LCS Summer 2019: Week Three Day One Recap

Team Liquid vs FlyQuest

Team Liquid (“TL”) kicked off the day with a good win over FlyQuest (“FLY”). They appeared to be back on form, calmly coming back after a rough early game. Jensen bore the brunt of this, getting ganked by Santorin and then tower dove shortly after, dying both times. But after this, Xmithie empowered his bottom lane to succeed. He ganked for them, and a few minutes after they found a kill in the 2v2.

Once TL got to the mid game they looked a lot better. They used pressure to take multiple objectives, including the First Tower bonus and an Infernal Dragon. FLY did manage to engage a good fight, which led to a Baron, but TL killed off three TL members and nullified the buff. After a few minutes the teams met in the river to fight. TL emerged victorious four-for-zero. This gave them control over the Baron, which allowed them to take it at 28 minutes. They won the ensuing team fight and quickly pushed through the top lane to blast the Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 29:48
• Kills: 15-4
• Turrets: 10-3
• Gold: 59.8k-48.0k
• Dragons: 2-1
• Barons: 1-1

Cloud9 vs OpTic Gaming

Cloud9 (“C9”) handed OpTic Gaming (“OPT”) their first loss of the split in the second game of the day. They gained an advantage early and snowballed it effectively. Nisqy, on Yasuo, received First Blood by collapsing on Meteos in the river. Soon after Licorice solo killed Licorice, then C9 dove Dhokla to kill him again to take his tower. OPT's bottom lane secured the First Tower bonus and a large lead, but it wouldn't be enough.

Throughout the mid game C9 bullied the side lanes. There were multiple collapses on Crown in the top lane, while Licorice solo killed Dhokla bottom again. Moving forward, C9 knocked down multiple towers after taking the first Baron. The fight finally came at 32 minutes, where C9 killed two, then took an Inhibitor and a second Baron. With the buff C9 destroyed multiple Inhibitors as the pushed into OPT's base. One last team fight broke out in the top lane, but C9 easily Ace'd OPT with no losses of their own as they moved on towards the Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 36:33
• Kills: 18-6
• Turrets: 11-2
• Gold: 73.3k-62.0k
• Dragons: 3-3
• Barons: 2-0

Counter Logic Gaming vs Echo Fox

The third game of the day showcased Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”) taking down Echo Fox (“FOX”) in a gruelingly long game. Their early game was propelled by Wiggily, who successfully ganked mid to get PowerOfEvil First Blood and top to get a kill for himself on Solo. After this he controlled the neutral objectives and secured the First Tower bonus.

But FOX struck back. First, Fenix dove and solo killed Ruin. Then FOX won a team fight four-for-one and secured a Baron buff. With it they did some damage, but CLG defended well. At 33 minutes, CLG regained control of the game by winning a team fight and taking a Baron of their own. This allowed them to also take the first Elder Dragon and all three Inhibitors. FOX repelled them by killing three, but afterwards CLG regrouped and took their second Baron and Elder buffs. These buffs proved too strong, and CLG killed multiple members and respawned Inhibitors before finally destroying the Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 42:56
• Kills: 16-12
• Turrets: 11-5
• Gold: 82.5k-79.9k
• Dragons: 5-1
• Barons: 2-1

Clutch Gaming vs Team SoloMid

Team SoloMid (“TSM”) dominated Clutch Gaming (“CG”) in the fourth match of the day. The team played well together, as Zven killed Vulcan for First Blood in the isolated 2v2. Though CG visited the bottom lane a few minutes later and got two kills, it couldn't stop TSM from taking their tower for the First Tower bonus.  TSM furthered their lead with a team fight win in the middle lane two-for-one.

From here TSM controlled the map and secured multiple objectives. The teams traded towers as the teams set up around the Baron pit. At 29 minutes TSM used their vision control to take the Baron, and killed a CG member when they tried to contest. After a quick reset TSM sieged CG's base and knocked down multiple towers. Eventually they took two Inhibitors and set up the Baron again. TSM slayed the second Baron, then Bjergsen and Broken Blade Teleported into the CG base to try and end the game. They didn't finish it themselves, but once the rest of the squad showed up CG's Nexus shattered before their eyes.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 37:18
• Kills: 4-9
• Turrets: 3-11
• Gold: 61.9k-73.8k
• Dragons: 0-3
• Barons: 0-2

100 Thieves vs Golden Guardians

The Golden Guardians (“GGS”) finished off the day with a win over 100 Thieves (“100T”). They focused their strategy on the bottom side of the map, initiating a play that turned into a full-fledged team fight as early as five minutes. This gave them First Blood and an extra kill on the board. Both junglers made a bunch of early moves, and Deftly even turned around a 1v3 tower dive to kill two 100T members at the cost of his life.

In the mid game There were a number of fights, but the one at 22 minutes gave GGS a large lead, as they secured a kill and the Baron buff. They knocked down some towers, but didn't get an Inhibitors until the buff expired. The pressure this exerted helped them to slay the second Baron at 29 minutes. Next, GGS moved forward into the 100T base and demolished all three Inhibitors. One last team fight resulted in an Ace for GGS, and they claimed the Nexus.

QUICK STATS:

• Time: 32:58
• Kills: 12-18
• Turrets: 3-11
• Gold: 53.7k-65.6k
• Dragons: 0-4
• Barons: 0-2

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