Molotovs and Marshmallows (MnM) got through a shaky semi-final and turned around a 1-0 deficit in the final to win their first ever ESL UK League of Legends Premiership.
They defeated Epiphany Bolt (formerly Last Remedy) 2-1 at MCM London Comic Con to secure the top spot and advance to the European League of Legends Challenger Series qualifiers.
MnM picked up £2,500 for finishing first, as well as £500 for each group stage victory; runners-up Epiphany Bolt won £1,250 for the second place spot.
It was a particularly special and redeeming win for MnM, as the team lost their previous UK Premiership final playing as ManaLight against Renegades Banditos (who later rebranded to Misfits and qualified for the LCS).
ManaLight folded soon after, but the team soon found a new home in MnM.
And today they have etched themselves into UK League of Legends’ history as winners of the Summer 2016 ESL UK Premiership.
But it wasn’t an easy ride.
MnM lost their first game in the semi-final against TCA, however they came back in game two to win comfortably. Game three was a topsy turvey affair that could have gone either way, but MnM eventually won it with 34 kills to 27.
MNM WIN! THEY ARE GOING TO THE FINALS! pic.twitter.com/eBNQkRqLMc
— ESL United Kingdom (@ESLUK) 29 October 2016
In the other close semi-final, Epiphany Bolt beat exceL eSports 2-1. The third game involved a contentious moment towards the end, when xL’s mid laner Lukezy’s computer froze.
xL paused the game for a while as they pushed for a rematch, but with the schedule already behind and the game looking like it was almost over, the ESL admins gave the game – and the match – to Epiphany Bolt.
The final itself was another close one overall. Epiphany Bolt dominated the first game, with a 24-14 scoreline. Jungler Broxah and ADC Toaster put in a brilliant performance as Nidalee and Caitlyn respectively.
In game two, MnM banned both of those champions and fought hard to win 21-15.
In the third and final game, Epiphany Bolt made the mistake of allowing MnM mid-laner Larssen to pick Ryze. He proceeded to tear Epiphany Bolt apart, going 6/0/4, while ADC Smiley went 6/1/1 as Ezreal.
The reaction of the team clearly shows what winning means to them.
MnM’s victory in the ESL UK Premiership follows their i58 win in the summer, when they beat TCA.
They join Team Infused and Renegades Banditos (Misfits) as winners of the ESL UK LoL Premiership.
Mid-laner Larssen said: “It means a lot to us, because last time in the ESL UK final we lost to Renegades Banditos, so we really wanted to win this time.
“We worried a little bit after we lost our first game, but I was still quite confident. There was some pressure on us after [our CSGO team won yesterday.”
“It means a lot to us, because last time in the ESL UK final we lost to Renegades Banditos, so we really wanted to win this time.”
Larssen, MnM
Jungler Phurion added: “You have to play each game as its own, don’t focus on the entire series, you’ve got to bottle up your emotions, put that doubt behind you and go in fully confident, and that’s what we did – we managed to get the two wins in the end.”
Elsewhere at Comic Con, BBC Radio 4 interviewed some of the players and staff at the UK LoL finals, while Street Fighter and Rocket League matches were running. Yesterday, MnM also won the CSGO UK Prem.
The Overwatch finals and the Red Bull 5G tournament final take place on Sunday October 30th. MnM are also in the Overwatch final against Reason, and will be looking to win their third UK Premiership of the weekend.
You can watch all the League of Legends LAN finals matches from this weekend on ESL LoL UK’s Twitch stream.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
