Season 2 World Championships: Day 2

As will be true for all posts regarding the World Championships, there will be spoilers. Read at your own discretion.

In stark contrast to the previous day's events, the second day of competition consisted entirely of incredible games. It might be hard to tell from the blowout results, but even the most one-sided series was at the very least interesting and competitive.

The day started with an incredible series between Moscow 5 and Invictus Gaming. Champions rarely seen in the North American competitive scene made appearances, with M5 picking Xin Zhao, Evelyn, Zilean, and even support Zyra. iG kept the matches close, but eventually collapsed versus M5's superior teamfighting and late-game play. These games set the stage for an incredible day.
 
Next came the shocking series between Taipei Assassins and NaJin Sword. Despite surviving the previous day's group stages, TPA was considered one of the weaker teams in the tournament. With NaJin an easy shoe-in for the the finals few people expected TPA to come close to matching them, let alone fight two of the closest, most action-packed games of the entire season. When the dust cleared TPA not only proved themselves challengers on the world stage, but beat NaJin in back to back games for the most incredible upset since NaJin eliminated Azubu Blaze in the Regionals.

Finally came North America's last hope, Team Solomid versus Azubu Frost. While TSM was far more competitive than any of the other North American teams, Frost ultimately dominated them with a carefully executed poke composition and superior play past the laning phase. The defeat was resounding enough that TSM's Reginald briefly announced his retirement before cooling his head and retracting the hasty, depression-fueled decision. It was a sad day for TSM fans to see them go home with only two games played.

Thankfully TSM, and other North American teams, seem to be taking these results at least somewhat to heart. It's clear to them that the international competition has left North America behind, and while they may not have a clear idea of how to improve, at the least they understand that improvements must be made in order to remain competitive.

Day 2 was ultimately a resounding success, featuring some of the best games ever played. Every game was worth watching, unlike the previous day's disappointments. With nothing but teams of the highest caliber remaining, one hopes the rest of the tournament will feature games of similar excellence.