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Catch up on all the action from the Red Bull Solo Q 2021 World Final
Featuring the best amateur League of Legends players in the world, Red Bull Solo Q 2021 saw some incredible plays and clutch wins. Here’s how it all went down.
Nineteen competitors from all around the world arrived at the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany, on December 4 to find out which of them had what it takes to bring the Red Bull Solo Q trophy home.
Over the course of two days, the participants competed in four different groups, with only 16 of them proceeding to the knockout stage and only eight making it to the best-of-five quarter-finals. Only the two best players then reached the best-of-seven grand final which took place on December 5.
To succeed, the challengers had to achieve one of the following: getting first blood, defeating 100 minions or destroying the opponent's tower. To make things more spicy, Sudden Death occurred at the seven-minute mark in each game, forcing the players into one last fight to the death before the Ring of Fire closed in on them.
The players quickly learned to fear the Ring of Fire after it proved deadlier than anticipated in the early matches during Saturday's group stages. They began to strategise around its arrival and by the end of the day, with just eight players remaining, everyone left knew exactly what they had to do in order to survive.
Quite the quarter-finals
The quarter-finals started with a spectacular best-of-five between David 'Potatis' Hallin and Arnas 'arnax' Stepanauskas. Arnax showed up in game two, with perhaps the most convincing Cassiopeia performance in the tournament, achieving double the minion kills of Fiora, being 1,700 gold ahead at level 9 and applying constant pressure with Noxious Blast. Finally, it came down to a single match. Potatis picked Gragas, the first one of the tournament, against Arnax's Pantheon. A difficult match-up for both sides, Arnax managed to pull through and secure a well deserved semi-finals spot by destroying Potatis' turret.
Dan 'Godbro' Vo and Ahmet 'HULKSMASH3131' Cumhur's best-of-five was much shorter but no less exciting. The second game featured a battle of titans where both players picked extremely tanky champions, Nasus and Tahm Kench respectively. The game was neck-and-neck, ending in a close-quarters fight with the two champions surrounded by the Ring of Fire. Ultimately, the River King reigned supreme and Hulksmash proceeded onwards.
Mads 'Viggomopsen' Mikkelsen, too, pulled off a clean-sweep in his quarter-finals series against Woolim 'Doxa' Lee. Viggomopsen showcased incredible skill in his first game as Dr Mundo. The Dane combo'd Dr Mundo's Infected Bonesaw with the Howling Abyss-exclusive spell Mark/Dash, forgoing the usual Barrier and Ignite. When the bonesaw hit Cassiopeia and she was crippled by its slow, Viggomopsen utilised his Mark and dashed onto Doxa, grabbing first blood and setting the tone for this series.
Participants competing on stage at Red Bull Solo Q
© Marius Faulhaber/Red Bull Content Pool
The last quarter-finals series took place between Mert 'You Mert BRO' Aptoula Chousein and Arno 'Arno' Peter. You Mert BRO brought out his signature marksmen picks, starting off with Tristana, then Varus and ending the series with Caitlyn. While Arno had some great moments, he was ultimately out-ranged and out-harassed in every game.
Sensational semi-finals
The first semi-finals series featured Viggomopsen and You Mert BRO. These two players have extremely different champion pools, the former favouring tanks like Volibear and Dr Mundo, and the latter, of course, preferring marksmen. Neither gave an inch in the quarter-finals, so viewers knew from the start that this would be a fantastic series.
In game one, You Mert Bro picked Akshan, the first of the tournament, and faced Viggomopsen’s fearsome Volibear. An aggressive all-in was initiated by Viggomopsen who wanted to catch Akshan before he reached level six and unlocked his ultimate ability. Volibear leapt towards the low health Akshan, diving behind his turret and ultimately took one tower shot too many, resulting in a first blood for Akshan. In the second game, Viggomopsen brought out his favourite pick Malphite and overwhelmed Akshan with unexpected power from Thunderclap. Viggomopsen's aggressive bruisers proved deadly against You Mert BRO's marksmen and he won the series 3-1.
Next, Arnax and Hulksmash battled for a chance to face Viggomopsen in the grand final.
Aaron 'Medic' Chamberlain and Marc 'Caedrel' Lamont casting Red Bull Solo Q
© Marius Faulhaber/Red Bull Content Pool
Game one saw both Arnax and Hulksmash picking Darius. The mirror match-up, predictably, started off very even. It was a difference in build that won Hulksmash the game. Whereas Arnax focused on offence, building the Trinity Force Mythic item, Hulksmash focused on defence, instead building up to Anathema's Chains. In the head-to-head, Hulksmash's tankier Darius won.
Prepare your own Red Bull Solo Q adventure
Arnax turned it around in game two, winning as Aatrox versus Trundle. Clever recalls and farming gave Arnax a 1,300 gold advantage over Trundle at level nine. Ultimately, Trundle was too behind in items to fight Aatrox when the Ring of Fire began to circle around them. Arnax was hoping to win it all in game four when he picked Pantheon and faced Hulksmash's Tahm Kench. Tahm Kench was poised to win, being too tanky for Pantheon to kill. Towards the end, Hulksmash initiated a fight that seemed to go his way initially. But a crucially timed stun from Arnax prevented Hulksmash from activating Thick Skin, winning Arnax the game and sending him to the grand final.
A fantastic finish in the final
The grand final was incredibly close, to say the least. Arnax took the first game, narrowly winning an early game fight against Viggomopsen's Gnar. Viggomopsen answered this with a dominant Volibear in game two, in which he focused on the minion waves and enemy turret. Although Viggomopsen was one wave shy of achieving 100 minion kills and winning the game, he chose to end it in style, engaging Trundle in an all-in fight and taking the win. He proceeded to win the next two games as well, putting the pressure onto Arnax.
In game five, potentially the last of the series, Arnax managed to pull through with another fantastic Cassiopeia performance. An incredibly close skirmish left both champions at single digit health, with Cassiopeia's poison just narrowly finishing Dr Mundo off.
Game six was the most climactic game of the tournament and the players played the Cassiopeia and Dr Mundo match-up for the third time in the series. Both players were obviously on edge, knowing that this game could be the end, and so they played a very slow, calculated game. Ten seconds before Sudden Death was about to start, Cassiopeia had found herself just two waves short of reaching 100 minion kills. Ultimately, Viggomopsen, knowing that Arnax is just two minions from a win, engaged a final fight and triumphed. And with that, Red Bull Solo Q 2021 came to a close, with a worthy winner and a fantastic set of battles behind him.
