China’s Edward Gaming have defeated Korea’s Gen.G in a scrappy, 3-2 series. They’ll face DWG KIA next weekend for the Summoners’ Cup.
The second semifinal of Worlds 2021 is upon us. While Edward Gaming vs. Gen.G doesn't have the hype of T1-DK, it does have two strong teams who are looking to pull off an upset and win the Worlds trophy. Would Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong or Park "Viper" Do-hyeon be the better hard carry? Which team would join DWG KIA in the grand finals?
Game 1: Early momentum helps EDG to the win
Things started out well for Edward Gaming in Game 1, particularly around the bot lane. Viper and Tian "Meiko" Ye killed Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk's Miss Fortune a total of three times, effectively taking him out of the game and showcasing the power of the Lucian-Nami lane.
Gen.G stabilized in the mid game, largely thanks to Bdd, but EDG never fully lost their gold lead. A few lategame fights would start going EDG's way again, and Li "Flandre" Xuan-Jun ended the game for the Chinese side at 37 minutes.
Game 2: Picks snowball Gen.G to tie the series
Gen.G got off to a much better foot in the second game. While EDG nabbed first blood, Gen.G made sure their opponents would not have the lead for long. Kim "Rascal" Kwang-hee solokilled Li "Flandre" Xuan-Jun in the top lane, while Bdd and Kim "Clid" Tae-min were a roaming death squad. Multiple picks in laning phase secured Gen.G a large lead, and allowed them to snowball.
Edward Gaming didn't have much of a chance the rest of the game. A few teamfights later (and a Baron steal to add salt to the wound), and Gen.G closed it out cleanly to tie up the series.
Game 3: Gen.G win back-and-forth affair
Game 3 was a messy, back-and-forth match. Gen.G had momentum throughout laning phase, then EDG managed to come back thanks to Viper's Lucian, then Gen.G's tankiness and fight prowess closed the game out.
It was a messy game. Many tweets and commentators called out the low level of play. But it was still a win for Gen.G in the semifinals, and pushed them to 2-1.
Game 4: Scout's Zoe pushes EDG to win and final game
Game 4 was largely dictated by one player: Lee "Scout" Ye-chan. Scout's Zoe was on another level for EDG, helping them keep a solid lead over Gen.G all game en route to a win, setting up our second game 5 of the semifinals.
Scout got on the board early, and while the game was messy, his lead and accuracy was enough to win EDG multiple teamfights. At 32 minutes, a final 5-man push by EDG broke Gen.G's nexus and sent us to Silver Scrapes.
Game 5: EDG dominate to close out the series
Most games in this series were pretty close. This last match, though, bucked that trend, as Edward Gaming cleaned up to send themselves to the Worlds 2021 grand finals.
Viper's Jhin and Flandre's Graves got ahead in the early game, and were EDG's primary carries as the match went on. Gen.G couldn't match them at all in teamfights, and EDG closed it out smoothly.
They'll face DWG KIA in the grand finals next weekend. For the winner, it's a place in LoL history, the largest slice of the prize pool, and the Summoners' Cup.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news and updates, and coverage of Worlds 2021.