League of Legends Worlds Quarterfinals Recap – Cloud9 vs Afreeca Freecs
By Zac Cameron ·
All the action from the third quarterfinal clash between Cloud9, the last hope of North America, and the Afreeca Freecs, the last hope for Korea.
The playoffs for the 2018 League of Legends World Championships continue, and after the massive upsets that occurred yesterday, we’re expecting plenty more exciting games. This next series pits the final hopes of two regions onto their respective teams, with Cloud9 carrying the dreams of an often-mocked region, while the Afreeca Freecs represent the last bastion of Korean strength. Here’s a brief breakdown of the series.
Match One
The first match saw Cloud9 get off to an early lead, with repeated skirmishes allowing them to push AF around as they secured map presence. Things only got worse for Afreeca Freecs as the match went on, with Cloud9 proving they had complete dominance of the map before ultimately ending the game to establish a series lead.
Match Two
The second clash was a much closer affair, with AF putting up more of a fight in the early game. That didn’t seem to slow down Cloud9 too much however, as they quickly established control over the objectives before beginning their fighting push to the nexus. Afreeca tried their best to slow them down, but fell short of their goal in the end, as Cloud9 set up match point right off the bat.
Match Three
The final match was the last chance for the Afreeca Freecs to keep their region in this tournament, and while they fought hard to do so, ultimately Cloud9 proved to be far too strong in this current meta. This was the longest match of the series, but that only seemed to slow Cloud9 down, as they worked to establish control of the map and force Afreeca into unfavorable fights. In the end, Cloud9 proved to be the better team on the day.
With their victory today, Cloud9 have advanced further than any other North American team has gone before, and simultaneously cemented 2018 as the worst season for Korean teams ever. There has never been a Worlds Grand Finals without a Korean team, barring season one when there weren’t any Korean teams, and now Cloud9 will advance to the semi-finals for a shot at the grandest stage of them all. For more on when those matches will be played, check out the official schedule page, here.