SU Esports Level the Series with a Lee Sin Snowball

TL;DR: Facing elimination after losing Game 1, SU Esports found another gear: Kaboom’s Lee Sin built a huge early lead, Vetheo’s Ahri controlled the fights, and three dragons helped fuel a 15-5 win over Verdant in 21:30. The decisive performance made it 1-1 in the EMEA Masters 2026 LCQ series.

Key Takeaways

• Kaboom put Lee Sin +2537 gold ahead at 15, turning early jungle pressure into the engine of SU Esports’ snowball.
• Vetheo delivered a 13.00 KDA on Ahri, anchoring the fights as Verdant’s mid lane finished 0/5/2.
• SU Esports secured 3 dragons to 0 and ended with 40.7k to 31.2k gold, converting map control into a commanding win.

Building the Lead

The loss in Game 1 had left SU Esports one defeat from elimination. Their response was immediate and forceful: the plan was to connect Lee Sin and Alistar’s engage to their carries, and Kaboom’s early advantage made that plan hard for Verdant to disrupt. By 15 minutes, he held a +2537 gold difference, while opposing jungler Mafro was down the same amount.

That gulf turned the map into a series of uncomfortable choices for Verdant. Their composition could threaten coordinated engages and had late-fight promise through Orianna and Gangplank, but it needed time to mature. SU Esports instead pressed the advantage, claiming 3 dragons to 0 and preventing Verdant from establishing control over objectives.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The final 15-5 kill score reflected more than a lead in skirmishes: it showed how consistently SU Esports could start fights on their terms. Vetheo’s Ahri finished 4/1/9, a 13.00 KDA that captured his role as a reliable follow-up threat whenever Kaboom found an opening.

At the same time, Verdant’s damage plan struggled to come online. Sayn’s Orianna ended 0/5/2, while Mishi’s Jhin managed 2/2/3. SU Esports’ advantage reached 9.5k gold, with 40.7k to 31.2k overall, and the team took 4 towers to 0. Neither side claimed a Baron, but SU Esports did not need one to make the gap decisive.

The draft model had favored SU Esports at 51%. That narrow edge did materialize in-game, but execution was the difference between a slight prediction advantage and a rout: the early jungle lead, clean objective control, and Ahri’s fight presence all delivered on SU Esports’ direct win condition.

The Final Push

In just 21:30, SU Esports turned a survival game into a statement. The 2026 EMEA Masters result evened the series at 1-1, keeping them alive and sending the contest to a deciding game. Verdant had arrived with the series lead; now they had to recover from a loss in which their threats never found time to scale.

Polymarket Market

At draft close, the game market had SU Esports at 55% and Verdant at 46%, treating the matchup as close to a coin flip. The eventual winner matched the market’s slight lean, but the game itself was far less balanced: a +2537 jungle gold difference at 15, a 15-5 kill score, and 3-0 dragons showed how thoroughly SU Esports’ execution outpaced the near-even expectation. The series market shifted sharply after the result, moving from 38% for SU Esports at draft close to 64% afterward, while Verdant fell from 62% to 36%. That reversal makes Game 3 a test of whether Verdant can reset after losing its series advantage.

FAQ

*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-09-23 20:02 UTC.*