With the games we’ve seen today, the NA LCS is only getting more explosive, as teams try whatever it takes to climb the ladder.

Counter Logic Gaming – Team Liquid

Our first match of the day was something of a grudge match, as Team Liquid takes on Counter Logic Gaming. Liquid, now the home of former long-time CLG AD Carry Yiliang “Peter” “Doublelift” Peng, was on a rampage as they tore through the map objectives in rapid succession, taking multiple Dragons, turrets, and even snagging the Rift Herald before CLF could really get going. CLG was able to score first blood however, in a prolonged engagement in the top lane that saw multiple members of both teams take hits, but only Liquids support Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung fall. CLG and Liquid would continue to trade kills, but Liquid would be the team taking the majority of the maps objectives, before finally securing the Baron and pushing into the base of CLG. A final team fight would cement the situation, as Liquid claimed the lives of four members of CLG and ending the game.

Echo Fox – 100 Thieves

A surprise pick from one of the number one teams in the NA LCS, as Echo Fox used the power of Yasuo to overcome 100 Thieves. While 100 Thieves spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep Echo Fox’s top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon from becoming a threat, Echo Fox spent their time securing objectives and making clean rotations to allow their other members to get ahead. Even when 100 Thieves tried to stem the tide, Echo Fox simply switched tactics, allowing Huni to split-push and get stronger, and by the time 100 Thieves realised their mistake, it was too late. With a massive gold lead and an overwhelming majority of the maps objectives under their control, Echo Fox showed why they are a team to be feared.

Cloud9 – TSM

There’s always something exciting about watching a player fight against their former team, and todays match-up between Cloud9 and TSM was certainly no exception. For Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, this was an opportunity to show why he was so feared by the other teams when he was playing for TSM, only this time he had his sights set firmly on his former teammates. Helping his team to take down TSM members across the map, Svenskeren also led the charge in securing map objectives, pushing his former team to their limit. While TSM desperately tried to play catch-up, Cloud9 amassed a huge gold advantage as they nearly cleared the map of everything. In the end, TSM was unable to hold back the tide, as Cloud9 pushed them back into their base and ended the game.

Clutch Gaming – Flyquest

The second last match of the day was another game that looked very close for quite some time, before being blown out of the water. Clutch Gaming and Flyquest seemed content to trade objectives, with very little actual fighting occurring until the mid-game. It was here that Clutch made their move, taking down several members of Flyquest and securing a Baron. With this new found power, they were able to begin to pressure the base of Flyquest, though it would take some time, and another Baron, before they were able to crack their defences. Clutch Gaming would ultimately defeat Flyquest, taking their match record to 5 wins, 4 losses.

OpTic Gaming – Golden Guardians

Our final match of the day featured more surprise champion picks, as OpTic Gaming took on the Golden Guardians with a couple of surprises up their sleeves. Choosing Viktor and Draven, OpTic certainly had everyone’s attention going into this match-up. Taking an early game lead, OpTic quickly turned their minor advantages into major ones, securing first blood, first Dragon, and first turret. GGS would fire back, but although they managed to snag some kills and a turret of their own, OpTic proved too quick, taking multiple objectives back-to-back. A huge team fight over Baron saw OpTic’s AD Carry Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon score a Quadra kill and allow his team to secure the Baron buff. From there, it was just another series of secured objectives before OpTic pushed into the base of GGS, wiped them out and ended the game.

With so many crazy games today, is it any wonder that the teams are willing to try new things. For more about the surprise pick of Yasuo by Echo Fox, check out our piece here, and for more about how OpTic played with Viktor and Draven, check out our article here. Finally, if you want more information on when these teams will be going head to head again tomorrow, check out the official schedule page here.