (mid), Xayah (bot), and Rakan (support). FLY picks Galio (top), Pantheon (jungle), Oriana (mid), Senna (bot), Rell (support).

In terms of composition, AL has a lot of peeling and zoning tools. FLY, meanwhile, is more late-game scaling and engage-heavy.

Oh, Bwipo… AL gets 1^st Blood before minions even spawn because Bwipo scouted too deep into AL’s Blue Jungle.

FLY gets their 1^st kill through a gank in Top Lane against Flandre but it closes them a chance at the 1^st Drake (Cloud) which AL claims. AL also claims all 3 Voidgrubs are uncontested as a result of them killing Inspired beforehand.

FLY is able to push AL away from the 2^nd Drake (Ocean) and claim it for themselves. AL starts up and takes the Rift Herald before FLY can do much. However, when FLY arrives, they are able to separate AL into 2 groups and beat them, bringing the score to 8-3 in FLY’s favor. FLY then takes the 3^rd Drake (Mountain).

AL is able to catch out Busio in the Top River. Both teams converge and FLY is able to turn the fight around. They ACE AL before taking the 4^th Drake. The score is now 13-4 in FLY’s favor.

AL is able to take the Atakhan before FLY can do anything about it (FLY needs to work on their vision).  Though the Weaver’s Wall is able to delay FLY a bit, since AL does not fully retreat, they are pincered by FLY and ACEd again. They then take Baron. The score is now 18-4 for FLY.

Using Baron Buff, FLY breaks open AL’s Base, gets a few kills, and takes the 5^th Drake. They now have Mountain Soul.

After killing Kael, FLY takes Baron uncontested. They then start split-pushing, with Bwipo going Bot. AL engages on to FLY in their own Blue Jungle, drawing Bwipo back up. However, the fight goes in FLY’s favor. They ACE AL and then ended the game at 35:32. The final score was 28-7.

Game 2: AL Counterstrikes

The champions banned were Casseopia, Twisted Fate, Azir, Varus, Renekton, and Annie during the 1^st round and Kai’Sa, Ezreal, Bard, and Lucian during the 2^nd. AL picks Yorick (top), Trundle (jungle), Ryze (mid), Corki (bot), Neeko (support). FLY picks Mordekaiser (top), Vi (jungle), Viktor (mid), Kalista (bot), Renata (support).

In terms of composition, AL is rather split-push focused while FLY seems to want to start out team fights by picking one or two players off before fully engaging.

Bwipo gives over 1^st Blood, again. However, this time he does so in lane in a 1v1 fight against Flandre so it’s not quite as face-palm-inducing.

Though FLY starts up the Voidgrubs, it’s AL who takes them all, with Inspired Smite-Stealing away the 1^st and FLY back off immediately as a result. AL also claims the 1^st Drake (Hextech).

FLY attempted a gank in Bot Lane, but AL are able to counter it. Coupled with Flandre soloing Bwipo in Top Lane, this leads to AL ahead 4-1 in kills at around 12 minutes.

AL secure the Rift Herald and the 2^nd Drake (Cloud) uncontested. The Side Lane pressure is too much for FLY to respond. AL uses the Herald in Mid Lane to take the Outer Turret.

A massive fight in the Bot Lane brings the score to 10-4 in AL’s favor. Since so many members of FLY went Bot, Flandre was able to both kill Shanks in Top and take the Inner and Base Turrets.

AL takes the 3^rd Drake (Mountain) with only a little pushback from FLY. They also claim the Baron, after picking off Bwipo. With the Baron Buff, AL forces their way into FLY’s Base, taking Bot and Mid Inhibitors, and ends the game at 27:44. The final score was 18-6.

Game 3: A Back and Forth Game

The champions banned were Jayce, Renekton, Sylas, Casseopia, Gwen, and Poppy during the 1^st round and Nocturne, Bard, Lee Sin, and Nautilus during the 2^nd. FLY picks Cho’Gath (top), Viego (jungle), Twisted Fate (mid), Jhin (bot), Alistar (support). AL picks Sion (top), Wukong (jungle), Azir (mid), Varus (bot), Braum (support).

In terms of composition, both teams have great wombo combo potential with long-ranged follow-up. It will come down to execution in team fights.

This time around, FLY gets 1^st Blood thanks to a well-timed gank by Inspired in Bot Lane. He is able to get Kael low enough for Massu to snipe him down. Nice to see that long-ranged follow-up showing up so early in the game.

AL claims all 3 Voidgrubs uncontested. FLY tries to trade them for the 1^st Drake (Ocean) but AL is able to push them away. AL ends up being the ones to secure the Drake some 4 minutes later.

FLY trades getting a kill on to Shanks in Bot Lane and getting the 1^st Turret of the game for the Rift Herald. The score is now 3-1 in FLY’s favor. After taking Herald, AL immediately drops it in Mid and takes the Outer and Inner Turrets. They are also able to take the 2^nd Drake (Ocean) uncontested.

In an extended fight that breaks out after AL takes the Drake, AL is able to claim several kills, owing to Inspired and Quad getting caught out in an attempted reengage. The score shifts to 5-4 for AL.

FLY finds a pick onto Kael, which snowballs into 3 kills for FLY, changing the score to 7-6 in their favor. FLY then rotates down to take the Atakhan. AL tries to contest but they are pushed away.

A fight for the 3^rd Drake (Chemtech) goes in AL’s favor. They get the objective and flip the score again. It’s now 9-7 for AL. After taking the Drake, they rotate over and take Baron. Using the Baron Buff, they take the Outer and Inner Top Turrets.

There is a massive fight over the 4^th Drake that leaves only Bwipo and Shanks alive. No one gets the objective, and the score is now 13-11 for AL. Once both teams respawn, they all return to the Drake. This time AL is able to claim it just before the full fight breaks out. Though FLY is able to get several members low, it is AL that comes out on top with 4 kills. The score is now 17-12 and AL has the Chemtech Soul.

Since so many members of FLY are down, after they take the Drake AL rotates over and takes Baron as well. They then used the Buff to break into FLY’s Base through Mid Lane and end the game at 35:19. The final score was 20-14 for AL.

Game 4: Runaway Train Incoming

The champions banned were Renekton, Annie, Casseopia, Ezreal, Miss Fortune, and Kai’Sa during the 1^st round and Nocturne, Hwei, Zed, and Smolder during the 2^nd. AL picks Ambessa (top), Poppy (jungle), Aurora (mid), Lucian (bot), Leona (support). FLY picks Shen (top), Lee Sin (jungle), Ahri (mid), Ziggs (bot), Nautilus (support).

In terms of composition, AL has a lot of burst damage and mobility. FLY also has a decent amount of burst potential but is more catch and protection-focused.

AL is able to claim 1^st Blood from a 2v2 fight in Bot Lane as Massu dies to Hope. Kael was able to displace Massu enough that his Satchel ended up sending him towards Hope rather than away from him.

AL takes all 3 Voidgrubs uncontested. A minute later, FLY claims the 1^st Drake (Infernal) is also uncontested.

Quad gets caught out as he, presumably, goes to ward the Bot River. This leads to a team fight which ends in AL’s favor. They now lead 5-3 with Shanks getting a Triple Kill.

2 skirmishes in the Bot River see AL raise their lead to 11-5. Both fights start as the result of members of FLY getting caught out.

AL trades the 2^nd Drake (Chemtech) and Flandre’s life (he got caught out) for Rift Herald. AL immediately drops the Rift Herald into Mid but are unable to take the Turret because FLY pushes them back while killing Kael.

Busio engages with AL, but they are able to turn it around to push him away. When Bwipo arrives thanks to Stand United, he is jumped on. Busio tries to help him, leading to them both falling. AL are now ahead 13-7 and are able to rotate down and take Atakhan off the back of the fight.

FLY arrives to fight just as the Atakhan falls. Though it initially looks as though they will win the confrontation, AL are able to turn things around and ACE them. They secure the Atakhan and grow their lead to 18-9.

AL takes control of the map, strangling FLY’s vision, which allows them to take the 3^rd Drake (Mountain) uncontested.

FLY baits AL into a team fight in Mid Lane. Kael tanks up a lot of damage but Hope still ends up dying. Unfortunately for FLY, they used so much on Hope and Kael that they weren’t able to stop the rest of AL from seeking revenge. The fight goes in AL’s favor as they raise their lead to 25-10. They then rotate over and take Baron.

FLY initially is able to put up a decent defense against AL’s Baron Empowered siege of Mid Lane. They get a kill on to Kael and keep AL from taking more than just the Base Turret. However, they engage AL in a fight in the Bot River which leads to FLY losing 3 members, 2 Turrets (Inner and Base Bot), and 2 Inhibitors (Bot and Mid). Kill score is now 28-12.

AL takes the 4^th Drake uncontested as FLY attempts to clean up the debris of their broken Base.

Quad gets caught by the tail end of Flandre’s Public Execution, leading to a massive team fight where AL ACE FLY. With all of FLY down, AL ended the game at 32:53. The final score was 33-12.

Post-Game Analysis: FLY Brings There Bad Habits to MSI

FLY had a good Game 1 and a close Game 3. However, the issues they had during Split 2, over aggression and bad positioning, cost them the series, especially in Game 4. AL was more methodical when they wanted to fight.

This loss relegates FLY to the Lower Bracket where they will face G2. The loser of that match will be eliminated from the tournament. AL, meanwhile, will be heading to the Upper Bracket where they will face GEN.