Over the course of the North American League of Legends Championship Spring Split Regular Season, Team Liquid and Cloud9 have managed to face off three times, including the tie-breaker shenanigans from last week. In what could be considered an extremely drawn out best-of-three series, Team Liquid would ultimately prove the stronger of the two teams.
Cloud9 seemed to start the season much stronger, winning eight of their first nine games to put them comfortably into second place. The back half of the season was where they really struggled, losing matches in uncharacteristic fashion. Though they did hold onto their playoffs spot, in the tie-breaker sets they fell quite far from their former spot.
Team Liquid, on the other hand, seemed to bounce around the standings quite a bit, taking an early lead before suffering in the middle of their season. They did bounce back at the end, and their performance in the tie-breaker series certainly showcased their power as a team.
Of particular note in the head-to-head for these teams, is the manner in which they found victory. The first match was a complete walkover for Cloud9. If not for some excellent ganks by Team Liquids mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park, Cloud9 would have achieved a perfect game, with their objective control and map rotations being near perfect. The second match was much more interesting, as Cloud9 secured the early game and gained a fairly significant lead over Team Liquid heading into the mid-game. Unfortunately for Cloud9, they were unable to maintain the pressure, and Team Liquid slowly but surely reeled them in. by the time the gold differential was even, it was quite clear which team would ultimately win the game, with Team Liquid proceeding to dominate Cloud9 all over the map. The third time these teams clashed was during the tie-breaker series at the end of the regular season. This match was eerily similar to the second clash, except Team Liquid managed to apply their pressure much earlier. This game did go on for a longer time than the previous two, as Cloud9’s defence held for longer than expected, however Team Liquid proved stronger in the end, taking the match and effectively the season long best-of-three between these two teams.
Because of dynamic seeding, it’s not yet known who the victor of these teams will face in the semi-finals, but what is clear is that both Team Liquid and Cloud9 will need to step up their game if they hope to make it all the way to the finals and beyond. You can see the times these teams will clash on the Official Schedule page, here, and you can read about their previous match, here.
