NA LCS Match Recaps for Day 1 of Week 3

Another week kicking off, and another day full of excellent matches in the NA LCS. The matches from today will, for some teams, be a precursor for what we can expect to see in the upcoming Rift Rivals tournament, while for the teams that are not representing their region, this is a chance to possibly sneak in a victory over an otherwise distracted opponent. Here’s a brief breakdown of the games from today.

Cloud9 vs TSM

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Once the two teams battling for domination over the scene, Cloud9 and TSM have fallen hard in their gameplay, now battling just to stay relevant in the NA LCS. TSM may have claimed victory here today, but it was a far cry from the performances we’d come to expect from either team. Check out our more detailed breakdown here.

Team Liquid vs Echo Fox

Two of the teams that will be representing North America in the Rift Rivals event next week, also showcase two very different styles of gameplay. Team Liquid are sticking to their strengths, running a team composition that is very similar to countless previous games regardless of the Meta with only a few surprises, while Echo Fox are continuing the trend of trying new styles and new Champions in a bid to find the easiest path to victory. Ultimately, Team Liquid was able to come out on top in this match, with Echo Fox’s draft not quite landing the way they want.

100 Thieves vs Clutch Gaming

The game plan for 100 Thieves today was almost certainly to funnel resources towards their AD Carry in the mid lane, however the game was easily taken over by veteran top laner Ssumday with his excellent Jax play. A rollercoaster of a match that was very nearly claimed by Clutch Gaming with a rush to the finish nevertheless set up an interesting taste of what we can expect from these teams in the future.

Flyquest vs Golden Guardians

It’s odd how much we’ve come to look forward to watching these two teams play, given their performances in the Spring Split, however the improvements they’ve shown and their willingness to try new things makes the matches with the Golden Guardians and Flyquest very entertaining. This was no exception, with Flyquest managing to claim victory just in time to make sure that Cloud9 are the sole holder of the bottom spot in the NA LCS. Hopefully we’ll see the Golden Guardians make more improvements in their match tomorrow, as they continue to challenge for the top.

OpTic Gaming vs CLG

The final match of the day saw CLG making the plays we all expected from them with confidence and ease. OpTic were brave to try new things, as they looked to set up the gold funneling play we’ve seen so much in the EU LCS. Unfortunately, CLG were better prepared to deal with it than OpTic had anticipated, leaving little for them to do but watch as CLG slowly cleaned up the map and claimed victory.

For more on when these teams will face off again, check out the official schedule page, here, and for more League of Legends action, check out the match recaps from the EU LCS earlier today, here.

(All images via Riot Games Flickr)