The second Semi Final in the “League of Legends” 2017 world championship series took place between WE and Ssg. Expectations were high for the match-up between WE and SSG after the exceptional semi final between SKT and RNG, which saw SKT emerge battered and bruised, but nevertheless victorious.

Hype was rife on both sides. WE had the support of the crowd behind them, and hopes were high that an LPL team could challenge SKT for the Summoner’s Cup. SSG seemed to have finally found the form that took them to the 2016 finals. They defied all expectations by beating Longzhu Gaming in the quarter finals.

Game 1 - WE win

A very early first blood by WE set the tone and pace of this game. Mystic and Ben were able to pile on the pressure in bot lane, while the first turret fell to WE within a short period of time. Consistent map pressure and a strong performance by 957 on Shen meant that Samsung were unable to recover. At just over 20 minutes, WE had roughly a 10k gold lead, a Baron, and 7 kills to nil. SSG’s nexus fell before the 30 minute mark.

Game 2 - SSG win

SSG’s dominance during this game was apparent from early on, having a 5 to 1 turret lead and a 5k gold lead within 20 minutes. Ambition also improved his performance, making up for what was otherwise a weak start in game 1. Although WE tried to gain back ground by initiating team fights, it all went wrong, and SSG were able to pick up Baron and increase their gold lead to 9k after roughly 25 minutes.

SSG took WE’s nexus shortly thereafter.

Game 3 - SSG win

Pressure was beginning to set in for both teams now, with everything still to play for, and the result was initially a very cautious game on both sides. Although trades were abound, the early game was devoid of kills, and the first tower fell to SSG before first blood was even drawn.

Finally, after over 20 minutes, Ruler took out Xiye during a mid lane tower play. After that point, the remainder of the game was academic for Samsung, who went on to secure the Baron twice and put pressure on WE’s base from all three lanes. The possibility of an SKT - SSG rematch in the world finals seemed tantalizingly close.

Game 4 - SSG win

Despite some questionable plays by Ambition at times, this game demonstrated Samsung’s clinical and methodical style of play. Although WE began with momentum, winning a 3 to 1 trade against SSG, that momentum quickly disappeared once Ambition quashed a top tower dive in the early game. From then on it was a matter of time before SSG won, with WE unable to answer SSG in team fights or respond to CuVee’s split pushes. With a stunned crowd, SSG were able to close out the game, and achieve what many would have said was unthinkable at the start of the tournament.

SK telecom T1 will face samsung galaxy in the finals, which will be held in Beijing on November 4.
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