LCS: Week Three Day Two Recap

FlyQuest v Echo Fox

Echo Fox (“FOX”) grabbed a victory against FlyQuest (“FLY”) in the first match of the day. It was a very even game and a joy to watch. The action started around nine minutes, where a skirmish broke out near the bottom lane. FLY secured First Blood, but had to pay with one of their lives in return. Both junglers were very active; when Rush successfully ganked the bottom lane Santorin did the same top. FOX had great early objective control too, slaying an Infernal Dragon and the First Tower bonus.

FLY kept it even though. They demolished multiple towers and caught out both of FOX's solo laners. FOX fought back, taking a tower and kill for themselves, and the gold continued to be relatively even. At 23 minutes, it appeared that FLY was going to pull ahead. Here, FLY stole and Infernal Dragon won a team fight fight two-for-zero, taking down a tower right after.

Four minutes later, another team fight broke out in the bottom side of the map. Again, FLY dominated the fight, killing three FOX members. With only two FOX members remaining, FLY thought it would be safe to take the Baron. They were wrong. Fenix and Apollo contested the objective, and though they were outnumbered, they killed two FLY players. FLY had to retreat, and FOX was free to take the Baron.

After slaying a second Infernal Dragon, FOX turned towards the bottom lane. They smashed through two towers and destroyed FLY's Inhibitor. But they didn't stop there. FOX made a snap engage and kill onto Pobelter, and with this advantage FOX eviscerated the rest of FLY. FLY could only watch with grey screens as FOX destroyed their Nexus at 32 minutes.

Clutch Gaming v Cloud9

In the second match of the day, Cloud9 (“C9”) dominated Clutch Gaming (“CG”). C9 had control for almost the entire game, only losing momentum at brief moments. The first of these moments was when LirA ganked bottom to get First Blood onto Zeyzal. It quickly looked up for C9 though. Licorice solo killed Huni at four minutes, and his team won a team fight a few minutes later to pave the way for two Dragon takes. C9 had a lead at this point, but it was small. They furthered it when they won a team fight in CG's jungle three-for-one, which allowed them to secure the First Tower bonus and a third Dragon.

C9 advanced into the mid game with a 2.5k gold lead. It grew rapidly though, as C9 dominated team fights. The first one, at 20 minutes, resulted in a clean Ace and an easy Baron kill. After regrouping, C9 demolished multiple towers. As they sieged top, they continued to fight, racking up more champion and tower kills.

CG, despite being down almost 10k gold, showed signs of life even near the end. Great peeling and kiting allowed them to win a 28 minute fight, which stalled C9's push. They went even in the next fight, showing they wouldn't go down without a fight.

By 30 minutes, C9 had enough of this. They slayed another Infernal Dragon and rotated mid. Here, Damonte was obliterated by Sneaky's insanely fed Ezreal. After he died, the ensuing team fight was unwinnable for CG. C9 marched into the base, killing three more CG members, and finished their Nexus at 33 minutes.

Team Liquid v OpTic Gaming

Team Liquid (“TL”) obtained their sixth victory of the split in their match against OpTic Gaming (“OPT”). They proved, once again, that they are the best in North America. Despite their dominance in the end of the game, it was actually very equal for a long time. TL slayed the first Infernal Dragon, but when the second one spawned five minutes later, OPT secured both the Dragon and First Blood. Crown even solo killed Xmithie in his own jungle around the same time. TL ended up getting the First Tower bonus, but OPT responded with tower and Herald takes.

It looked like OPT could grab a solid lead around 18 minutes. At this point, OPT took an Ocean Dragon, middle lane tower and a kill on CoreJJ. TL struck back fast though. They caught out Crown and destroyed a middle tower of their own.

Their next steps were much more impactful. At 22 minutes, both teams met in the middle lane for a series of team fights. TL killed three members and lost none of their own in the two fights. The first victory led to another tower and a Cloud Dragon, while the second gave them a Baron buff and an additional kill onto Meteos.

TL swiftly pushed all three lanes, demolishing all the outer towers and breaking the middle lane Inhibitor. They regrouped, took another Cloud Dragon, and continued their push. Now past 30 minutes, TL sought to close out the game. They grouped up together and initiated one last team fight. It proved a success, and TL massacred all the OPT members. Crushed by a winless weekend, OPT watched on as TL blasted their Nexus at 31 minutes.

Team SoloMid v Golden Guardians

Golden Guardians (“GGS”) reignited their season with their second win, this one against Team SoloMid (“TSM”). It was extremely close and went back and forth between the teams. TSM had decent control over the early game, getting First Blood from a top lane dive, slaying an Infernal and using the Rift Herald to take the First Tower bonus. They destroyed multiple towers and won a 14 minute team fight three-for-zero.

GGS didn't roll over though. They picked up some kills and towers of their own, and won fights around the 20 minute mark. There were a bunch of tower trades, meaning the gold remained relatively close.

At 28 minutes, the game took a turn. TSM started up the Baron, and secured it. Afterwards, GGS killed Smoothie, but the trade seemed worth it for TSM. In the end, it wasn't. TSM only destroyed a couple of towers because GGS' defense was so good, and GGS found some winning fights to stall out the Baron. Meanwhile, GGS killed a second Infernal Dragon, further buffing Froggen's Karthus.

Around 33 minutes, GGS emerged victorious from another team fight. With two TSM members on death timer, GGS was easily able to snag the Baron buff for themselves. Two minutes later, the teams met around the Elder Dragon. A long team fight resulted in an Ace and Elder Dragon buff for GGS.

These buffs allowed GGS to break open the middle Inhibitor and get a few more kills. The last Baron spawned and both teams went to it. GGS killed multiple TSM members before taking this final buff. With lessened resistance, GGS marched through TSM's base to find more kills and the Nexus just before 45 minutes.

100 Thieves v Counter Logic Gaming

In the final match of LCS week three, 100 Thieves (“100T”) defeated Counter Logic Gaming (“CLG”). They got the victory in a clean manner, carrying the early game through Ssumday and the late game through Bang. Ssumday carved out advantages for himself in the top lane, while Bang and Aphromoo absorbing pressure bot. The First Blood went the way of 100T before minions spawned. AnDa got a kill for Ssumday with a gank too, at five minutes. CLG made moves of their own in the early game though, with Wiggily taking an Infernal Dragon and ganking bottom twice.

100T focused top lane hard, using the Rift Herald to get the First Tower bonus. They also managed to rotate Ssumday to help them secure two Mountain Dragons, which proved incredibly useful. Because of this extra damage, 100T quickly slayed the Baron at 22 minutes after finding two picks.

The Baron power play didn't accomplish much, but set 100T to slay another Mountain Dragon. This was crucial for them when, at 34 minutes, they rushed down the Baron again. They secured it and Ace'd CLG right after. They used it to destroy two Inhibitors immediately.

The bottom lane siege lasted a while, but 100T was determined to win. They eventually cracked the final Inhibitor tower before taking a fight. This fight resulted in two CLG members dying, and 100T having a clear way to take the Nexus at 41 minutes.

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