The quarter finals for the League of Legends World Championships have just wrapped up, with eight teams now being whittled down to four for the semi finals, and although the results were probably as many would have expected, that doesn't mean there were no shocks along the way.
The first quarter final saw two Korean giants Longzhu Gaming and Samsung Galaxy go head to head, but this was by no means a close affair, as the latter proved their worth by winning 3-0. It was a slightly closer affair between group stage comeback kings Fnatic and Royal Never Give Up, although again this ended with the expected winner, as Royal Never Give Up claimed a 3-1 victory against the EU side.
One close match, however, was between Cloud9 and Team WE, with Cloud9 being North America's last hope of success in the competition. After three games Cloud9 were actually ahead 2-1, but after Team WE brought it back to 2-2 in game four, Cloud9 unfortunately couldn't bounce back and lost the match.
The real highlight of the quarter finals was the match between SK Telecom T1 and Misfits, though, as SKT were given a run for their money by the underdogs. The two-time world champions went up against the EU team in a nail-biting best of five, and although SKT were the favourites to win, with Pick Em' votes coming in at 98% in favour of SKT, Misfits nearly achieved the unthinkable.
Game one was an easy win for SKT, but the two games that followed surprised everyone. Misfits took generally unorthodox character picks, and caught SKT off guard, forcing them to play in a way they weren't comfortable. The second and third games were won by Misfits, and they were one game away from defeating the esports legends. Despite the odds, it looked as though they were going to do it.
SKT may have looked defeated, but came back from their break to control the pace of the fourth match to win, tying the score 2-2. It was all to play for in the final match, as both teams sat on two wins each in the fifth and final game. SKT played extremely passive, waiting for their chance to take the game, and a small mistake from Misfits was capitalised on, SKT winning the game after Faker made the game-winning play.
Misfits were knocked out of the championship, but received nothing but praise from fans and casters alike, defying all expectations of a 3-0 for SKT. Did you expect Misfits to do as well as they did?
