Following GAM Esports’ (GAM) earlier defeat, the match between Team Whales (TW) and Team BDS (BDS) was predicted to be very challenging for the VCS representative. The reason stems from the fact that BDS is a team from a major region (LEC) and boasts high form after defeating Golden Guardians (GG). Therefore, not many believed that TW could win against BDS.
This became even clearer after BDS won the first game against TW with an outstanding performance from top laner Adam. However, showcasing their resilience, the VCS representative made a spectacular comeback to secure an overall victory with a score of 2-1. This is a historic achievement for TW as it marks the first time a VCS representative has defeated a team from a major region in a Bo3 match.
This damaging loss has led to considerable criticism from both fans and experts alike. “Choosing Renekton for Adam in 2 games when he is the best player. Giving counter picks to Nuc and the jungler when they didn’t know what to do with them. BDS made a huge mistake” – commentator LS candidly shared.
Indeed, with Darius’s impressive performance in game 1, BDS should have prioritized counter picks for Adam in the top lane. Their previous success against GG also came from Adam being able to counter his opponent thanks to his champion choice. Opting for Renekton has significantly limited BDS’s strongest point.
On the TW side, the VCS representative seemed to have recognized BDS’s mistakes in their team composition and exploited them thoroughly. Notably, Sprada switched to using K’Sante to suppress Adam’s power and influence. As a result, when Adam failed to gain an advantage in lane, BDS had no effective way to execute their game plan and was defeated by TW in team fights.
Essentially, the victory against BDS has opened up significant opportunities for TW to secure a spot in the Swiss Round of Worlds 2023. Meanwhile, BDS needs to put in more effort, avoiding repeating the aforementioned mistakes in upcoming matches to avoid elimination right from the Play-In Stage.