Friday started - and ended - with some very interesting group matches.

• Invictus Gaming versus Fnatic kicked the day. Fans were wondering whether or not the Chinese would face difficulties transitioning between patches, but boy, did they show us they could. Invictus demonstrated the trademark Chinese aggression throughout the game and managed to clinch the win in dominating fashion.
• Next up would be KT Rolster Bullets versus Millenium, which had all eyes on inSec's and Araneae's jungle performances. The early game would prove this matchup to be interesting indeed, with the dynamics of the game entirely decided by the actions of the junglers.​ The Koreans would take the lead, however, and perfectly snowballed their poke composition into a victory.

• The group A winners' finals had the Korean KT Rolster Bullets face Chinese Invictus Gaming. Invictus would take the lead for most of the game, but in an unexpected turn of events, it was the Bullets who took the win.
• The losers' match was between regional rivals Fnatic versus Millenium. Millenium pulled out a refreshing disengage composition with Zilean and Hecarim and successfully fended off Fnatic's early game team composition to drag it to their beloved late game. In one of the most exciting matches of the day, Fnatic would eventually take the win, but not without Millenium making a name for themselves on the world stage.​

• AZUBU Taipei Assassins versus Gambit Gaming sadly wasn't the epic showdown we expected it to be. The Assassins came up with an interesting Lee Sin top pick, while Gambit gave Karthus his debut in Katowice. Achie was most definitely the MVP of this game, exerting pressure in just about every lane. Credit also goes to TPA's Morning, who ran circles around Alex Ich and Diamondprox. Gambit Gaming fell in a one-sided game to the Assassin's impeccable play.
• ​Team WE versus Cloud 9 HyperX was a convincing win for the Americans. In an uneventful game, Team WE struggled to defend their towers and Cloud 9 HyperX slowly accumulated a gold lead that would eventually allow them to hard push the Chinese base and net them a win in the first international matchup of their lives.
• Cloud 9 HyperX had even less trouble with the AZUBU Taipei Assassins. Hai's roaming on LeBlanc snowballed Balls in the top lane, and the Assassins dropped the ball on a dragon that should have been theirs. In a rather one-sided match, the Americans clinched the win.

Tomorrow at 12:00 CET, we'll see the AZUBU Taipei Assassins duke it out with Team WE. After that, the rest of the matches up to and including the semifinals will be played. Make sure you tune in at twitch.tv/esltv_lol!