LCS Summer 2019: Week Six Day One Recap

Team SoloMid vs Clutch Gaming

Team SoloMid (“TSM”) kicked off the weekend with an exciting win over Clutch Gaming (“CG”). It was back and forth, but TSM's mid/late game shot-calling proved superior. Akaadian got First Blood in a gank top, while also helping to dive bottom and kill the CG duo. TSM had a solid lead as they amassed more kills and a ton of towers, but CG managed to make moves back into the game. First, they killed Broken Blade in the side lane. Next, they won a team fight in the mid lane two-for-zero.

This fight allowed them to take Baron, and it appeared that they took the lead on TSM. But it didn't last long. At 28 minutes, TSM won a bottom lane team fight two-for-zero and destroyed two Inhibitors afterward. Just like that TSM were back in the driver's seat. As the second Baron spawned TSM caught out and killed Lira, allowing them to easily secure the buff for themselves. Eventually, TSM claimed the Elder Dragon too, then pushed into the CG base. They knocked down all three Inhibitors and moved onto the Nexus, destroying that too with little resistance.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 37:42
• Kills: 12-5
• Turrets: 11-6
• Gold: 71.3k-62.9k
• Dragons: 5-1
• Barons: 1-1

Team Liquid vs Counter Logic Gaming

In the second match of the day, Team Liquid (“TL”) defeated Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”) for sole possession of first place. It ended up being a long game, but TL won in the end. CLG tried to focus the top lane, which did get them a small lead for Ruin, but TL played through the bottom side to greater success. This let Doublelift and CoreJJ get a lead for themselves and fight, which was a decisive factor in them winning a few skirmishes.

When the mid-game rolled around, CLG rushed the Baron but TL engaged, killed one and took the Baron for themselves. With this first one, TL destroyed a few towers and the top and middle Inhibitors. It should've been a short game from here but CLG mounted a respectable defense after TL took their second Baron. Ruin popped off in a team fight and carried his team to a five-for-four team fight victory. Another Baron was claimed by TL, and this one was the one to finally destroy all three Inhibitors, kill four from CLG, and demolish their Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 37:04
• Kills: 16-11
• Turrets: 11-1
• Gold: 75.1k-63.0k
• Dragons: 4-1
• Barons: 3-0

Golden Guardians vs FlyQuest

FlyQuest (“FLY”) continued their upswing with a convincing win over Golden Guardians (“GGS”). They did so with some unique picks, including V1per's signature Riven and Jarvan IV support. There isn't too much to go over this game, as it was very quiet during the early game and all that happened was a lot of farming. It took until 14 minutes for the team to fight, and when they did, they didn't hold back. A full team fight erupted, where FLY came out on top three-for-zero.

After that, there was a fight in the middle lane that went one-for-one. But FLY asserted their dominance again at 20 minutes, where they fought GGS and killed three of them again. This gave them a large lead that FLY utilized to secure a Baron buff at 21 minutes. This buff gave them the power to push down a couple of towers and win another team fight two-for-one. At 27 minutes a final team fight broke out in GGS' jungle and FLY wiped their opponents off the map. They Ace'd GGS and obliterated their base, ultimately including their Nexus too.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 27:40
• Kills: 4-14
• Turrets: 2-8
• Gold: 43.2k-53.8k
• Dragons: 2-1
• Barons: 0-1

Echo Fox vs Cloud9

Game four was a very long match, but after 50 minutes Echo Fox (“FOX”) eventually reigned supreme over Cloud9 (“C9”). C9 controlled the early game through a series of top lane plays though, as Blaber and Kumo gained significant advantages together. On the other hand, FOX was ahead in the middle and bottom lanes, and each team leveraged its advantages on the respective sides of the map. The first Baron fell to FOX at 28 minutes after getting two kills, which gave them a few towers but nothing too significant.

The second Baron spawned, but FOX disregarded it and took Elder instead, giving C9 the Baron. These buffs timed out as the teams hesitated to make any proactive moves. Both teams waited even longer and yet another Baron and Elder spawned. At 43 minutes now, C9 and FOX danced around the Elder, and C9 ended up securing the buff but losing two members for it. As a result, FOX took the Baron and used it to destroy an Inhibitor. But of course, neither team would push any farther until a third Elder descended to the Rift. Both teams met here again and finally committed to a team fight. Here, FOX won four-for-two in kills, which gave them the opportunity to finally end the gruelingly long game.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 51:14
• Kills: 14-14
• Turrets: 10-5
• Gold: 90.9k-83.4k
• Dragons: 4-3
• Barons: 2-1

OpTic Gaming vs 100 Thieves

100 Thieves (“100T”) looked great in the last game of the day as they defeated OpTic Gaming (“OPT”). 100T did find some advantages in the bottom lane, as Bang got First Blood in the 2v2 and a dive gave the team two more kills. But OPT struck back by forcing the First Tower bonus in the top lane. In the next few minutes, there were picks from both teams and they each destroyed their own sets of towers. Rubble lay all around the map and the teams went into the mid-game relatively even.

Next, OPT caught out Bang and tried to take the Baron, but 100T pushed them off the buff after a brief skirmish. The Baron was spared for a few more minutes but at 28 minutes 100T rushed the Baron and secured its buff. With it, they began their siege in the middle and top lanes. It didn't appear they would accomplish too much but all of a sudden 100T picked off Crown's Azir. This emboldened the 100T squad and they dove the tower to kill three more OPT champions. As such, there was no resistance when 100T smashed their Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 33:02
• Kills: 10-12
• Turrets: 5-8
• Gold: 56.9k-59.6k
• Dragons: 2-2
• Barons: 0-1

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