LCS: Week One Day Two Recap

The second day of the first week of LCS is a wrap! Many teams are showcasing incredible potential with their new rosters, while some are struggling. Teams are still trying their best to start off on the right foot this split, and are giving viewers great games. Even though its early into the season, there's a lot on the line for the teams and players of the LCS, so make sure to keep track of every single game!

Flyquest v optic gaming

FlyQuest (“FLY”) pulled ahead to become the first 2-0 team with a win against OpTic Gaming (“OPT”). Despite their win, the early game was rough for them, particularly because of JayJ. He was killed for First Blood at three minutes, and killed twice more by nine minutes. On top of these kills, OPT found a kill on V1per and the Rift Herald to push their dominance more. The Rift Herald allowed them to secure the First Tower bonus. FLY did make crucial plays though, catching Crown and Dardoch out at different points in the early-mid game.

At 20 minutes, OPT had a gold lead but it didn't even amount to a thousand. A couple of minutes later, FLY executed a great team fight with a perfect V1per flank and Pobelter engage. The match slowed down considerably here, but FLY controlled the map and was able to find an Ocean Dragon and bottom Tower. As if both teams were growing bored of the Baron dance, they constantly engaged team fights against each other. FLY won the first two fights, then OPT managed to pick off V1per.

Finally, at 36 minutes, FLY won a team fight more dominantly that gave them the chance to take Baron. By this time they amounted a 6k gold lead, and began their siege. After taking the second middle Tower, a team fight broke out. OPT were slaughtered, with only Crown and Gate surviving to defend.  But they were helpless against the five FLY members storming their base. FLY smashed the remaining OPT structures, and lastly the Nexus at 40 minutes.

Cloud9 v 100 Thieves

Picking up the pieces after a defeat yesterday, Cloud9 (“C9”) won their match against 100 Thieves (“100T”) in a dominant fashion. They controlled almost every minute of the game, and their snowball all began with their new mid laner, Nisqy. At only four minutes Nisqy solo killed Huhi and burned his Flash. This pressure lead to an easy Ocean Dragon take and helped C9 win a skirmish in the top lane. A few minutes later, 100T showed some signs of life when AnDa stole an Infernal Dragon from C9 and won the ensuing team fight three-for-two.

C9 never let 100T strike back after that slip up. Nisqy kept dominating his lane, taking the First Tower bonus by himself. His team found two quick picks around the top river, which led to a free Rift Herald take. At 18 minutes the game totally broke open. As both teams set up around the second Infernal, C9 dropped the Herald mid and turned to fight 100T. They dominated the fight easily, killing three members and the Dragon while the Rift Herald took the second middle Tower.

By 20 minutes C9 had a 7k gold lead. Two minutes later, they caught out AnDa in his own Jungle and immediately turned for Baron. With no contest they secured the coveted buff and a massive 10k gold lead. Afterwards the team grouped top to force down the remaining two Towers, and found yet another kill. Dropping the Inhibitor first, C9 charged into 100T's base, killing another member and the two Nexus towers. C9 made 100T the first 0-2 team when they demolished their Nexus at 25 minutes.

Team Liquid v Counter Logic Gaming

To no one's surprise, the stacked Team Liquid (“TL”) roster defeated Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”) in the third match of the day. Their win seemed decisive, but more of a calculated victory than a stomp. In the first 11 minutes of the game there was minimal action and no kills, only one Dragon going to each team. Eventually CLG grew tired of the farm fest and invaded TL's Jungle, where they caught and killed Xmithie for First Blood. A good rotation from TL's bottom lane netted them a return kill though, and the game remained even.

CLG rotated multiple members to get the First Tower bonus at 16 minutes, while TL traded it for Rift Herald and a top Tower. The first major moment when TL gained a lead was at 17 minutes, around the second Infernal Dragon spawn. Here both teams squared up, but TL came out on top with a kill, a middle Tower and the Dragon, their second Infernal. The game accelerated at 20 minutes, and a series of team fights broke out. TL won most of them and during this time secured a third Infernal.

At 28 minutes, TL engaged yet another fight. They secured two kills and the Baron Nashor right after. With the 7k gold lead, they pushed mid and bot, smashing all the towers in those lanes. CLG mounted one last defense in the bottom lane, but lost the fight one-for-two and allowed TL to take two Inhibitors. When TL backed and regrouped, they caught out Biofrost outside of his base. With the man advantage, TL slaughtered more CLG members and took their Nexus at 33 minutes.

Clutch Gaming v Team SoloMid

In a spectacular come back, Clutch Gaming (“CG”) defeated Team SoloMid (“TSM”). It looked doomed for CG early on, as at six minutes TSM's new top laner, Broken Blade, solo killed former World Champion Huni. Here, TSM decided to focus the top lane more, and Akaadian ganked Huni. He killed Huni and even LirA when he tried to counter gank. After a second solo kill from Broken Blade onto Huni, CG was in a bad way.

TSM, for the next 15 minutes, didn't utilize their advantage well. They were able to find a couple of picks and Towers during this time, but CG was able to farm, recover and take Towers of their own. Piglet's Ezreal and Damonte's Akali weren't pressured much at all during the game, and crucially they were able to amass large amounts of farm and gold. This proved to be exactly what CG needed, as at 26 minutes a team fight broke out around the middle lane. Miraculously, CG Ace'd TSM while only losing two of their comrades. TSM couldn't even hope to contest as CG slayed Baron Nashor.

The Baron buff invigorated the CG roster, and they never allowed TSM to breathe as TSM let them earlier. In a matter of minutes, CG destroyed nearly every TSM tower on the map. After taking the first Inhibitor mid, TSM mounted a defense. They quickly lost one member and retreated while CG brought down more towers and another Inhibitor. After basing and regrouping, a final team fight erupted in TSM's Jungle. CG wiped four TSM members off of the map easily, giving CG all the time they needed to rush into TSM's base and blast their Nexus at 33 minutes.

Echo Fox v Golden Guardians

Echo Fox (“FOX”) won the final match of the day versus Golden Guardians (“GGS”). Their bot lane primarily carried the team to victory, while the top side of the map struggled a bit. Solo was killed for First Blood because of a four minute gank by Contractz. Fenix also died a few minutes later, but FOX's bottom lane started to assert their dominance. Apollo killed Olleh once at seven minutes, then once more at 11 minutes. GGS did further their lead on the top side with a great skirmish at 13 minutes, getting three kills for zero.

At 17 minutes, FOX slayed their first Infernal Dragon. The mid game turned out to be bloody, with both teams butting heads every few minutes after the 20 minute mark. FOX ended up coming out on top in all of these, and got themselves a second Infernal during these five or so minutes. At 25 minutes, FOX secured their first big lead. They won another team fight, got three kills and an easy Baron buff. With the buff, they managed to take multiple Towers and the middle Inhibitor, though they did lose some members for it.

The game stalled for a few minutes, until 33 minutes. At this point, the teams fought five-versus-five again, and yet again FOX emerged with more healthy members. They killed three GGS players and their third Infernal Dragon, giving them a huge damage boost. This helped them turn straight to Baron and burn it down. This Baron buff was all FOX needed to finish GGS off. They grouped mid and initiated one last fight. Three GGS members ended up falling in the closing minute of the game, and all the could do was watch as FOX dismantled their base and finally their Nexus just before 36 minutes.

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