Curse Academy

Team Coast

Team Fusion

Final Five

Final Five vs. Team Fusion – 2pm EST/8pm CET, December 12.

Curse Academy vs. Team Coast - 5pm EST/11pm CET, December 12.

Curse Academy, Team Coast, Team Fusion, and Final Five.Up until this point, all matches have been played online. As we enter this next round, the teams enter a new venue. They will face off live at ESL’s Los Angeles studio. This adds new elements to the competition, as they will have to face the pressure of coming face-to-face with their opponents for the first time.This also marks the beginning of a double elimination bracket. The winner of the Semifinal (fourth round-upper bracket) and the winner of the Losers Final (fifth round-lower bracket) will both earn a spot in the new 10-team LCS.Each team, aside from Final Five, has had a relatively simple time getting to this point in the tournament, but even they have made short work of their opponents after getting over their first-match jitters. Each remaining team has unique dynamic of players and a play-style different than the rest. They all have the ability to beat their opposition this weekend, and they all have had to tread their own path on the road to expansion.Led by some well-known veteran players such as Saintvicious and Cop; Curse Academy pre-qualified for the NA Expansion Tournament, which earned them a first-round bye. They put in an impressive performance against a lackluster Complexity White team in the second round. Their next challenge is surely going to be a more difficult one. Team Coast will not go quietly, and are just as eager to see a return to the LCS as Saintvicious is.Out of those remaining, Team Coast might be the team who has gone through the most together. Highs and lows, none of it is unfamiliar to the players. After finishing 2nd in the Season 3 LCS Spring Split, they found themselves in back-to-back relegation playoffs. While they were able to stay up the first time, the second time saw them fall from the LCS. They now find themselves in the midst of the Expansion Tournament, with another shot at entry to the LCS on the line. If they can play like they did in their first two matchups, then they will certainly create some problems for Curse Academy.Team Fusion is comprised of an extremely capable group of players. They feature a backbone of well-known American players such as Gleeb, NintendudeX, and Nien. On top of that, they pack a power-punch of Korean talent in Huhi and fan-favorite, MakNooN. Between their players and their staff, they have a lot of high-level experience in their corner. If they can keep the momentum going into their next matches, we might just see MakNooN and his star-studded side playing in the LCS this season!In steps the unsung heroes of the expansion tournament thus far. Final Five are the only team remaining in the Expansion Tournament to have dropped games to an opponent. It came in their first match. Since then, they tightened up their play and seemingly came to life! A group of relative unknowns in the competitive, they seem to thrive off of the fact that every team sees them as underdogs. They have shown that, despite popular belief, opposing teams cannot ban them out, and that they are prepared to crush even the most well-known opposition. After a dominating second round, look for Final Five to continue turning heads when they play against Team Fusion later today.Thanks for following SK Gaming and be sure to tune into na.lolesports.com today and tomorrow to find out what happens in the final rounds of the NA LCS Expansion Tournament!