SK Gaming’s dream of a 3:0 superweek did not come to pass.
The third day of the LEC’s opening week kicked off with a match between a SK that was as of yet undefeated and a MAD Lions that looked to have bounced back well from the loss to G2 Esports on Friday.
The game started fairly slow with neither team getting early pressure, which allowed MAD’s unorthodox bottom lane of Senna and Wukong time to breathe. In fact, MAD took the first kill in the top lane with a four-man gank and used the Rift Herald to open up an early lead. Now with an advantage, the former rookies quickly ramped up the tempo and 15 minutes in were already 3K gold ahead.
Several minutes later, SK looked to have found a way in, but a MAD collapse led to a 3:2 in their favor. After catching jungler Kim "Trick" Gang-yun they secured the Baron as well and left SK with little pressure on the map. Around the 26-minute mark MAD started the ocean drake and when their opponents got close, engaged on them, taking three kills and winning the game shortly afterward.
It was a dominant victory for MAD with several of their players, especially jungler Zhiqiang "Shad0w" Zhao, putting on a great performance. SK were unable to punish them early and quickly fell behind. Both teams now have a 2:1 record. Next week, SK Gaming will play Misfits Gaming and Excel Esports, while MAD go against Fnatic and Team Vitality.
READ MORE:
- MAD Lions bounce back with a win vs Excel Esports
- SK Gaming goes 2:0 after a victory vs FC Schalke 04
- SK Gaming dominate the late-game against Origen
- G2 Esports begin LEC Summer Split with a win against MAD Lions
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