The playoffs are set: NA CS Week 5 Recap

In the last week of the regular season of the 2017 Spring Split for the North American Challenger Series, teams vied for position in the playoffs. Even after five weeks of play, two teams were tied and had to play a final tiebreaker to decide their spots.

(2-3-0) Gold Coin United 2-0 Team Gates (0-0-5)

With Colin “Solo” Earnest on Renekton, Lucas “Santorin” Larsen elected to bully the top lane, putting Solo ahead while simultaneously forcing Camille to play from behind. He was successful as they got two early kills and took the first turret of the game. Gates made a play to get a pick on Fenix but lost three members in return and handed over the Baron. That set into motion the events that would lead to the victory for GCU.

In the second match, Nathan “TheOddOrange” Ryan attempted to take control of the top side of the map, and he was successful in doing so. But the rest of the map belonged to GCU, with advantages in both mid and bot lane. Team Gates could not find a way back into the game, no matter how hard they tried, and ended the split without winning a single game.

Tempo Storm (2-3-0) 2-0 Delta Fox (1-1-3)

Tempo Storm picked a peculiar composition in game one, putting Nautilus mid lane and Vladimir in the top lane. Though Tanner “Damonte” Damonte got a lot of kills on Zed, he was not able to kill the tankier side of Tempo Storm and his team eventually fell, losing game one.

A failed dive in the top lane gifted first blood to Diego “Quas” Ruiz, which tells the tale of the tape for Delta Fox in game two. The team attempted to be proactive and make plays but they failed to properly set up the situation and could not execute when it came down to it. Tempo Storm was miles ahead and deservedly took the series win.

eUnited (3-2-0) 2-0 Big Gods Jackals (1-3-1)

Big Gods Jackals grabbed the lead in their solo lanes early on, giving them the edge in the game. But as time went on, eUnited stalled the game out and began to outplay Big on a macro level. After multiple won fights and objective takes, eUnited took down the nexus, coming back after facing an early deficit.

It took a while for eUnited to get rolling in the second match, but once they got first blood, it was full steam ahead. Hampus “Fox” Myhre was the conductor of the eUnited train as he got incredibly fed on Ryze. Big Gods Jackals rarely left their side of the map and eUnited cruised to a series win. With this win, eUnited secured a first place finish in the NA CS.

Tiebreaker

Gold Coin United 1-0 Tempo Storm

Because they were tied on all metrics used to determine placing in the standings, Gold Coin United and Tempo Storm had to play a tiebreaker to decide who would be the second and third seed in the NA CS. GCU took the lead and steadily took down turrets that led them to a quick win. GCU played a calm, controlled style that allowed for no mistakes in route to a sub 30 minute finish.

NA CS Final Standings

First: eUnited – 11 points (3-2-0)

Second: Gold Coin United – 9 points (3-3-0)

Third: Tempo Storm – 9 points (2-3-1)

Fourth: Big Gods Jackals – 6 points (1-3-1)

Fifth: Delta Fox – 4 points (1-1-3)

Sixth: Team Gates – 0 points (0-0-5)

eUnited, Gold Coin United, Tempo Storm and Big Gods Jackals advances to the playoffs. Delta Fox and Team Gates are eliminated.

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