The Saturday LEC games started with a clean performance by Rogue, who methodically took down SK and showed once more than they are one of the elite teams in the LEC Summer split.
Despite ending last week with a stinging loss to MAD Lions, Rogue remained a strong contender for the top and on Friday took down Origen to retain their second place. SK, meanwhile, had started the season with a 4:2 record but had since lost two more games that made some question just how strong the team was.
The game itself started with Rogue’s strong side lanes giving them a good advantage, especially after Finn "Finn" Wiestål’s Gankgplank secured first blood just four minutes into the game. SK quickly found a reply kill, but they could not avoid falling behind in objectives and just 11 minutes in were some 3K gold down compared to their opponents. What looked like a collapse on a Rogue gank two minutes later backfired when SK not only failed to get a kill but chased too far and lost their top laner due to tower aggro. The one shining light for the German squad was mid laner Dirk "ZaZee" Mallner, but his Leblanc was not enough to turn the tide. Rogue’s lead steadily grew, nearing 6K before 20 minutes of play had passed.
As the mid-game progressed, Rogue would get one teamfight after another, until 25 minutes in they took down ZaZee and his support, secured Baron and got yet another teamfight just after that. The writing was on the wall for SK and four minutes later, they would get swept away in a 4:0 fight near their mid inhibitor and could only watch as their Nexus fell.
This was the kind of game that Rogue is becoming famous for - clean, controlled and ruthless. SK’s losing side lanes let Rogue get an early advantage and they never let go. With this win, they are still hot on the chase for the first place as the first half of the season concludes.
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