European League of Legends fans finally have something to cheer for at the 2021 World Championship. In the last match of the first day of group play action, Rogue grabbed a victory over Cloud9 to even out the ongoing rivalry between the European and North American teams at the tournament.
C9 came into today’s matchup following an up-and-down performance in the Worlds play-in stage, where they lost back-to-back games against Unicorns of Love and DetonatioN FocusMe before sweeping OCE’s PEACE to lock in a spot in the main event. Momentum was a bit lacking, though, since they had shown both impressive highs and disappointing lows over the past week.
Rogue were supposed to compete in the play-in stage as well, but due to the VCS not being able to attend Worlds, they were given a spot in the main event automatically. Some people were worried that this could work against the LEC’s third seed since they couldn’t ramp up and gain momentum. But it was clear today that this wasn’t an issue they needed to worry about.
Throughout the match, Rogue looked much more composed and clean compared to their opponents. They found multiple picks and leads with Twisted Fate’s global presence and Rumble’s long-range ultimate. The team also drafted a powerful bottom lane duo in Lucian and Nami and they used it to its greatest ability. In fact, Hans Sama led his team with seven kills and five assists, while support Trymbi had 14 assists on their 16 team kills.
Meanwhile, C9 looked relatively disjointed in the mid-to-late game. The timings on their ultimates were slightly off, and although there were moments in the early game that looked promising, they eventually failed to execute in the many teamfights they found themselves in.
The NA powerhouse will have to clean up their play if they want to have a chance at making it out of group play since they have to face off against two of the best teams in the world soon. FunPlus Phoenix are waiting for them tomorrow and they’ll play DWG KIA on day three. Similarly, Rogue should hope to keep their form for when they get thrown onto Summoner’s Rift against the tournament favorites.
You can watch all the action when the second day of Worlds 2021 groups begins tomorrow at 6am CT.
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