Unicorns of Love finally qualified for the group stage of the League of Legends World Championship today after missing it for years. They took down the TCL’s Papara SuperMassive in an intensive three-game series where mid laner Lev “Nomanz” Yakshin showed everyone what he’s capable of.
The entire UOL squad played well today, showcasing multiple strategies throughout the series. They’re a flexible team with carries in all roles, making it hard for opponents to adapt to their compositions and playstyle.
The series began with UOL giving their bottom laner, Ilya “Gadget” Makavchuk, an ADC after putting him on mages in previous games. He took over the game with Twitch after getting some early kills, finishing with an 8/3/7 scoreline. SUP simply had no answer to the fed Twitch.
In the second game, UOL adjusted their draft after SUP banned Twitch away and blind-picked Kassadin into the mid lane for Nomanz, a champion he became known for during the play-in stage. SUP tried to counter him with an Azir in the mid lane but were unsuccessful after an early skirmish around the 10-minute mark gave Nomanz a triple kill. He was able to complete his Rod of Ages and started stacking his Tear very early, securing a favorable mid game for his team.
With a fed Kassadin on their team, UOL were able to lay siege to SUP on a constant basis. They kept the pressure going and didn’t leave room for error. Once Nomanz reached level 16 on Kassadin, it was lights out for the SUP squad, who had no reliable answer to the champ’s mobility. They lost the game soon after due to the immense pressure from the CIS squad.
In the third and final game of the series, SUP got heavily outdrafted with UOL picking Vayne to counter the Sett in the mid lane. Nomanz popped off on the champion after playing her only once throughout the entire year. He shut down the opposing Sett and got fed, carrying teamfights thanks to his ultimate invisibility. Following 30 minutes of domination, UOL closed out the series and secured their World Championship main event spot.
SUP had a great showing Worlds 2020, though, knocking out the fourth seed from Europe in an intensive five-game series yesterday. But they weren’t able to withstand the might of the Unicorns, who were hungry for a main event spot. UOL were seeded into Group D of Worlds 2020 following this win.
The main event for Worlds 2020 will begin on Saturday, Oct. 3.
