Solary’s Nocturne-Led Run Sets the Tone Against ZSK

TL;DR: Solary extended their winning run to 4 by beating ZSK (Chinese Team) in 41:40 at the 2026 WSCI. Zicssi’s Nocturne fought back from -1556 gold at 15 to finish with 72% kill participation, while Piero’s Alistar anchored the late fights with a 12.50 KDA. The result matched the pre-match prediction.

Key Takeaways

• Zicssi finished 5/10/16 on Nocturne after a -1556 GoldDiff@15, and his 72% kill participation helped drive Solary’s comeback.
• Piero posted a 12.50 KDA on Alistar, giving Solary a durable engage and peel anchor in the decisive fights.
• Solary claimed 29-25 kills and 2 Barons to 1, converting a close contest into an 88.4k to 79.8k gold win.

Early Game

Solary arrived at the World Star Challengers Invitational with a 3W-0L record and had already beaten ZSK (Chinese Team) 1-0. The pre-match read pointed to Aetinoth’s late-game threat: his earlier 11/2/7 on Yunara and +3,716 GD@15 made him a clear focal point. As predicted, Solary won, though this game’s path was far less straightforward than a favorite’s odds suggested.

ZSK struck first through the jungle matchup. sorrow1 Kindred held a +1556 GoldDiff@15 advantage over Zicssi’s Nocturne, while xingye’s Corki also led Aetinoth’s Jhin by +1148. Those early edges gave ZSK room to threaten, but they did not settle the map: both teams took 3 dragons, and Solary’s carries stayed involved as the game stretched toward its late stages.

The Turning Point

Solary’s answer was not a single lane winning outright, but repeated fights in which their composition could reconnect. Piero’s Alistar finished with 24 assists against just 2 deaths, and Jool’s Orianna added 19 assists. Their coordination gave Nocturne openings to enter fights even as his early gold deficit lingered.

The kill race remained tight, with Solary eventually taking it 29-25. ZSK’s Kindred still recorded 12/5/10, but Solary’s Jhin became the sharper late-game finisher: Aetinoth ended 13/3/7, turning the early -1148 deficit into the match’s leading kill total. The shift in threat let Solary contest major objectives rather than simply absorb pressure.

Closing Out

At 41:40, Solary’s objective control completed the reversal. They secured 10 towers to ZSK’s 6, and took 2 Barons against 1; with dragons even at 3-3, the difference came from converting their Baron windows into map control and gold. Solary closed at 88.4k gold, ahead of ZSK’s 79.8k, and extended their winning run to 4.

Polymarket Market

At draft close, the market gave Solary an 84% chance and ZSK 16%, so the favorite delivered the expected result. That probability read the winner correctly, but the match itself revealed a tougher route than a straightforward favorite’s performance: ZSK’s early jungle and bot-lane gold leads created real pressure, while Solary’s engage and team-fight coordination ultimately outweighed them. The 41:40 finish and shared 3-3 dragons underline how the game stayed contested before Baron control separated the sides. This result closes the series (Solary 1-0 ZSK (Chinese Team)); the full series-market wrap-up belongs in the series recap.

FAQ

*Odds via Polymarket, 2026-09-23 11:37 UTC.*