LCS Playoffs: Elite Rookies Lift TSM Over Echo Fox
By Wyatt Fossett ·
With both squads heading into the playoffs riding a huge high, it was time to find out whether or not this Echo Fox team is for real, and if TSM's winning ways are here to stay.
As stellar as yesterday’s five-game match-up between FlyQuest and Golden Guardians was, Sunday's potentially historic battle between the heavyweight TSM squad and the “giant slayers” in Echo Fox was the highlight of the weekend.
There was a lot riding on this series for TSM, as they looked to reignite the love and trust of their fans with their recent winning ways. Facing them on the rift was the team that no one thought would be there. The boys from Echo Fox had managed to beat Team Liquid, and Cloud 9 (ranked #1 and #2 respectively) in the final two weeks of the Spring Split. It was a shocking story that many League of Legends fans could easily get behind.
One hour until @TSM face off against @echofoxgg in the 2019 #LCS Spring Quarterfinals! #LCS Countdown begins in thirty minutes!
— lolesports (@lolesports) March 31, 2019
? https://t.co/UNRhCEvKOm pic.twitter.com/qLr6i6D4PZ
Unfortunately for Echo Fox, they faced a very hot 3rd place TSM in the first round of the 2019 Spring Split Playoffs.
Fools Rush In
Echo Fox kicked off their uphill climb with absolute control over the map in Game 1 objectives through the first 15-minutes, with two drakes, and the Herald. But, a flubbed ultimate by Rush on Kindred led to first blood going to TSM, which led to the kill number two and the first tower for TSM.
A botched team fight from TSM around Drake #3 shifted things back into Echo Fox’s favor, which allows the underdogs to capture the first Baron just 40-seconds after is spawned. Game 1 would flip flop the momentum what felt like every 5-minutes.
In the end, they managed to overcome some crucial miss-plays by Rush, and took Game 1 from gigantic TSM after getting the Ace in a team fight thanks to a poor engage from Akaadian.
The Big Reveal
Fighting back from the brink of being the bane of TSM fans worldwide, Game 2 saw Akaadian playing the type of League of Legends that got him his spot on the main roster. It could have been the heavy-dive Rek’Sai, but Akaadian was a part of almost every fight and every kill throughout the whole game.
Echo Fox’s Rush continued to make crucial mistakes, and this time around neither his team nor his luck was on his side. It didn’t help that Apollo on Jinx, and Fenix on Corgi Corki were unfortunately complete non-factors as well.
No matter what they tried to do, the team synergy of TSM was too much for the faltering giant slayers, and Game 2 ended with little contention. It was the start of TSM removing the mask of a seemingly unshakeable team from the face of Echo Fox.
Akaadian is Here
After giving up another first blood to TSM, all hope looked drained from the faces of Echo Fox. They didn’t put up a whole lot of fight, easily dropping Game 3 with only 6 kills to TSM’s 17 overall.
While Akaadian popped-off again, Echo Fox’s Rush once more threw himself onto the fire. On multiple occasions, the Fox jungler engaged in a team fight that would eventually see the death of his entire team.
Things were starting to feel embarrassing. With so much momentum and fanfare heading into this series, and the Echo Fox that ruled the final few weeks was starting to look non-existent. How are you supposed to win with Playoff pressure pushing you around if you're just 5 kids stacked up under an overcoat?
Echo Fox also had no response to TSM Broken Blade's clutch cracker strategy.
Act Like You've Been Here Before
Finally, the boys from Echo Fox were able to snag the first blood from TSM in this head-to-head but that’s pretty much where the praise dies. In almost every instance of a team fight or solo duel, Echo Fox looked like the team everyone saw before their amazingly dominant push at the end of the regular season.
In match-point scenarios, where TSM can smell blood, they may be one of the scariest teams in all of League of Legends. Now, with their fairly stacked team, they were simply playing better than teams like Echo Fox. The word "team" being the main focus there.
Even with Solo on the heavy snowball Akali, the rest of the team on Echo Fox could not hold their own. It eventually spelled disaster for the underdogs. To quote Dennis Green of the Arizona Cardinals; “They’re exactly who we thought they were.”
By the time the match had hit the 30-minute mark, it was simply a victory march by TSM as they attempted not to make any stupid plays that could lead to a shift in momentum.
TSM Chants Are Back
In an authentic way -- not an ironic way like they were used last year -- the “T-S-M” chants were back in the LCS Arena. With new players like Akaadian and Broken Blade truly stepping it up when it counted, the otherwise veteran-filled TSM squad is heading into the next round where they will most-likely play Cloud 9.
Echo Fox may have been exposed as a team that was playing well above their caliber to end the season, though we will have to wait until the 2019 Summer Split to truly know that for a fact. With the way they played today, you can imagine that Counter-Logic Gaming is hurt they missed the cut-off for the postseason.
As the first place squad, Team Liquid got the choice of who they will face in the second round of the playoffs. With TSM playing so well (and beating them in the last match of the regular season), Liquid quickly picked FlyQuest to face-off against once the TSM match was over. So, Cloud 9 will face TSM and Team Liquid will play FlyQuest.
The next round of the LCS Spring Split Playoffs will begin next week beginning with the first match-up on Saturday, April 6th at 2:00 PM PST.
For a full look at the schedule with dates and times, head on over to our 2019 LCS Spring Split viewing guide.