The closing series of Week 10, Day 2 in the League of Legends Pro League started off ugly, but Team WE (11-4, 23-12 match record) pulled itself together to pick up a 2-1 series win over Newbee (5-10, 16-23 match record) on Friday in Shanghai.
Newbee had a strong start to Game 1 when jungler Baek "Swift" Da-hoon's Lee Sin picked up two kills within nine minutes. Team WE responded shortly after that, taking control through mid laner Su "xiye" Han-Wei's Taliyah, who carried teamfights with great Weaver's Walls and massive combos. After a lull in action, Newbee took a Baron at 32 minutes, but a big 5-for-2 ace for WE swung control away from Newbee. In a painfully slow hyper-late game, Newbee took its third Elder Dragon at 58 minutes, putting itself comfortably in the driver's seat. With AD carry Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang's Caitlyn dealing massive late game damage en route to a game-high 40,000 damage dealt, WE had no chance as Newbee took a 64-minute Baron before a Lwx quadra kill and 5-for-2 ace sealed the longest game of the split for Newbee in a whopping 67 minutes.
Perhaps embarrassed with its Game 1 performance, Team WE came storming back in Game 2, with jungler Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie's Rengar picking up first blood in the mid lane. Condi was a monster throughout the early game, earning kill participation in every lane before a four-man dive gave Team WE a double kill for AD carry Jin "Mystic" Seong-jun's Ashe, first tower gold, and an Infernal Drake. WE continued the snowball by annihilating Newbee towers; the scattered kills NB picked up in response were not enough to overcome a steadily growing gold deficit. Taking a Baron shortly after it spawned at the 20-minute mark, WE were in complete control, with Condi finishing with a 6/2/10 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 76 percent kill participation. Team WE made short work of Newbee's base, finishing the game with a near 17,200-gold lead at just under 24 minutes.
Newbee had a dream start to a crucial Game 3 as mid laner Yu "Cool" Jia-Jun's LeBlanc picked up first blood at five minutes, leading to a 6-to-0 kill lead for NB at 13 minutes. But that dream start soon paved way to a nightmarish conclusion as Condi's Lee Sin picked up a kill off a risky Infernal Drake attempt by Newbee, turning the tides for good. WE began picking up fight wins across the map, with consecutive 3-for-1 teamfight wins at 19 and 21 minutes, respectively. A 26-minute Baron for WE laid out Newbee's fate, as Condi was a monster throughout the game, securing the Baron kill alongside a 5/1/10 KDA for 83 percent kill participation. A 4-for-0 teamfight in Newbee's base was all Team WE needed to close out a series it should've dominated from the get go, taking Game 3 in just under 28 minutes of action.
Team WE ends its Spring Split with a matchup with Vici Gaming on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET, while Newbee hits the Rift one last time to face Game Talents Sunday at 1 a.m. ET.