Splyce beats Unicorns of Love, heads to LoL Worlds main event

The concluding matchup of the League of Legends 2019 World Championship play-in stage featured an intense regional showdown between the LCL’s Unicorns of Love and LEC representatives Splyce.

While the European squad ultimately prevailed with a hard-fought 3-2 victory, the Russian contenders demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the five-game series.

This elimination series carried significant weight, determining which team would advance to the main event stage of the prestigious international tournament.

Unicorns open series against Splyce with a comeback win

Splyce appeared to have complete control during the opening stages of the initial match. An early gank beneath Unicorns’ top lane turret secured first blood, establishing momentum that translated into additional eliminations and a substantial 3,000 gold advantage within the first ten minutes.

Despite facing significant deficits, Unicorns gradually rebuilt their confidence moving into mid-game phases. The European third seed maintained economic superiority, secured three dragon buffs, and eventually captured the Baron Nashor objective.

For an extended period, UoL could only manage defensive containment against Splyce’s advances. However, the match dynamics shifted dramatically around the 25-minute mark when Unicorns secured a crucial teamfight victory for the second Baron. This pivotal moment enabled them to breach Splyce’s mid and bottom lane defenses while scaling effectively into late-game teamfight superiority.

This sequence of events culminated in an astonishing reversal that gave them the series opener against expectations.

Splyce strikes back to even the score

Unicorns commenced the second contest with strong initiative, featuring Nihat “Innaxe” Aliev securing first blood using Ashe while establishing mid lane priority and securing an early dragon. Despite these early successes, Splyce maintained economic parity during the laning phase through efficient farming and trading.

During mid-game transitions, Splyce initiated their counteroffensive. The European squad secured teamfight victories and eliminated the Rift Herald, generating approximately 5,000 gold advantage by the 20-minute mark primarily through elimination differentials and objective control. Unicorns attempted to retaliate with flanking maneuvers in the bottom lane, but a critical skillshot misfire from Innaxe resulted in another lost engagement.

Facing mounting pressure, Unicorns committed fully to a Baron Nashor contest, but Splyce refused to concede ground. Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup’s Kai’Sa execution proved devastating, eliminating multiple Unicorns members and securing the equalizing victory.

Splyce dominate Unicorns of Love in game three

The champion selection phase witnessed Splyce prioritizing Xayah, prompting Unicorns to counter with a Caitlyn-Morgana bottom lane combination, though this strategic response proved insufficient to overcome Splyce’s coordinated gameplay.

Splyce initiated their strategy by circumventing Unicorns’ blue buff territory before swiftly rotating toward the bottom lane to secure first blood. Unicorns attempted to respond with aggressive dives against Splyce’s top turret, but these efforts only amplified Splyce’s growing advantage.

These early game accomplishments established foundational momentum that propelled Splyce through subsequent phases.

Splyce demonstrated prepared countermeasures for every strategic move Unicorns attempted. Entering mid-game transitions, the European team held a 3-1 turret advantage and accumulated approximately 40,000 gold by the 20-minute mark. While Splyce exhibited borderline overconfidence during this period, their substantial economic advantage prevented UoL from capitalizing on positional mistakes.

Splyce established comprehensive control across all strategic dimensions, consequently advancing to match point position.

Unicorns of Love brings things to game five

Both teams exchanged advantages during the balanced opening of the fourth match. While Unicorns eliminated top and mid lane structures, Splyce secured dragon buffs and bottom turret objectives.Unicorns rapidly escalated pressure against the bottom inhibitor turret, propelled by Lev “Nomanz” Yakshin’s dominant Qiyana performance during early skirmishes.

Despite Unicorns establishing comprehensive vision dominance around Baron Nashor, Kirill “AHaHaCiK” Skvortsov activated Smite prematurely, enabling Splyce to steal the powerful buff. This minor triumph didn’t translate into subsequent teamfight success for Splyce, though it extended the game duration temporarily.

Ultimately, Unicorns destroyed Splyce’s bottom and mid lane inhibitors, though this was followed by another mistimed Smite execution from AHaHaCiK on Baron, resulting in a second consecutive steal by Splyce. However, two Baron steals proved insufficient to secure victory. AHaHaCiK subsequently redeemed himself through impactful plays utilizing Karthus’ Requiem ultimate ability, delivering Unicorns the essential victory to force a decisive fifth game.

Splyce secures a spot at the main event by eliminating Unicorns 3-2

The series-deciding contest began with Unicorns securing first blood in the top lane, which Splyce immediately countered with a mid lane elimination. Neither roster established clear economic dominance initially, though Unicorns inflicted more structural damage to turret plating.

The closely contested matchup persisted through mid-game phases until Splyce initiated containment strategies through systematic sieging. Unicorns’ bottom laner Innaxe initiated an unconventional solo Baron attempt at 24 minutes, and by the time Splyce organized their response, UoL secured the objective while sacrificing two champions.

Nevertheless, this bold maneuver failed to intimidate Splyce. They persistently expanded their advantage through structural demolition, eventually establishing zone control that denied Unicorns access to the second Baron spawn. Unicorns demonstrated resilience once more by disrupting Splyce’s formation beneath their inhibitor turret and securing a teamfight victory.

However, a single successful engagement proved insufficient to wrest control from Splyce’s grasp. After securing the Elder Dragon buff and compelling a decisive response from Unicorns of Love, Splyce secured the essential teamfight needed to eliminate Unicorns from the World Championship. They claimed the series 3-2 and guaranteed their position in the main event stage.

This series exemplified several critical competitive League of Legends principles. Early game advantages, while significant, proved insufficient without proper mid-game transitions. Objective control timing, particularly around Baron Nashor and Elder Dragon, consistently determined match outcomes regardless of previous performance metrics.

Individual player performances significantly influenced outcomes, particularly Kobbe’s teamfight execution and AHaHaCiK’s redemption arc following critical Smite timing errors.

The draft phase emerged as a decisive factor, with champion priorities and counter-picks establishing foundational advantages that persisted throughout matches.

No reproduction without permission：Game Guides Online » Splyce beats Unicorns of Love, heads to LoL Worlds main event Analyzing Splyce's 3-2 victory over Unicorns of Love in the 2019 Worlds play-in series with strategic insights