Flash Wolves secured a pass to the Mid-Season Invitational with a convincing victory over Vega Squadron.
The LMS will have a representative at MSI’s main event, as FW qualified to the main stage for the fourth consecutive time. The new roster is ready to continue the organization’s legacy, and this latest journey began opposite the reigning LCL spring champion.
Many analysts predicted it would be a clean 3-0 victory, but Vega went against the odds and secured the first game of the series. Vega found ways to punish FW and create space around the map. The CIS team played a patient game, snowballing a modest lead into an eventual victory.
In game two, FW was ready to strike back. The team played a less frantic style, focusing on the neutral objectives and disengaging from the fights that Vega tried to force. Jungler Lee “Bugi” Seong-yeop was seemingly everywhere, pressuring the enemy into discomfort.
Desperate, Vega forced a baron and FW was ready to punish, securing four kills and the buff. The ensuing siege was quick and the win came at 24 minutes.
The third set was all about bot laner Lu “Betty” Yu-Hung and support Liu “ShiauC” Chia-Hao. The bot duo took over the early game, securing multiple kills and establishing control of the map’s lower half. For most of the early game, bot laner Ilya “Gadget” Makavchuk was either dead or pushed under his turret.
Vega attempted unsuccessfully to gank the top lane while the rest of the map fell apart. Wherever Vega went, Flash Wolves followed and punished. The LMS squad was able to contest every single neutral objective.
At 28 minutes, Vega miraculously stole a baron buff, but it was too little too late. FW aced Vega and went for the win.
At match point, Vega seemed a beaten team. The LCL side tried to be aggressive but Flash Wolves was not having any of it. FW played a more methodical game, going for safe plays and avoiding unnecessary team fights.
FW secured a baron 26 minutes into the game and Vega responded with three necessary kills. But even with only two buffs available, FW continued to siege. The game would end after a team fight in the bot lane where three FW members faced off with the entire Vega team while the two remaining Flash Wolves players went for the back door and broke the enemy nexus.
Flash Wolves is moving forward to the main event, while Vega falls to the lower bracket. On Tuesday, Vega Squadron and Phong Vu Buffalo will play for the last spot in the main event.
