LCS Summer 2019: Cloud9 vs CLG Semifinal Recap
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author Brandon Sturak
Contents
Game One
Cloud9 (“C9”) put on a clinic right out of the gate and took the first game versus Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”). C9 was extremely clean from the very beginning and CLG seemed to have no answers for what they wanted to do. Svenskeren got the ball rolling by ganking mid and getting First Blood for Nisqy. C9 then pulled those two to the top lane, where they dove Ruin and Nisqy picked up the kill again. From this point, C9's mid laner was a massive threat.
CLG did take the First Tower bonus, but in the mid-game, C9 used superior macro to knock down multiple towers. On the side lane, Nisqy showed how much he dominated the side lane by solo killing Ruin. CLG couldn't contest C9 as they destroyed tower after towers. At 27 minutes, C9 engaged onto CLG in the top lane, where they picked up two kills. This allowed them to secure a free Baron Nashor. CLG looked hopeless as C9 dismantled their base. Three Inhibitors fell without contest, then the Nexus Towers. CLG put up a half-hearted fight at the end, but C9 simply destroyed their Nexus in front of their faces.
QUICK STATS:
- Time: 30:25
- Kills: 8-2
- Turrets: 11-1
- Gold: 59.8k-50.1k
- Dragons: 3-1
- Barons: 1-0
Game Two
C9 played incredibly well in the second game to win it too. It felt closer than the first game, but it was clear that C9 was in control of the game from start to finish. First Blood came out in the top lane, where Licorice solo killed PowerOfEvil. C9's other solo laner, Nisqy, also solo killed his lane counterpart, Ruin. C9 snowballed these lanes into the bottom lane, where they brought four members to get two-for-one kills. Soon after, C9 won another skirmish in the river, killed PowerOfEvil in the top lane and claimed the First Tower bonus.
Throughout the mid-game, C9 turned up the heat on CLG. The team continued to find picks and team fight victories, and though CLG almost won a couple of them, C9 outperformed them at every turn. The game blew open for C9 at 23 minutes, when C9 killed three in a mid lane fight and took the Baron. This Baron wasn't devastating, as CLG managed to get three kills and stalled their siege. C9 clapped back at 29 minutes in another team fight, which they won four-for-zero, and demolished the middle Inhibitor. A minute later, one final battle occurred. C9 once again went four-for-zero and this gave them enough time to obliterate CLG's base, and ultimately, their Nexus.
QUICK STATS:
- Time: 31:09
- Kills: 8-25
- Turrets: 2-9
- Gold: 51.7k-62.4k
- Dragons: 1-3
- Barons: 0-1
Game Three
It looked like it was over. It looked like it would be another C9 stomp, but CLG declared they would not go quietly into the night by defeating C9 is Game Three. Despite their victory, it should have been C9's third win, as they dominated the early game and accumulated a peak 10k+ gold lead. Svenskeren was instrumental for this area, as he was outpacing Wiggily and setting up a whole lot of plays for his team. He helped both Licorice smash his lane and Sneaky get multiple Cash-Ins.
C9 took their Baron at 25 minutes, and with it destroyed two Inhibitors. They were pounding on the last standing Nexus Tower but Ruin, Stixxay and Biofrost pulled off a miracle fight to kill four. This is where the game flipped entirely in favor of CLG. They ran the map after this, taking a three-for-one team fight victory at 32 minutes that also netted them the Baron. With it, they knocked down multiple outer towers but no Inhibitor Towers. The teams danced around each other for a while, until the third Baron spawned. CLG rushed this down and secured it before C9 was able to show up. C9 engaged on the CLG squad, but CLG was ready and slaughtered them. They killed five-for-zero and immediately ran down the mid lane to claim their first Nexus of the series.
QUICK STATS:
- Time: 40:25
- Kills: 16-20
- Turrets: 10-9
- Gold: 72.0k-74.6k
- Dragons: 4-2
- Barons: 1-2
Game Four
This time, CLG had the momentum going into the game. Their draft gave them early advantages in the bottom and middle lanes, and through bottom lane towers dives and skirmishes accumulated a decent gold lead. Moving into the mid-game, CLG leveraged this lead in a 26-minute team fight, where they killed four from C9 and secured the Baron. C9 defended against this Baron very well by getting a pick and onto Ruin, then using a flank Teleport to get two more kills in a team fight.
Despite these minor victories, CLG was still in the lead. This was apparent at 33 minutes as CLG won another team fight four-for-one. They also took another Baron. But C9 wouldn't be outdone and found another great engage in the bottom lane. Next, C9 went to Elder and got that buff, which helped them win the ensuing fight. C9 killed four here and the Baron to boot. It only helped them take a few towers, so they had to wait for the second Elder. The teams met here again, and similarly, C9 claimed the buff. With such a massive damage buff, C9 obliterated CLG five-for-zero. Finally, C9 had the opportunity they needed to push down mid and destroy CLG's final Nexus of the series.
QUICK STATS:
- Time: 47:45
- Kills: 18-25
- Turrets: 6-10
- Gold: 84.2k-92.8k
- Dragons: 1-6
- Barons: 2-1
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