Karmine Corp travelled to Madrid in arguably the most charged atmosphere of the split. The Ibai feud, the cancelled showmatch and the home crowd waiting for blood had turned Saturday night into a pride match before a single champion had been locked in. Three games later, KC walked out 2-1, having silenced the Madrid Arena once again on MKOI's own turf. Here are RFT's editorial ratings of the series.
With his usual spicy pool and his trademark Rumble, Myrwn was a real nuisance for Canna in lane. But as is so often the case for the Korean toplaner, being ahead in the early game does not translate into the same impact Canna eventually has on the rest of the map. The Shyvana game was solid overall, with relentless flanks that bothered KC. But he got caught at too many important timings. The Rumble did not need much to win and he managed his danger windows well. The Zeri, however, found no impact despite an early lead, was constantly out of position, and was a questionable draft choice into Annie and Kha'Zix.
Elyoya did everything he could to save his team's honour as captain, and it still was not enough. The Skarner game was rough — Yike read him every time. The Vi and Trundle games were much better: creative early movement, clutch plays like the pillar on a cocky Yike, and constant pressure across the map. Unfortunately, on Trundle the keys to the game were no longer in his hands once it reached the mid-to-late game. A statement game on Vi though.
Like his jungler, Jojopyun was untouchable in game two. His Akali finished with five solokills, tying him with Naak Nako on 17 solokills for the split — and he still has another BO3 to play. The Azir game was a different story: the early was rough, with too many caught moments and risky plays going wrong, even if he produced a couple of clutches later. The Ryze game was an honest effort to push side waves and create pressure. Jojopyun and Elyoya are once again the only two MKOI players to come out of a series with their heads held high — a pattern that is starting to look like a real problem.
The bot lane was crushed end to end. If not for their jungler's creativity bailing out the early in game two, or a well-timed lane swap in game one, they had no impact at any point. Supa also had moments of genuine imprecision in teamfights that were extremely costly to MKOI — the flash-in trap on Caitlyn in game one being the obvious example.
Same story as his lane partner. He got eaten in lane and produced none of the teamfight impact MKOI needed from him. Worse, he was mechanically outplayed more than once and was always a step behind Busio at the timings that mattered, on top of suffering an XP deficit from the constant 2v2 deaths around him. The only acceptable game was the Neeko, carried mostly by his jungler's movement — and even that one was not glorious given a couple of mechanical misses.
Canna did not put up flashy numbers and was almost always behind in the midgame gold count across the three games. But he did what he always does: an oversized impact in teamfights, excellent connection and coordination with his team, and the kind of decisive Canna moments that bend a series.
A series of three faces. Yike completely gapped his opposite number in game one on Pantheon, reading every aggression window and dominating the 2v2 with kyeahoo. Game two was forgettable on his end — a few questionable decisions while Elyoya was setting the tempo across the entire map. Game three was overall good on one of his beloved Kha'Zix, where his record now sits at 20-3. That said, both on Pantheon and on Kha'Zix he made a handful of mistakes that cost KC despite his early leads — moments that partly counterbalance the strong plays and the advantages he had secured in those games.
Outside of game two, kyeahoo was untouchable in this BO3, even though he was matched against a potential MVP candidate who has been winning every lane he has touched this split. Jojopyun was muzzled outside of game two. Game one was a clean Taliyah performance: clutch on the limits in lane, always the initiator on winning moves with his ultimate timed perfectly into Yike's. Game three he carried serious responsibility against the MKOI composition with no real frontline setup behind him, and on Annie he delivered every fight and every key catch. The Orianna game is one to forget, solokilled twice by Jojo.
If one side of the map showed up in Madrid, it was the bot lane. Caliste was ahead in the 2v2 across the entire series, even in matchups he was supposed to lose in the early game. He never shied away from the spotlight: his Ashe game produced the first pentakill of his career — a clean one at that — his Corki traded a kill back despite Elyoya in his back at level two, and his Sivir walked into a 1v5 at drake to initiate the KC counter and push MKOI off the objective. A captain's series from the young prodigy, who froze a Spanish arena once again. He clearly enjoys these big stages.
The other half of why the bot 2v2 was a one-way street. Busio is also in the MVP debate, and he reminded everyone why with another performance built on map tempo, genius roams and constant out-tempoing of his opposite number. Bot 2v2s won across all three games, top-side dives executed on Lulu, the same shiny presence on enchanters that he has on every other support archetype. As ever, Busio was everywhere — and the MVP race between the two North Americans is more open than ever.
Myrwn should be lower !