Clutch Gaming Take down Team Liquid and Showcase Their Improvements

While not an upset per se, the game today between Clutch Gaming and Team Liquid has certainly raised a few eyebrows. The chief reason being that both teams drafted reasonably similar team compositions, opting for more traditional picks in what basically became a showcase of skill over surprise. Let’s take a brief look at how the game unfolded.

Team Liquid managed to secure first blood, and turn their small advantage into something more by picking up the first Dragon of the game. They also managed to win a small skirmish and pick up two more kills, however Clutch Gaming was repeatedly picking up individual kills across the map, leaving neither team with a clear advantage. That uncertainty soon dispersed however, as Clutch Gaming quickly picked up multiple objectives to flip the lead to their favor.

As Team Liquid continued to look for engages, Clutch Gaming swept across the map to pick up as many objectives as possible and create breathing space for themselves, before ultimately securing the Baron buff and making an assault on the base of Team Liquid. In doing so, Clutch Gaming were able to pick up multiple kills and break open Team Liquid’s base, before pulling back to secure more map objectives. Though Team Liquid would fight back with increased vigor, Clutch Gaming was well and truly in the driver’s seat as they launched another attack onto the base of Team Liquid culminating in a massive team fight that wiped them from the map.

While losing a game is not the end of the world, and Team Liquid still retain their spot on top of the ladder, though no longer in sole possession, the result of this game coming so close to the onset of Rift Rivals does cause some murmurs of trouble, as North America gears up to take on Europe next week. For more League of Legends action, check out the match recaps from yesterday’s games, here, and for more information on when the teams of the NA LCS will face off again, check out the official schedule page, here.