Turkish representatives Galatasaray Esports (GS) top the Group B and had an impressive start by defeating Unicorns of Love and Beyond Gaming. With an undefeated record at 2-0, they would have an early chance of qualifying to the Group Stages.
In their first match against Beyond Gaming (BYG), they swiftly beat them within 34 minutes. GS dominated the top half of the map early on and had alot of control over jungle and top lane. BYG was not able to capitalise on any opportunities and subsequently succumbed to GS’s pressure through snowballing efforts with their objective control and securing their win quickly before BYG could comeback.
In GS’s second game against CIS’s Unicorns of Love (UOL), GS Onur Can “Bolulu” Demirol was leading the way, given his huge experience in multiple international events. UOL was looking to bounce back after their initial lost against DFM but they struggled for the early part of the game with GS aggressive push. Things went off well for GS while they managed to gain control of the neutral objectives in the earlier part of the game. It was pretty quiet in the first eight minutes until GS pushed up towards top lane and grabbed the early kills three for two. After that UOL tried to gain back domination for the top lane but was backfired as GS strong teamfight got them a good trade three for one in their advantage.
GS Alive also managed to get a solo kill against Argonavt at the bottom lane. By then, UOL started to lose steam as GS had practically controlled every parts of the map and was en route towards another win. They subsequently claimed the First Tower bonus and caught Nomanz unguarded, eventually gaining two kills. By mid-game, GS engaged in midlane and were rewarded heavily with three kills and the dragon. UOL tried to retaliate with Herald and also took down a tower but it seems their efforts were not enough.
As soon as Ocean Soul dragon spawned, it became intense between the two teams as they went back to-and-fro. GS managed to secure the Soul which got them a good advantage while UOL were slowly withering and trapped in their own base. The final showdown came when GS got hold of Baron. Equipped with the strong buff, they became unstoppable and pushed down multiple lanes and drove UOL out of the game.
Galatasaray Esports shows that they are formidable for the World Championship as they look forward to the Group Stages.