Two teams that faced relegation at the end of last season, Echo Fox and Phoenix1, squared off with hopes of starting the new year with a win. In a series featuring a couple of notable North American League Championship Series debuts, Phoenix1 made a statement -- along with a couple of highlight-reel plays -- and swept the series 2-0 on Friday.
Echo Fox rookie Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham had a hot start to Game 1 on Rek'Sai, taking out P1's Ryu "Ryu" Sang-wook's Lissandra at three minutes for first blood, and then again 30 seconds later, when Ryu teleported back to lane. Phoenix1 would catch up, however, thanks to a massive 5-on-5 teamfight at 8:30 which P1 aced, only losing Rami "Inori" Charagh's signature Rengar.
Things would descend into chaos in the mid game, with several minutes of nonstop fighting and questionable positioning from both sides. After minutes of fruitless tussle, Henrik "Froggen" Hansen's LeBlanc put Echo Fox ahead with a triple kill to secure a 4-for-0 teamfight and Baron at around 29 minutes.
Despite these heroics, Phoenix1 clawed their way into the lead through strong teamfighting and Inori, who put P1 in the driver's seat for good with an official triple kill around 35 minutes. With a final messy fight going 5-for-1 in P1's favor, Phoenix1 held on to take Game 1, which featured a full kill per minute, in 38 minutes.
Game 2 began much like Game 1 did, with Akaadian's Rek'Sai picking up first blood at around five minutes. Echo Fox's strategy of picking their signature champions looked solid throughout the early game, with Austin "Gate" Yu hitting a three-man Flay on Thresh to give Echo Fox a 3-for-1 teamfight win around 15 minutes.
Phoenix1 would surge into the lead when Ryu's Orianna hit a game-changing Command: Shockwave on four members of Echo Fox at 21 minutes. Ryu's huge play secured a 4-for-0 teamfight win and a Baron for P1, who would flood their way down mid lane and break through Echo Fox's defenses to take a stunning win in just under 25 minutes.