Nidalee's Jungle Masterclass Stuns Solary in Game 3
Movistar KOI Fénix defy a 24% pre-game odd as XnS's Nidalee dominates Solary in Game 3 of the WSCI 2026 series, keeping the series alive.
TL;DR: Movistar KOI Fénix defied a 24% pre-game odd to beat Solary in Game 3 of the 2026 World Star Challengers Invitational, with XnS's Nidalee posting a 9/0/7 and a +1037 gold lead at 15 minutes. The series now stands alive at Solary 2-1.
Key Takeaways
- XnS turned Nidalee into a one-woman army, finishing 9/0/7 with a +1037 gold advantage at minute 15 to decide the jungle matchup outright. - Movistar KOI Fénix closed the kill race 20-11 while taking 3 dragons to 0 and 7 towers to Solary's 3, converting control into a 54.6k to 47.7k gold edge. - Fresskowy's Galio sacrificed lane gold (-857 at 15) to feed 14 assists, proving the sacrifice pick paid off in the teamfight phase.
Early Game
Movistar KOI Fénix arrived at Game 3 with their tournament lives on the line, trailing 2-0 after Solary dismantled them twice. The pre-match market had priced this near-certain for Solary at roughly 76%, but the underdogs opened with intent. XnS on Nidalee set the tempo immediately, farming a +1037 gold lead over Zicssi's Wukong by the 15-minute mark. It was a genuine jungle diff in the making. The pre-draft analysis had flagged Wukong as a likely priority pick, and Solary took it — but the anticipated control never materialized, as the feline jungler outpaced her counterpart across every objective.
The Turning Point
The middle game belonged entirely to the visitors' mid-jungle axis. Fresskowy's Galio conceded -857 gold in lane but roamed relentlessly, racking up 14 assists as the engage catalyst for every fight. That selflessness unlocked 13 on Ezreal, who stayed flawless at 4/0/8 and pressured a +365 gold lane edge, while Myrtus's Rell (2/5/14) spent his life diving in to set up picks. Meanwhile NightSlayer's Ambessa absorbed a -809 gold lane deficit and still contributed two kills in the side lane. The draft edge analysts handed to Solary simply never converted; KDA totals of 3/6/4 for Zicssi and 0.83 for Jool on Syndra told the story of a team repeatedly caught out of position.
Closing Out
Movistar KOI Fénix never let the throttle off. Three dragons went unanswered, a Baron fell uncontested, and seven towers crumbled against three for the French side. The 27:10 duration was brisk for a team protecting a series deficit — they simply steamrolled. In doing so they flipped the wider picture: a series the market had nearly settled at 97% for Solary now reads 88% to 12%, and the underdogs have a pulse heading into Game 4.
Polymarket Market
The market got this game emphatically wrong. Polymarket priced Movistar KOI Fénix at just 24% before the series and held that number right through draft close, yet the actual draft handed XnS a Nidalee that Solary had no answer for. What the market could not model was the collapse of the Wukong jungle matchup and the willingness of Fresskowy on Galio to abandon lane for vision and picks. The series market swung hard after the result: Solary slid 8.9 percentage points from 97% to 88%, while KOI Fénix climbed the same 8.9 points to 12%. Notably, the pre-match series odd had already leaned Solary at 76%, so the day's events partially restored a narrative the market had buried.
FAQ
Q: Why did Movistar KOI Fénix's jungle pick decide Game 3? A: XnS's Nidalee reached a +1037 gold lead at 15 minutes and finished 9/0/7, while Zicssi's Wukong ended at 3/6/4 — a jungle diff that handed KOI Fénix 3 dragons to 0.
Q: Did the pre-draft predictions about Solary's draft advantage hold up?
No. Solary held the theoretical edge with picks like Wukong and Syndra, but those champions combined for six deaths each, and the draft advantage was overcome in-game.
*Data: draftlol draft & meta model — WSCI 2026 stats, snapshot 2026-09-27 UTC.*
*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-09-27 08:08 UTC.*