Team EnVyUs vs. Gold Coin United
Reigning Challenger Series champion Gold Coin United topped Team EnVyUs 3-1 on Friday in the second match of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Promotion Tournament.
The first game of the series was mostly an even bout between the two teams, with neither being able to jump out to a sizable lead in the first 35 minutes. Once Gold Coin United was able to find a lead off of a well-played Baron take, Team EnVyUs found itself backed against a wall. After securing an ace in its top-side jungle, Gold Coin United pushed into the Team EnVyUs base and closed out the game to go up 1-0 in the series. Gold Coin United top laner Colin "Solo" Earnest was a cornerstone for his team, posting a 3/1/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) as Shen.
The second game of the series was much like the first, except Team EnVyUs was able to build a gold lead thanks to strong counter-jungling by Team EnVyUs jungler Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo. A 38-minute Baron and 3-for-0 trade in favor of EnVyuS propelled it into a 12,000-gold lead late in the game. A second Baron take by Team EnVyUs at 50 minutes led to a game-winning push to even out the series 1-1. LirA did everything he could to pave the way for his team with a 6/4/8 KDA as Graves.
The third game of the series was another slugfest that didn't see either team gain a substantial advantage until Gold Coin United took down the first Baron of the game at the 40-minute mark. Soon after the Baron fight, the teams fought around Elder Dragon, which went in favor of Gold Coin United. The 45-minute bout came to an end after Gold Coin United pushed into the EnVyUs base to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Gold Coin United was led by Lucas "Santorin" Tao Kilmer Larsen, who put up a 6/1/10 KDA as Graves.
In what amounted to the series-clinching game for Gold Cold United, the Challenger squad started off far more proactively with Santorin playing aggressively throughout the onset. Posting five kills in the first 25 minutes, Santorin allowed his team to snowball to a 5,000-gold lead 30 minutes into the game. After taking down Baron at the 32-minute mark, Gold Coin United was able to push into the EnVyUs base and close the series out 3-1.
Gold Coin United will move on to face Team Liquid in the winner finals Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. With the loss, Team EnVyUs will be forced to take on eUnited in the loser bracket Saturday also at 3 p.m. ET.
