A small step for the PG Nationals, a big step for esports in Italy: the viewing party of the final of the League of Legends summer split is a success.
After filling it for the Red Bull Solo Q , PG Esports returned to the Combo Milano to transform it (for one night) into a Bar Esport. Like the village bars when there is a good Serie A match or a historic Grand Prix, Combo Milano was filled with competitive LoL fans who, judging by the shouts when the kills started to multiply, really enjoyed themselves.
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If a few weeks ago I applauded the return of live Esports (always with League but for Solo Q) today I can only celebrate the involvement and emotions that a “simple” viewing party managed to arouse in the people present. “Seeing him here with my friends is something else entirely” said Roberto, sitting in the front row almost under the projector. “Feeling the energy of fans like me really filled me with joy and being able to interact with analysts made me feel involved,” said Selene that she came with a group of friends.
Before talking to you about the actual final that Outplayed played against Macko, there is one last consideration to make: the next step. I’ll be brief: I dream of a winter split final in a sports hall , with players and casters a few meters from me and a sold out paying audience. Little is missing and Italian eSports will be able to say that they have definitively defeated the pandemic.
The final: Macko vs Outplayed
The Outplayed started aggressive, but the first blood race was won by the Mackos who took the lead with a double kill. It takes 14 minutes for the first tower to fall, and after a near-teamkill it’s always the Mackos who take it home. Unfortunately for them, the Outplayed have bet on a team composition that they have not been able to put down . Slaughtered in two out of two fights, Outplayed were forced to accept defeat in the first match and start hoping for a comeback.
The second game begins and the casters are perplexed by the choices of the Outplayed. In less than 3 minutes they are proved wrong by Lotus taking first blood in toplane and a second kill in the jungle. The mackos seem to have underestimated their opponents. “It took a sneeze and the early game of Outplayed was destroyed” Despite the prowess of Lotus, the Mackos have recovered in an instant even coming ahead of Gold.
The Outplayed continue to take home the kills but the Mackos stay ahead as the OPs fail to capitalize on their anti-conventional firepower. The Macko start building moment, they knock down two towers with a single messenger but the OPs respond in kind by taking 2 towers in bottom lane. The strategy signed Outplayed seems to repay the efforts of the players: after two fights won, one of which in an enemy base and a late game that seemed to never end, they took the victory of the draw and put the ball back in the center with almost 10 kills . more than the Macko .
Game 3 begins with another Outplayed exploit taking 2 kills within the first 3 minutes. The Macko, they take the first tower but it doesn’t help them much because the first team fight is taken anyway by the OPs. Stenbosse, takes home a triple kill in the next fight for the dragon. “The Outplayed are simply playing better,” say the casters commenting on the excellent coordination that the OPs were able to put in place in game 3.
As if they could hear them, the Macko at the next Baron eliminate all the OPs who dare to challenge them and take him. From here they begin a charge to the enemy base that seems unstoppable and all the initial safety of the casters vanishes. The Mackos destroy tower after tower, inhibitor after inhibitor, and take the game of advantage.
Game 4 and after less than 3 minutes the OPs take first blood but it is a bitter satisfaction because in a few minutes the Macko are back ahead on gold and take home the first tower. The midgame begins and the Mackos continue to dominate by exterminating 4 out of 5 OPs in the first direct team match.
With 7000 gold of advantage, the Macko begin to close not only the game but the entire Summer Split of the PG Nationals . OPs don’t have the resources or builds to counter them and within minutes they are forced to fall. They win direct access to the EU Masters and return to the top of the Italian League competitive after a bitter defeat at the last split: Macko Esports cannot be happier.
The OPs have also earned a spot in the EU Masters groups but their road will be even more uphill to reach at least the top 8 in the maximum open competition of LoL in Europe.
“I am really happy with today’s performance and I am delighted to have brought home the victory,” Rharesh said hotly after the match . “The opponents to beat at the EU Masters will be the French and the Spanish but we have a lot of time to improve (today and tomorrow we celebrate) but we want to do well this Masters, it is the great goal for the team”.