Gen.G overcame a tough challenge from Afreeca Freecs to earn a 2-1 victory today, which ties them with the LCK’s first-place team, Griffin, in match record.
In a match between two of the league’s top teams, fans wondered how Afreeca and Gen.G would play out this series. Since many of the past matches between teams of similar strength culminated in 35-minute nail biters with little action until the end, it wouldn’t have been surprising for Afreeca and Gen.G to follow suit.
Luckily for fans, though, today’s three-game series was quite bloody, with either teamfights or skirmishes occurring frequently. Afreeca and Gen.G both weren’t scared to dive a tower or engage in a risky fight, which resulted in action-packed games.
But despite the frequent fighting, these games were even for the most part. Afreeca held a lead in terms of objectives in game one, but their lead wasn’t so large that Gen.G had no chance to comeback. What sealed Gen.G’s fate in game one, however, was a fight around the Baron pit where Afreeca support Park “TusiN” Jong-ik found an excellent flank engage as Alistar.
A similar pattern occurred in game three, but in favor of Gen.G this time. They built a 3,000 gold lead, but weren’t able to safely attempt the Baron until a 27-minute teamfight win after securing a Mountain Drake. Like Afreeca in game one, this Baron gave Gen.G enough power to close out their lead.
The only time Afreeca and Gen.G were truly equal was in game two. Afreeca and Gen.G had almost identical gold scores, with both teams having five kills under their belts before the game reached its climax. One misstep by Afreeca in their jungle, though, allowed Gen.G to claim four kills. And since the fight occurred near Afreeca’s base, Gen.G easily ended the game thanks to their man advantage.
Although Gen.G are now tied in match record with Griffin at 9-3, they’re still two match score behind the LCK’s first-place team. Gen.G will hope to bridge this two-point gap on July 24 when they face KT Rolster.
