IEM Hanover Live Coverage - Day 1

The Intel Extreme Masters World Championship has begun, and we're already well on our way to determining which teams will advance out of group A!

Updated Standings, Group A:
aAa - 3-0
Dignitas - 3-1
Fnatic - 2-2
CLG - 2-1
Alternate - 1-3
Millenium - 0-4
Spoiler - For Final Group A Standings, click "Read More" and scroll to the end of this post

Group A, Game 7: Dignitas vs. Millenium


18:00: Dignitas has a significant lead at the moment, taking first dragon and leading in kills 7-3. As far as map control is concerned, each team has a tower. Dignitas leads gold 28k to 22k.

28:00: Dignitas wins a fairly straightforward, one-sided game over Millenium, putting them at 3-1 in their group.  We'll get new group standings in the next update, so stay tuned!


Group A, Game 12: CLG vs. aAa


Preview: This is perhaps one of the biggest games of the tournament so far. If CLG manages to win, we are that much closer to a big tie scenario in this group. If aAa wins, they are guaranteed to advance to the elimination rounds. CLG is running Shen, Janne, Udyr, Vayne, and Ahri. aAa picked Yorick, Shyvana, Alistar, Corki, and Morgana. Yorick was a good pick to counter Shen, who switched with Udyr to jungle at the last second.

8:30: Not a lot of action so far, no first blood yet with each team attempting no real ganks. Hotshot has managed to stay even in CS with Yorick, while aAa's bot lane is about 15 cs ahead of CLG.

18:00: CLG picks up first blood as aAa goes for their blue, using an epic Shen dash to take the first kill. CLG follows up with taking Alistar, while Shen ends up dying as well. aAa still managed to get CLG's blue, although CLG's bot lane managed to get a kill on Corki as well. A very back-and-forth game so far, with a slight lead for CLG.

21:00: CLG manages to jump out to a strong lead, picking up a double kill at middle, a successful gank on Alistar, and a free follow-up on dragon. CLG has a 5k gold lead right now.

26:00: CLG picks up a free Baron, putting them 8k gold ahead of aAa, which might as well be an extra champion worth of gold. It's CLG's game to lose at the moment, as Vayne gets more and more beefy, at 3-0 with a finished PD, BT and QSS.

CLG finally rolls over aAa in a one-sided, methodical game. This puts both teams at 3-1 now, both tied with Dignitas. We may be on our way to a 3-way tie, folks.

Group A, Game 13: CLG vs. Fnatic

Preview: Fnatic needs to win this to survive in the tournament, and CLG may need to as well. 3-2 may not be enough to advance in this group, so CLG will want to take it here to avoid any math being done at their expense in the tie-breaker. CLG has some momentum coming off of a big win over the previously undefeated aAa. Fnatic is running Nocturne, Ezreal, Janna, Vladimir, and Talon, while CLG is running Mundo, Irelia, Caitlyn, Galio, and Ahri.

4:00: CLG picks up first blood as Saintvicious' Mundo returns for a double gank on Talon in mid. CLG was able to put Irelia against Talon in mid with Ahri against Vlad top, causing them to take an early lead. As I'm typing this, Shushei's Talon dies yet again to Mundo. CLG is really shutting down mid lane, Fnatic is going to have to do something to counter this.

9:30: Fnatic gets a kill on Cait bottom with a great Nocturne gank, setting them up for an uncontested Dragon. CLG is still ahead by about 1k gold, but Fnatic can close that lead fast with plays like that.

15:00: The teams trade a few kills, with CLG again coming out slightly on top, taking 2 kills to 1 on an exchange in top lane, with Mundo finishing off Vlad in a close fight. CLG is up by 2k gold at the moment, with Fnatic's Talon being severely underfarmed.

17:30: Fnatic starts turning this game in their favor, picking up 2 kills in top lane and taking turret in the process. Fnatic is now up in kills 5-4 as well as slightly up in gold.

28:00: CLG catches Talon at mid tower with 2 beautiful charms by jiji's Ahri, leading to a 4-0 chasedown of Fnatic's team. CLG follows up with a free Baron, and now enjoys a decent lead over Fnatic once again.

36:00: Fnatic tries a last-ditch attempt at stopping CLG from taking Baron, but CLG turns around before beginning and wins a one-sided fight, 4-0. Rather than finish Baron, CLG simply runs to Fnatic's nexus and ends the game. CLG will be moving on to day 3!

Final Results - Day 1

Team Dignitas - 4-1 - advances to semifinals! 
Team CLG - 4-1 - advances to quarterfinals!
Against All Authority - 3-2 - advances to quarterfinals!
Team Alternate - 2-3
Fnatic.RaidCall - 2-3
Millenium - 0-5