The Dinh brothers rivalry is manifest in the match between Team SoloMid and EPIK Gaming. Andy “Reginald” Dinh led TSM against his brother Dan’s EPIK Gaming in an action-packed match showcasing the differences between their - and their teams’ – styles of play.

EPIK’s measured approach helped them outlast TSM in Game One, executing a great comeback mid-game with expert play from Westrice’s Akali, who led the field with 10 kills.  

In Game Two, both teams swapped the traditional laning structure, putting their Attack Damage carry and support champions in the top lane and sending Dyrus’ Yorick and TheRainMan’s Nasus to the bottom lane. Game Two matched the first game’s exacting pace, though TSM took better advantage of early opportunities and capitalized on their early-game strength over EPIK’s late-game team composition. Their expert teamwork in group fights helped them force a Game Three.

Game Three featured expert team play on EPIK’s part, with an even distribution of kills and more than double their kill count in assists. The teams traded punches late game, but EPIK slowed the game to their pace and was able to capitalize on TSM’s impulsiveness. With a win in the final game of the match, Dan and EPIK continue their win streak over Reginald and TSM.

Player of the match: Epik’s Westrice carried game one for his team, which put them in the driver’s seat to take the rest of the match. 

Game 1

Key Plays:

• Westrice’s Akali saves Salce’s Swain from a three-on-one middle lane gank at 13 minutes, turning a bad situation into a positive for EPIK
• Reginald swoops in from the middle lane to catch Westrice in a three-on-one gank as EPIK’s top tower falls
• Dyrus, playing Udyr, executes a huge Dragon steal from TSM using Smite
• TheOddOne making great use of Skarner’s ult to pull Salce from under his tower into the rest of TSM
• TSM pulls off a huge Baron steal at 36 minutes, losing three of their team but taking down two EPIK members and chasing the remainder into EPIK’s base
• Reginald’s attempt at a Baron steal late game ended with a destructive return from Westrice’s Akali, dropping Reginald quickly and securing the buff for EPIK

Top Players: Westrice’s early 4-0 lead on kills kept his team in the fight early, and he remained dominant through the remainder of the first game. Chaox carried his team as Ezreal, throwing ultimates across the map and dominating the first game with a total of 446 minion kills.

Game 2

Key Plays:

• TSM pulls off a great attack at Dragon at 18 minutes, going three-for-two and picking up the team global gold
• TSM’s Xpecial and TheOddOne catcht Salce’s Janna in the bottom lane for a quick kill. Westrice as Vayne attempts to cover for his support but stays too long, and despite an expert stealth and juke at low health, gets taken out under his turret
• At 25 minutes, TSM takes Baron uncontested, then kills Dan Dinh and Salce in EPIK’s jungle on the way to pushing through EPIK’s middle inhibitor

Top Players: TSM rallied as a team to take Game Two, but TheRainMan’s Nasus was the difference maker. With five kills, zero deaths and 238 minion kills, he was instrumental in securing TSM’s victory.

Game 3

Key Plays:

• Dan Dinh takes out Xpecial’s Janna and Chaosx’ Tristana in the bottom lane with a perfectly executed gank from the jungle before the 10 minute mark
• The teams trade kills as EPIK takes out TSM’s outermost bottom tower, despite TheOddOne teleporting in behind EPIK in an attempt to surround the team
• TSM sacrifice TheOddOne and Reginald to take Baron and then push EPIK’s outermost middle turret, forcing EPIK to take a defensive tack
• Teams exchange middle inhibitor towers at 33 minutes, facilitated by EPIK capitalizing on a Baron kill; Reginald’s posthumous ultimate on Karthus repels EPIK’s push and sets TSM up for a great counter-attack

Top Players: As a team EPIK played nearly flawlessly. In this case, the team was greater than the sum of its parts.