Facing a high-performing TOP Esports, Suning was predicted to “fare poorly.” That concern was intensified when the team made a self-destructive play, losing game 1 due to individual mistakes after having secured many advantages.
However, Suning made a strong comeback in the next 2 games, defeating their legendary opponent with a score of 2-1. The MVPs of games 2 and 3 were Bin and Angel, respectively. Yet, the biggest impact in SN’s victory, and throughout the match, came from SofM, who brought out Kha’Zix and Trundle in the jungle – two champions that have been out of the meta for quite a long time.
Notably, the choice of Kha’Zix in game 2 deserves mention. After the match, the LPL organizers reported that this champion had been absent for 725 days, nearly 2 full years, before SofM surprisingly brought him back to China’s top League of Legends tournament.
In a post-match interview, Suning’s assistant coach Fenfen even revealed that the choice of Kha’Zix as the last pick in game 2 was entirely SofM’s spontaneous decision: “It seems he was feeling pretty relaxed and wanted to have a little fun.”
The fact is, despite losing game 1 due to individual mistakes, SN’s “win conditions” in this Bo3 series were very clear, as Huanfeng, in a stellar performance, completely dominated the superstar AD carry JackeyLove in the bot lane. Bin and Angel were no exceptions, with Bin outperforming the rookie Qingtian of TES in the top lane, while Angel held his ground against Knight in the bot lane.
And when all 3 lanes were not losing, it meant SofM was given complete freedom, and the Kha’Zix in his hands executed a thorough map control strategy, leaving TES with no chance to counter.
In fact, SofM even had LPL fans laughing once again, as he continuously executed flank maneuvers around TES’s formation, revealing himself to the opponents and… standing still. With a disadvantaged situation, TES dared not engage SofM for fear that the rest of SN would take advantage to invade, while Kha’Zix had all the tools and was mentally prepared to escape.
As a result, in situations where SofM seemingly “did nothing,” TES was completely shattered psychologically, as their formation was stretched in multiple directions, leading to a total defeat in team fights.
SofM himself in this match not only boasted an impressive KDA of 2/1/9 but also held a significant advantage in vision score. By the end of game 2, SofM’s Kha’Zix had 152 vision score points, far surpassing the second-place player ON by… 58 points.
The victory against TOP Esports marked SofM and his teammates’ third consecutive win in the LPL Summer 2021. And although it’s still a bit early, many fans have begun to envision a resurgence of the Suning of 2020.