Cloud9 and Team Liquid stepped onto Summoner’s Rift today to determine who the best team in the region is, and North American League of Legends fans were treated to a battle between two of the league’s premier juggernauts. The LCS crown is flying high in the clouds after 31 minutes of nonstop action, with C9 taking the top spot in the league.
From the first minute, each team played with complete confidence, and the scoreboard reflected that with 14 kills in 16 minutes. Because no team lost a teamfight without trading something across the map, both sides demonstrated their teamfighting prowess and decision-making abilities.
For example, Liquid secured a pick for C9’s star mid laner Fudge, as well as a Bjergsen for the tier one bottom lane tower. This would have resulted in a huge swing in gold and momentum, but C9 kept things balanced by taking a mid lane and a bottom lane turret in response.
This back-and-forth matchup, on the other hand, should not have come as a surprise to fans. Liquid has a number of brilliant minds on their roster, including Bjergsen, CoreJJ, and Bwipo, while C9 has demonstrated flexibility and resiliency throughout the season.
Because of how close the game was, it felt like a single mistake could cost either team the match, and that’s exactly what happened. C9 found a single pick on a misplaced Bwipo, who jumped into his death carelessly, at the 28-minute mark. Summit and Berserker snowballed the game into a frenzy with that one misplay, and within two minutes, they were raising their hands in celebration.
Summit, as usual, posed a challenge for Liquid, and C9 lavished him with attention in order to put him ahead early. He kept a good lead while also putting pressure on the side lanes with his pushing power. He finished with five kills, three assists, and two deaths, giving him the league’s fifth Player of the Game award.
However, on the other side of the Rift, Liquid still displayed some impressive early-game play, as well as great composure under pressure until Bwipo’s fatal mistake. They’re still the league’s second-best team, and fans can only hope that this defeat will motivate the team to improve enough to beat their opponents in their next match.