Machi E-Sports vs G2 Esports

For our first game of the day, we have an absolute barnburner: G2 Esports vs. Machi Esports. Now, coming into the tournament, no one gave Machi much thought, and rightfully so. Despite being the PCS (formerly LMS) champions, they don't have any widely renown players nor have they accomplished anything worthy of mentioning internationally. For all intents and purposes, Machi looked like one of those easily containable teams with a bit of talent, but not much else.

Then, however, came their game against Team Liquid, and now, frankly, no one's quite sure what to think of them. The level of play from their jungle and mid duo was out of this world. They didn't look like a champion hailing from a wildcard region but rather like a bona fide contender. They wasted no time whatsoever -- they were quick to plan and even quicker to execute which naturally caught Liquid off guard. The former LCS champions weren't prepared to clash off against such a high variance, high tempo team, and were obliterated as a result. Machi, to their credit, didn't win through any cheesy strategy or off-the-wall team comp. Instead, they simply played better League of Legends, both individually as well as a five-man unit. They did nothing wrong, frankly, and while they're obviously far from perfect, their decisiveness and playmaking potential could potentially carry them far (when compared to pre-tournament expectations, of course).

To see the four-time LCS champions so outmatched was not a sight anyone expected -- especially not against a challenger many deemed far inferior coming into the tournament. Even though they've drafted the quintessential Team Liquid comp, they were unable to execute as Machi immediately upped the pace of the game in an attempt to eke out leads in any way possible. And they did incredibly well in that regard too. Liquid held on as best they could, but it just wasn't enough. Heck, it wasn't even close.

So naturally, no one's quite sure what to expect from this undervalued and underappreciated bunch. They obviously have all the right tools to trade heavy blows with some of the best teams at Worlds, but whether they overperformed yesterday or not still remains to be seen. They'll now face a much stiffer test: the best and most accomplished team Europe ever fostered. That, in short, is an entirely different beast when compared to Team Liquid. G2 is far more volatile, but their ferocity and mechanical prowess are practically unmatched. Well, they're also prone to underperforming and fooling around but it seems as though they're taking things as seriously as possible at this point in time, hence their mind-blowing game against Suning.

This match-up, in short, basically guarantees fireworks. Both teams love to skirmish and have all the right tools to trade blows right from the very get-go. We're obviously siding with G2 Esports as it's the only logical choice, but it's not going to be an easy fight. Not even close.