LCS: Week Four Day Two Recap
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author Brandon Sturak
Contents
100 Thieves v Echo Fox
Echo Fox (“FOX”) dominated 100 Thieves (“100T”) in their second game of the LCS week four. With the Malphite counter pick into Jayce, FOX got a lead early on and never let go. It started at six minutes, where FOX stole an Ocean Dragon from 100T and secured First Blood for Fenix. A minute later, FOX's bottom lane duo killed Bang in lane. It got even better when FOX won a skirmish in the top lane and killed two more 100T members. They kept up the pressure bottom, grabbing the First Tower bonus too.
100T showed some signs of life when they managed to go one-for-one in a top river skirmish, but FOX made sure they snuffed it out quickly. They continued to smash towers, using Rift Herald to great use. During all this time FOX killed three Ocean Dragons and an Infernal Dragon.
A play bottom looked great for 100T, as they collapsed to counter FOX aggression, but yet again FOX came out on top. At 24 minutes FOX started the Baron, forcing 100T to respond. As 100T came closer, FOX turned on and off the objective to kill a total of three 100T players. With too many casualties, 100T had no choice but to let FOX secure the buff.
FOX was swift with the Baron buff. They pushed the middle and bottom lanes, destroying multiple towers and both Inhibitors by 28 minutes. FOX continued to siege the base, and only after they destroyed two Nexus Towers did 100T try to stop them. But it was too late, FOX easily killed three of their opponents and smashed their Nexus at 29 minutes.
Golden Guardians v Counter Logic Gaming
Golden Guardians (“GGS”) continue their resurgence over Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”). Much like in the game before, GGS obtained an early lead and snowballed it well. At five minutes, GGS slayed their first Infernal Dragon but lost First Blood for it. Later on, Contractz secured the Rift Herald while Hauntzer solo killed Darshan. A two-versus-two in the top lane between top laners and junglers resulted in Hauntzer getting two kills, making him a monster.
GGS used the Rift Herald to knock off some turret plates, and snagged the First Tower bonus in the top side some time later. GGS kept up pressure, taking towers and Dragons constantly. The first major team fight happened at 23 minutes near the middle lane. GGS wiped two CLG members off the map and turned for Baron. They secured the buff at 24 minutes and used it to destroy all the remaining towers outside of CLG's base.
After opening up the map, GGS found a pick onto Darshan. This prompted them to try to get another Baron, but CLG managed to push them off temporarily. The teams stayed near each other though, which was perfect for GGS. They re-engaged the fight and killed Stixxay. Without their ADC, CLG had to let GGS take their second Baron.
GGS used this buff efficiently. They pushed the middle and bottom lanes, while CLG desperately tried to defend but couldn't handle to split pressure. GGS destroyed both Inhibitors by 35 minutes. They bode their time and applied more pressure, which eventually became too much for CLG to deal with. At 37 minutes a final team fight broke out, and GGs found one kill, then another. They pushed forward to bring down CLG's Nexus at 38 minutes.
Team Liquid v Team SoloMid
Team SoloMid (“TSM”) handed Team Liquid (“TL”) their first loss of the split. It was largely due to their draft, as TL first picked Yorick and had no way to enable Doublelift. First Blood was secured by TSM in the bottom lane, but Doublelift had his revenge by killing the TSM bottom lane duo. The most crucial kill happened in the top lane though. Akaadian ganked Impact, and Broken Blade killed him. The Jax was ahead and he was set to take over the game.
TL had control of the bottom side of the map while TSM controlled the top. This showed when TL killed Akaadian in the bottom lane and killed a Dragon, while TSM won a skirmish two-for-one in the top lane and killed the Rift Herald. TL was able to find some picks, but Broken Blade's Jax was terrorizing the side lane. Both teams traded objectives while waiting for Baron.
After 20 minutes the game slowed down for a bit, as the teams tried to play around the side lane. The teams both had very strong points to play around. Broken Blade was dominating the side lane while Doublelift's Sivir threatened to obliterate team fights. It was at 28 minutes when everyone saw how strong Broken Blade was. He dove Impact under an Inhibitor Tower, killed him and Teleported straight to Baron. TSM blew the game wide open in one fell swoop.
Within the next few minutes, TSM destroyed all three Inhibitors by playing all three lanes. TL made a desperate play and tried to rush Baron, but TSM was ready. Two TL members fell, and Broken Blade was in the base. Two more from TSM died, and TSM finished their Nexus at 36 minutes.
Clutch Gaming v FlyQuest
FlyQuest (“FLY”) defeated Clutch Gaming (“CG”) in their second match of the LCS week four. Fans were excited to see V1per's Riven drafted again and it paid off. FLY had control over most of the game, and it began in the bottom lane. Repeat ganks by Santorin in the first five minutes netted FLY four kills. They controlled the neutral objectives, taking the Rift Herald and multiple Dragons. FLY used the Herald to knock off multiple plates and get the First Tower bonus.
At a 20-minute team fight around Baron, CG appeared to be in it still. They killed two FLY members and brought down a tower. It didn't matter much though, as FLY continuously secured objectives. FLY really pushed the pressure when they won a team fight in the middle lane three-for-one. They weren't done there though. They dove the CG defenders under their tower, then took the tower and the Baron too.
This Baron was strong, but not deadly. FLY destroyed multiple towers and two Inhibitors, but CG managed to repel their push. This was primarily driven by V1per, who harassed the side lanes and utilized his teams pressure to take down these structures.
FLY kept CG corralled in their base, but slowed down their siege for a few minutes. That was until Baron Nashor respawned. With two Mountain Dragons, FLY burned it down before CG could even contest. They pushed, retaking two Inhibitors and even a Nexus Tower from V1per's split push. This momentum allowed FLY to slay the Elder Dragon right after. Now they went back to the siege and finished off the final Inhibitor. After losing two members, CG was helpless to stop FLY. FLY smashed their Nexus at 41 minutes.
Cloud9 v OpTic Gaming
To finish off LCS week four, Cloud9 (“C9”) won against OpTic Gaming (“OPT”). It was a quick game, but it wasn't one-sided for most of the time. First Blood was taken by Meteos when he ganked and killed Licorice at three minutes. The bottom lane was explosive early on, with kills going to both teams. OPT ruled the bottom side of the map, diving the C9 duo lane and even killing Svenskeren in his own jungle. C9 responded by punishing Dhokla in the top lane. Licorice solo killed him, his team dove him, and the First Tower bonus was obtained up top.
Both teams traded Dragons and towers, with both teams getting some of both. C9 slayed the Rift Herald, but it didn't accomplish much. The game was relatively even until 19 minutes. At this point, C9 forced a team fight up into OPT's jungle. It backfired, and OPT killed three C9 members.
The match swung back two minutes later. C9 found a pick, which turned into three kills into the top lane. They turned for Baron, burned it down and killed two more OPT members that tried to contest. After regrouping in the bottom lane, they quickly smashed through towers and started the last team fight. It went great for C9, as they killed all five members. C9 used the momentum from one play to push all the way through and took OPT's Nexus at 25 minutes.
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