In an action-packed series to close out Week 2, Day 2 of the League of Legends Pro League, Newbee took a 2-1 win over JD Gaming on Friday in Shanghai.
Newbee (2-0, 4-2 match record) drafted Lucian for top laner Bao "V" Bo, using everyone's favorite meme pick to great success. While JD Gaming secured first blood, it couldn't use its high damage pick composition effectively in the mid game, allowing Newbee to crawl back into the game after a 4-for-1 teamfight win near the Dragon Pit.
Newbee snowballed from there, earning a 6,000-gold lead by the 31-minute mark. Newbee's ferocious teamfighting composition was led by mid laner Lei "Corn" Wen's Orianna, who landed big-time Command: Shockwaves en route to a flawless 4/0/8 KDA (kills/deaths/assists). With no way to start a fight without losing all of its members, JDG could do little but watch as Newbee took Game 1 in 35 minutes.
Not showing any fear after its Game 1 loss, JD Gaming (0-3, 2-6 match record) drafted an aggressive, all-AD composition against Newbee's late-game teamfighting comp, looking to snowball early. JDG got its wish at eight minutes as a three-man dive in the top lane gave mid laner Kim "doinb" Tae-sang's Lucian first blood, jumping out to an early lead.
JDG's control over the game was by no means absolute, as sloppy teamfighting and macro plays gave away kills, but a 23-minute Baron buff helped JDG finally break free. Methodically pushing into Newbee's base on the back of doinb, who dealt a game-high 26,400 damage to enemy champions while picking up a 6/0/8 KDA, JDG finished Game 2 in 32 minutes to force Game 3.
JD Gaming came into Game 3 with vigor and life, but it was quickly crushed when Newbee's late-game composition took a 3-for-1 skirmish at just four minutes. As if that wasn't bad enough, Newbee AD carry Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang's Vayne picked up solo first tower gold along with several waves of farm, putting him too far ahead for JDG to deal with.
Exposing JDG's mid lane inhibitor by 19 minutes, NB had complete control of the game, led by Corn's Orianna, who had another spectacular performance. With a 4/0/9 KDA and player of the game honors, Corn and company stormed into JD Gaming's base, taking Game 3 in under 26 minutes to close out the 2-1 series win. Newbee will next face Royal Never Give Up at 5 a.m. ET Sunday; JD Gaming prepares to take on SN Gaming at 8 a.m. ET Sunday.