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Longzhu Gaming showed some signs of weakness but still emerged victorious Thursday in a 2-1 win against Jin Air Green Wings to close out Week 8, Day 3 of League of Legends Champions Korea play in Seoul, South Korea.
Longzhu (13-3, 28-11 match record) went with a standard teamfighting composition in Game 1 while Jin Air (7-8, 17-17 match record) opted for a similar composition with more mobility. Longzhu was more proactive through 20 minutes when it came to killing, but Jin Air had a slight 300-gold lead going into the mid game.
That miniscule lead would evaporate as Longzhu managed to slay Baron, thanks in part to an earlier teamfight that saw two members of Jin Air die in the mid lane at the 25-minute mark. Longzhu didn't waste time and pushed the mid lane, aced Jin Air and ended the game just before 30 minutes.
Jin Air opted to make some draft changes in Game 2 and went with an early-game composition with pick potential, and Longzhu drafted similarly to Game 1. The early game saw a fair amount of fighting, but Longzhu ended up on top due to a slight kill lead through 20 minutes.
The game fell into a stalemate until Longzhu turned around a teamfight and took out four members of Jin Air before grabbing the Baron at the 28-minute mark. But Jin Air stood tall in the face of adversity, first sneaking a Baron of its own before securing a pivotal Elder Dragon near the 36th minute. After finally regaining some control, Jin Air slowly broke into the Longzhu base and managed to even the series after winning a 4-for-1 teamfight close to the 47-minute mark.
It certainly seemed as if Longzhu was cognizant of its issues in Game 2. It opted for a dual splitpushing/teamfighing composition in Game 3, while Jin Air went with a tankier teamfighting lineup. Jin Air tried to skirmish frequently throughout the early game, but its lack of power without items was evident as Longzhu managed to win every fight without any casualties.
Longzhu built up momentum in the first 20 minutes and gathered a 5,000-gold lead without giving up any kills. Jin Air slowed the bleeding with a Baron steal, but not much came of it. Longzhu simply played smarter, and after securing the next Baron, it methodically broke down the Jin Air base. Longzhu only needed one more teamfight, leading to a clean ace to close out the series.
Jin Air Green Wings will end its week with a battle against MVP at 4 a.m. ET on Sunday. Longzhu Gaming's week is over, and it will return to the Rift to take on KT Rolster on at 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday.