Our matches for today feature tie breakers, new rosters, and an ever present threat of falling behind. Which teams will emerge ahead of the pack today?
TSM – Clutch Gaming
The first match of the day started out so good for TSM Clutch Gaming’s bot lane went for a risky early invade that ended in disaster. TSM took the opportunity to advance their lead in the early game and secured several map objectives, though Clutch was also able to secure a couple of early Infernal Dragons, giving them some much needed firepower. As the mid game rolled around, TSM and Clutch traded several important objectives, though Clutch was able to get the better of TSM in terms of team fights. A rapid series of map rotations allowed TSM to catch Clutch out of position and net themselves more important map objectives, increasing their lead significantly. Unfortunately for TSM, they were unable to press their advantage, and when Clutch’s AD Carry Apollo “Apollo” Price was able to steal away a key Baron Buff, Clutch Gaming was able to slowly turn the tide and reel TSM in. A final push by TSM into the base of Clutch cost them everything, and Clutch Gaming was able to walk away with the victory.
Cloud9 – Team Liquid
Game number two see’s two of the teams currently tied for first place battling it out to determine who will attempt to claim sole possession of first place. While it was predicted to be an extremely close matchup, we very nearly saw another perfect game, with Cloud9 running roughshod over Team Liquid. Early objective control paired with the ability of Cloud9’s solo laners to flex on their lane opponents allowed Cloud9 to pull ahead quite rapidly. Team Liquid were unable to contest the strength of Cloud9, with mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park the only member able to score kills, and the rest of Team Liquid unable to secure any objectives. Several brutal team fights allowed Cloud9 to build an unassailable lead before a final team fight in the base of Team Liquid cemented the result and giving Cloud9 temporary sole possession of first place.
OpTic Gaming – CLG
The halfway point for Day 1 of Week 4 of the NA LCS, and OpTic are chasing their second win of the split, with CLG the team standing in their way. CLG managed to make the moves to secure an early lead, and focused their attention on keeping Derek “zig” Shao’s Gnar under control. Unfortunately for CLG, this proved to be a fruitless task, as OpTic managed to keep the gold advantage fairly minor throughout the mid game. Back to back team fight wins for OpTic allowed them to pull ahead of CLG, and a rapid succession of map objectives soon followed. CLG were able to pick off individual members of OpTic, but were not able to find a decisive team fight win, allowing OpTic to slowly strangle the economy of CLG and trap them in their base. From there it was only a small skirmish before OpTic was able to close out the game for their second victory of the split.
100 Thieves – Flyquest
Our second last game of the day featured 100 Thieves taking on the new and improved Flyquest line-up, in a match that proved that good things are worth waiting for. Flyquest was able to get off to a great start, securing an early Dragon and, despite 100 Thieves taking the first turret and first kill of the game, bouncing back to immediately secure a turret of their own, along with a second dragon. 100 Thieves attempted to take the lead, making excellent map rotations to secure another turret and the Rift Herald, but Flyquest was able to manoeuvre themselves to be in position to constantly make sure that future objectives never went down without also taking something for themselves. A steady progression of objectives allowed Flyquest to pull ahead, and after a skirmish at Baron went poorly for 100 Thieves, Flyquest was able to secure all everything else they needed to win. A final fight in the base of 100 Thieves that saw Flyquest emerge unscathed was the final blow, as Flyquest secured their third win of the split and looked stronger than ever with their new mid laner Song “Fly” Yong-jun.
Echo Fox – Golden Guardians
Our final game to close out the day saw Echo Fox, a team tied for first place, going up against the Golden Guardians, the team currently occupying last place, in a match that was deceptively close at times. Echo Fox managed to score an early lead with two excellent plays in the top lane that allowed Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon to get an early advantage over his lane opponent. With excellent map control, Echo Fox was able to snowball this lead into more and more map objectives. The Golden Guardians made a resurgence in the mid game, however, scoring several key kills and trading objectives of their own. Despite this attempt at a comeback, Echo Fox was able to push through the defences of GGS, even losing team fights in the process, before a final team fight that resulted in a Quadra kill by Johnny “Altec” Ru allowed Echo Fox to lock in their tied for first slot.
With the first day completed, we went from three teams tied for first, down to two. Will the teams that reign supreme manage to hold onto their lead, or will the rest of the pack bring them down. For information on when you can watch these teams battle it out, check out the official schedule page here. For more red hot LCS action, check out our recaps for the EU LCS, day 1 and day 2.
