LCS Playoffs: Pobelter Soars as FlyQuest Win in Silver Scrapes

In our preview of the first matchup in the LCS Spring Split Playoffs, we went into the newly re-made Golden Guardians and the high-soaring FlyQuest. It was a remarkably hard match-up to call, and as it turned into a war of attrition, the fights became bigger and the plays became more exciting.  

These two teams couldn’t be more evenly matched. The season series wound up tied at 1-win apiece, and the Fly vs GG head-to-head even needed a tie-breaker in order to decide who would get first pick going into their playoff series. 

After the fact, we can whole-heartedly suggest that if you have 4+ hours to spare, you go back to this VOD and watch the entire thing. It’s pure competitive joy, and it brought tears to the eyes of FlyQuest's star Santorin. 

The Dead, and the Deftly

As previously mentioned, both the Golden Guardians and FlyQuest were very evenly matched heading into their round-one head-to-head. It seemed it was destined to go FlyQuest’s way in Game 1 as WildTurtle’s team pulled out a very good draft. But through some absolutely stellar play by the Golden Guardians, who are desperately trying to prove that they belong in the upper echelon of the LCS, all hope was washed away almost immediately. 

Rookie GG bot-lane carry Deftly picked up a pretty steady champion in Varus and managed to walk away from the rift with a win and an impressive 8/0/4 kDa. 

Moving into Game 2, FlyQuest had a lot of work to do. They possess one of the best ADCs in the game in WildTurtle and he needed to be held up and built around. Through the first game, three of the members of Golden Guardians didn’t die a single time, and if that isn't the damage carry's fault, then there's nowhere to accurately point a finger.

SpiderQuest Chronicles

Game 2 gave us our first look at the amazing new League of Legends pet skins in the Playoffs as ex-TSM top-laner Hauntzer (now on the Golden Guardians) picked up the Meowrick in the draft. But more importantly than that (not really, because cat costumes rule), he was tasked with shutting down V1per’s Jayce in their lane.  

Unfortunately for FlyQuest, WildTurtle was still not living up to his reputation in Game 2. Luckily for them, however, Pobelter went nuts on Swain with a 4/0/8 in the mid-lane and Santorin (back from feeling ill) pulled off some big plays on his infamous Elise. The game would eventually go to FlyQuest before the clock struck 30-minutes. 

Only the rookie Deftly managed to escape Game 2 with a positive kill to death ratio for Golden Guardians. It looked bleak after Game 2, but things would ping-pong back-and-forth for hours to come. 

Freakin’ Lasers

After two lackluster performances in the bottom lane, WildTurtle finally brought out his Vayne as the two teams went into Game 3. Both squads had a chance to go up to match-point with a victory. On the other side of the rift, GG's Froggen got a very Froggen-like champion pick in Vel’Koz for the mid-lane, while Hauntzer brought out his strong Poppy.

Though things looked pretty even during the lane-phase, the Golden Guardians quickly took over, and Frogger’s ultimate laser beam of death proved to be far too much for the folks of FlyQuest to handle.

The Golden boys moved into Game 4 one win away from advancing to the next round of the LCS Spring Split Playoffs.

Let’s Do Ryze Warp Again

In what had become a trend, the teams went back and forth with both wins and momentum in this series, and it didn’t change in Game 4 at all. FlyQuest had gathered enough edge to the gold, and most of the plays at the 30-minute mark. Even Froggen (who was gifted his precious Vel’Koz again) hadn’t begun making an impact against Fly. So it became FlyQuests game to lose.

It was next-level plays that lifted FlyQuest up above the Golden Guardians in of the game. Plays like the V1per team-warp to take Baron had the arena vibrating with anticipation for a Game 5. 

With a pick-up of the next Baron and an Elder Dragon, the Golden Guardians almost looked capable of pushing back against the powerful FlyQuest at one point, but a big decision not to push for the FlyQuest Nexus in their one final chance would be their undoing. After a final team fight, the damage from FlyQuest’s Pobelter, Santorin, and V1per could not be soaked any longer, and the Golden Guardians fell in Game 4. 

Sleepy Time for the Guardians

Heading into the final game of the series, one would have had to give FlyQuest the advantage. The looks and posture of the Guardians backstage after the Game 4 loss resembled that of a team who just got swept at the world finals in front of millions of viewers. Riding the hype of their series extension, and the late-game team fights from the previous game, FlyQuest were buzzing heading back onto the rift. 

Silver Scrapes had been played and the two teams warped back into the rift for one final time on this fateful Saturday. However, it quickly became FlyQuest’s game as they built extreme momentum on the back of Pobelter’s phenominal Zoe mechanics. 

Though he made some critical mistakes in the first few games of the series, it was actually some amazingly clutch plays from top-laner V1per on the flex Irelia that helped keep their momentum. Overall, it was pure combative League of Legends until the very end, and FlyQuest managed to outplay their opponents in the Golden Guardians during the crucial team fights. 

FlyQuest Take Off

We knew it was going to be a brawl out on the rift today, and that’s exactly what we got. The very even-keeled bout could have swung either way at any moment. It all came down to avoiding mistakes, making some impressive plays, and resilience across the board. 

A lot of praise has to be given to the Golden Guardians after this series. They had back-to-back 10th place finishes in the previous two LCS splits, only to come into the Spring of 2019 and make the playoffs? That’s impressive growth. They even did it with a mainstage rookie playing the largest carry role in Deftly. If the team of GG continues this trend, the league better keep their eyes on them. 

With the win, Pobelter’s FlyQuest will move on to the second round of the LCS playoffs and will either come up against Cloud 9 or Team Liquid. The choice of opponents is on Liquid for the second round. A brief rundown of the match times and dates for the entire Playoff tournament can be found in our guide to the LCS Spring Split Playoffs. 

Their next match will take place on either Saturday, April 6th or Sunday, April 7th, depending on which opponent is chosen for them. Tomorrow, we’ve got heavyweights TSM duking it out with the cunning Echo Fox squad that has recently downed both the 1st place team and the 2nd place team in the regular season. It’s going to be a match-up you can’t miss.