The pros predicted it would be NA LCS All-Star mid laner Bjergsen who would bring home the 1 vs. 1 Tournament trophy, and after four days of battling through a 30-man bracket, he’s done it. 

After defeating his new Team SoloMid teammate Doublelift in the Finals, Bjergsen laughed as recalled how the series played out. “Before the game, I asked Peter if he wanted to do mirror match ups and he said he’d do either Lee Sin or Jarvan IV. And I was like, ‘that’s so boring.'”

“I said, ‘how about we play our signature champions? Zed and Vayne. And for the last game we’ll figure it out on the fly if we make it that far.'” 

The first two games went how you’d expect — with each of the pros winning on their respective signature champions. “He outplayed me pretty handedly on Vayne. I messed up the Condemn,” Bjergsen says, face palming. “In the Zed game, he jumped into the tower. So we’re equally bad on each other’s champions. Then we ended up playing Vel’Koz in the Finals.”

The first two champions made sense, but Vel’Koz was a surprise. Why did they go for the void creature? “Through normal 1 vs. 1s on Summoner’s Rift, with a bunch of different people, we all came to the conclusion that Vel’Koz is one of the most skilled,” Bjergsen explains. “You can use your Plasma Fission (Q) around minions, you can bait them out with skill shots, and shoot them different directions. He’s a really skilled 1 vs. 1 champion.”

According to Bjergsen, both he and Doublelift practiced intensely for the 1 vs. 1 Tournament. “I really didn’t want to go out in the first or second round. So Doublelift and I practiced a lot of games. Like 20, 30, 40 games against each other.” 

“There are a lot of things that are different [about playing 1 vs. 1]. There are brushes in the middle of the lane that you can use to dodge out skillshots,” he explains. “It’s also very important to control that brush with either a ward, or you can dodge in and out of it.”

“There’s also the health relics, and you need to keep a timer and make sure you can steal theirs or defend your own,” Bjergsen continues. “There’s just all kinds of different timings, because if you take it earlier obviously it comes back up earlier. There are a lot of different strategies and it’s a different champ pool.” 

“It’s funny we met at the Finals, because he knew what I played a lot and I knew what he played a lot,” says Bjergsen. 

And while Bjergsen did have fun in the Finals, he said that he also had a great time playing against LCK All-Star AD Carry PraY in the Semifinals. “I’d never really talked to PraY before, but his English is good! We were talking throughout the whole match.”

“Every single time I’d land a Lucian Piercing Light (Q), he’d be like, ‘Oh wow! So much damage!’ and every time he’d land one he’d say, ‘Got you, got you!’ It was just a really fun match to play. And then obviously playing Doublelift in the Finals was fun too.”

It was a well-fought battle, and Bjergsen’s well-deserved win earned Team Fire 150 points!