This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
Team Liquid vs. Immortals
Team Liquid (3-8, 11-18 match record), led by a nearly unstoppable Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin, won a bloody 2-1 series against Immortals (5-6, 13-14) on Friday during Week 6, Day 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split at the LCS Arena in Santa Monica, California.
Immortals' jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, on Elise, had a great start to Game 1, turning around a gank in bottom lane to walk away with three kills around the five-minute mark. Immortals' hot start bled into the mid game, as the team was able to capitalize on poor vision control from Team Liquid to get picks and rotate efficiently around the map. In a desperate move to regain composure, Team Liquid's new mid laner Piglet, on Ryze, Realm Warped the team into Baron around the 30-minute mark. While Immortals would lose the buff, it would hardly matter as Team Liquid was too far behind to put up much of a fight in the late game. A final push would be all Immortals would need to secure the Game 1 win.
The tables turned in the second game, as Team Liquid immediately earned a lead thanks to a misplay by Immortals' Dardoch. An overextension on a jungle camp opened the door for Team Liquid's jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeu-Jin's Rengar and mid laner Piglet's Ahri to quickly collapse on Dardoch, securing first blood. While Team Liquid fell behind in objectives, it started to dominate teamfights thanks to flanks from Piglet and Reignover, and took a lead after a Baron buff push gave them a lead in turrets. Immortals couldn't do anything late in Game 2 despite their objective dominance early, leading to a series-deciding Game 3.
Reckless aggressiveness doomed Immortals in Game 3. Multiple times, Immortals committed to turret dives that would kill the initial target, but too often Team Liquid would turn the fight around, always getting the better end of the trade. Team Liquid began to run away with the lead after a Baron power play led to an opportunity to crack open Immortals' base. A chaotic teamfight in the top lane left both teams with only one player standing, but once Team Liquid respawned it immediately took a clean Baron kill, using the buff to wipe the remains of Immortals' battered base.
Team Liquid's revamped lineup will look to continue its roll as it kicks off Sunday's action against Echo Fox at 3 p.m. ET. Immortals aim to bounce back against Team EnVyUs following on the same stream at 6 p.m. ET.
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Echo Fox vs. Cloud9
Cloud9 picked up a fairly one-sided sweep against Echo Fox during Week 6, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series on Saturday in Los Angeles, California.
Cloud9 (9-2, 19-8 match record) was able to pick up the win in Game 1 on the back of strong objective control, including a bottom inhibitor turret kill just 17 minutes into the game. Cloud9 secured the first Baron six minutes later and won the ensuing teamfight 2-for-0, with mid laner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen's Orianna picking up a double kill.
Despite Echo Fox's best attempts to stall out the game, Cloud9 secured two more Barons and the Elder Drake in the 44th minute to take full control of the late game. A 3-for-1 teamfight win in the 45 minute allowed Cloud9 to march into the Echo Fox (4-7, 10-16 match record) base and take out the Nexus. Cloud9 top laner Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong earned Player of the Game after a 2/0/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) on Renekton.
Despite a closely contested start to Game 2, Cloud9 took the win in 27 minutes thanks to strong mid-game teamfighting. Once again, Cloud9 controlled most of the game's objectives, securing turrets and drakes even when giving away deaths.
Cloud9 swung momentum in its favor for good during a 3-for-0 teamfight win, and a triple kill for Jensen's Jayce, near the 19-minute mark. Another 3-for-0 teamfight win in the 24 minute allowed Cloud9 to open the middle inhibitor and an 8,000-gold lead, while a final 3-for-0 skirmish victory at 26 minutes let Cloud9 push down the top inhibitor, meet super minions in the middle lane and end the game in quick fashion. Cloud9 jungler Juan "Contractz" Garcia finished Game 2 with a 6/2/5 KDA and was a force on Graves.
Echo Fox will get a chance to redeem itself against Team Liquid on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, and Cloud9 will square off in yet another pivotal battle that day against FlyQuest on 6 p.m. ET.
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FlyQuest vs. Team EnVyUs
In a surprisingly hard-fought series, FlyQuest took down Team Envy 2-1 on Saturday during Day 2, Week 6 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles, California.
Bloodlust was high early in Game 1, as FlyQuest (7-4, 17-10 match record) and Envy (2-9, 6-18) fought skirmish after skirmish for the first 20 minutes of the series. This amounted to an 8-8 kill score, but Envy had managed to find a slight gold lead. However, with five Ninja Tabi's purchased by FlyQuest by the 10-minute mark, and more tank stats to follow, Envy simply had no chance of winning a teamfight with its lethality-stacking team composition and lack of magic damage. FlyQuest demonstrated this a little more than 36 minutes in by taking an easy 4-for-0 fight and subsequently the Nexus.
Game 2's early game was also hectic, with six kills by the six-minute mark split evenly between the teams. Afterward, however, everything came up EnVyUs. Top laner Shin "Seraph" Woo-yeong's Ekko was able to win the split-push despite being heavily focused by FlyQuest, and in the meantime the rest of Envy grabbed turrets and maintained a monopoly on neutral objectives. Using their two Mountain Drakes to two-man Baron at 26 minutes, Envy stormed in and demolished the base of FlyQuest in just over 34 minutes.
In the deciding Game 3, just about everything went the way of FlyQuest. FlyQuest not only grabbed every single one of the early kills but also every dragon in the game, including three Infernal Drakes. An "Balls" Van Le's Nautilus even grabbed a solo kill on Seraph's Rumble en route to a 3/0/3 KDA as the kill leader in the game. A lone pick onto Daerek "LemonNation" Hart's Blitzcrank prevented FlyQuest from taking a perfect Game 3, but it still managed to close out the series in just under 31 minutes.
FlyQuest hopes to carry that momentum forward when it faces its former sister team Cloud9 on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, and Envy will look to bounce back against Immortals at the same time.
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Team SoloMid vs. CLG
Team SoloMid demolished longtime rivals Counter Logic Gaming with a clean 2-0 series sweep on Saturday during Week 6, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series from Los Angeles, California.
Counter Logic Gaming (5-6, 12-15 match record) had a decent start to Game 1 with first blood at four minutes, but Team SoloMid (9-2, 18-11) quickly turned things around with two kills in a foiled gank in the bottom lane. AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran got an early lead on his Varus, securing first tower in the bottom lane while teamfighting extremely well. CLG's all AD-composition struggles began in the mid game as TSM stacked armor and negated most of CLG's damage. CLG rushed a desperation Baron at 30 minutes but could do nothing in the face of TSM's crisp team play.
TSM showed off its exceptional teamfighting throughout the late game, where WildTurtle earned most of his 7/1/11 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) by landing clutch Chains of Corruptions while shredding through CLG with Piercing Arrows. TSM was methodical in its beatdown of Counter Logic Gaming, and a final 4-for-0 teamfight in CLG's base gave TSM Game 1 in 46 minutes.
Team SoloMid was finished playing with its food after Game 1, and despite an early Counter Logic Gaming lead, TSM demolished its competition. Taking a 4-for-1 teamfight in the bottom side river at 11 minutes, TSM turned around a 600 gold deficit at 17 minutes through solo kills from ace mid laner Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg's Syndra and immaculate teamfighting. Starting with a 3-for-0 in the top lane at 20 minutes, TSM repeatedly decimated CLG, picking up a 4-for-0 and Baron kill around 21 minutes to amass a 6,300-gold lead at 22 minutes. With CLG all but helpless against Bjergsen, who posted a 7/1/11 KDA, the reigning NA LCS champions swept through Counter Logic Gaming's base and closed out the Game 2 win in just 26 minutes.
Team SoloMid looks to continue its streak of dominance Sunday against Team Dignitas at 3 p.m. ET. Counter Logic Gaming will have to wait until next week for a chance to bounce back against that same Dignitas squad on March 11th at 3 p.m. ET.
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Phoenix1 vs. Team Dignitas
With both teams looking to separate themselves from the middle of the pack, Phoenix1 (7-5, 18-11 match record) triumphed 2-1 over Team Dignitas (4-7, 12-16 match record) during Week 6, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles, California.
Phoenix1 looked strong in the early stage of Game 1, which started out with top laner Derek "zig" Shao's Kled grabbing first blood while being dived under his turret for an overall 2-for-1 trade in favor of P1. Dignitas got right back into the game at 24 minutes, however, finding two free kills and a Baron buff. Phoenix1 was unshaken, however, and went on to win the subsequent mid-lane fight at 30 minutes. Afterwards, an uncontested Baron allowed P1 to waltz up to Dignitas' base and ace them after a failed Teleport flank from DIG top laner Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho's Poppy, ending the game in under 35 minutes.
Game 2 was considerably slower, as although Dignitas jungler Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun's Lee Sin was able to narrowly outduel P1 jungler William "Meteos" Hartman's Rengar to take first blood in under three minutes; this was one of only three kills to occur before the 20-minute mark. At 21 minutes, however, Dignitas ignited their small lead by finding a 4-for-0 extended fight and the Baron buff. Dignitas stormed into P1's base to take Game 2 in 26 minutes, just seconds after said buff expired.
Phoenix1 mid laner "Ryu" made a statement on LeBlanc in Game 3, solo killing P1 mid laner Keane's Zed for first blood just four minutes in. The game got fairly quiet after that, with just one other kill coming before the 20-minute mark as P1 slowly pressed its advantage. At 22 minutes, however, P1 blew the game wide open with a 3-for-0 top-lane dive. Another tower dive minutes later earned them an inhibitor, and from then on Phoenix1 faced no resistance as they ended the game in 29 minutes to take the series.
Phoenix1 will enter into a tie for third place if they beat FlyQuest on Friday, March 10 at 9 PM EST. Meanwhile, the members of Team Dignitas will do their best to put this series behind them, going up against Team SoloMid on Sunday at 3 PM EST.
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Team Dignitas vs. Team SoloMid
In the first match of Week 6, Day 3 of the North American League Championship Series, Team SoloMid (10-2, 20-11 match record) picked up a 2-0 series sweep over Team Dignitas (4-8, 12-18) in Los Angeles, California on Sunday.
Team Dignitas started things off by snagging a quick kill just five minutes in, but Team SoloMid responded by picking up an Infernal Dragon and several kills of their own in the bottom lane. Team Dignitas' mid laner Lae-Young "Keane" Jang's Cassiopeia was dominant in skirmishes, allowing his team to secure the first Baron of the game. Team Dignitas was able to push into TSM's base with the buff, but a crucial mistake allowed Team SoloMid to flank them. With the positional advantage, Team SoloMid picked up a clean ace 41 minutes into the game, bouncing back from a gold deficit and closing out a 42-minute Game 1 win.
Game 2 featured an impressive showing by TSM top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell's Rumble. After falling early, he turned things around and began dominating the top lane, turning a gank around for a 1-vs-2 outplay. With a significant pressure on Hauntzer's side of the map, Team SoloMid made moves around the map to claim back-to-back teamfight victories. In doing so, they had no trouble securing a 20-minute Baron and a subsequent power-play that allowed them to extend their gold lead to 7,000 and take the first inhibitor of the game. Team SoloMid knocked down the enemy base with ease, wrapping up the win in just 27 minutes.
Team SoloMid will look to continue dominating the standings of the North American League Championship Series on Saturday, March 11th when they take on Team EnVyUs at 3:00 pm EST. Dignitas will look to bounce back from the defeat with a victory as they take on Counter Logic Gaming on Saturday at 3:00pm EST.
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Echo Fox vs. Team Liquid
Echo Fox (7-7, 12-17 match record) won a hard fought 2-1 series against Team Liquid (3-9, 12-20) on Saturday during Week 6, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles, California.
Echo Fox dominated in Game 1 as they took an early lead through objectives and teamfighting. Team Liquid wasn't able to get a turret kill until 28 minutes in, which would be the only objective they secured. Echo Fox's success came mostly from top laner Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok who won the lane on Renekton with a huge CS lead. Snowballing into a teamfighting monster, Looper finished with a 7/1/7 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) for 93 percent kill participation to pick up Player of the Game honors.
In Game 2, Echo Fox support Austin "Gate" Yu's Camille spent a decent amount of time roaming, which netted him a lot of early assists as Echo Fox again dominated objectives. Echo Fox struggled when they tried to close out Game 2, however, as Team Liquid weathered two Baron buff sieges and started to take control after they secured a Baron kill of their own as well as an Elder Dragon that helped them expose all of Echo Fox's inhibitors. Team Liquid struggled with closing out Game 2 until a teleport flank from top laner Samson "Lourlo" Jackson's Renekton caught Echo Fox out of their base around the 49 minute mark. Team Liquid cleaned up the ensuing teamfight 3-for-0 before surging into Echo Fox's base to force Game 3.
Echo Fox's mid laner Henrik "Froggen" Hansen was a huge lane bully on Viktor in Game 3, farming a huge gold lead in lane to become a huge damage threat when he roamed to help push top lane. Team Liquid kept the kill trades even throughout the early and mid games, but had large CS (creep score) and turret deficits late in Game 3. Cruising against a floundering TL, Echo Fox secured a Baron kill at the 26-minute mark that gave them the edge they needed to pick up an ace and sweep through Team Liquid's base for the Game 3 win.
Team Liquid opens up Week 7 facing off against Cloud9 on Friday at 6 PM EST. Echo Fox's next opponent on the Rift will be Phoenix1 as they square off on Saturday at 3 PM EST.
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Cloud9 vs. FlyQuest
In a rematch between former sister teams, Cloud9 (10-2, 21-8 match record) came out victorious with a fairly easy 2-0 win over FlyQuest (7-5, 17-12) on Sunday in Los Angeles, California to close out Week 6, Day 3 in the North American League of Legends Championship Series.
FlyQuest came out swinging in Game 1 with a three-man gank for first blood just over three minutes in. This early advantage didn't last long, however, as Cloud9 top laner Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong's Camille and jungler Juan "Contractz" Garcia's Rengar asserted their dominance all over the map through strong split pushing. C9 methodically chipped away at the resolve of FlyQuest with strong objective control, leading to a 5,000 gold lead in the late game. FQ went for broke with a Baron attempt 37 minutes in, but Cloud9 brute-forced its way into the Baron pit to wrestle away the Baron kill while also picking up an ace to break into FlyQuest's base and lock up the 39-minute win.
Game 2 was a back-and-forth rollercoaster that was decided by a single fight in the late game. FlyQuest picked up first blood just under a minute in during an invade of the C9 jungle, but no more kills were had on either side until C9 got two kills in the bottom lane at the 15-minute mark. FQ started to slowly get back into the game, picking up occasional teamfight wins to secure the first two Barons of the game, but C9 still held on with decisive teamfights as, even after the second Baron, FQ had only managed to just even up the gold between the two teams. C9 simply bided its time before coming up with a big 3-for-0 at the 41-minute mark, which gave it a chance to pick up the next Baron. With the Baron buff running, C9 won a big 4-for-0 fight that proved to be the nail in the coffin for FlyQyest in a 46-minute Cloud9 win.
FlyQuest will look to bounce back from this tough loss when it takes on Phoenix1 on Friday at 9 PM EST, while Cloud9 next faces Team Liquid on Friday at 6 PM EST.
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Immortals vs. Team EnVyUs
Team EnVyUs (3-9, 8-19 match record) beat Immortals (5-7, 14-16) on Sunday during Week 6, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles, California.
Immortals took the early advantage in Game 1 but made questionable decisions in the mid game, leaving the door open for Team EnVyUs. The teamfights went slightly in NV's favor as they held a lead in kills but never had map pressure to really punish Immortals by knocking down turrets. Immortals used splitpushing pressure from struggling mid laner Eugene "Pobelter" Park's Talon, who earned a 7/4/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) to claw back into the game, eventually taking control of teamfights with a huge 4-for-0 around the 38-minute mark to secure their second Baron of Game 1. With Team EnVyUs on the backfoot, Immortals pushed onwards to take an early series lead.
Game 2 started off with Pobelter's Ahri completing an early roam to secure a double kill on Team EnVyUs' bottom lane duo for first blood. Immortals continued their strong early game with rotations that gave them a lead in turret kills but started to falter in the late teamfights. No matter how Immortals tried to engage, NV managed to turn it around. Team EnVyUs' teamfight victories earned them multiple Baron buffs as they took control of Game 2 in the late game, securing its third Baron and taking an Elder Dragon to sweep through Immortals and force Game 3.
Team EnVyUs jungler Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo was the playmaker on Elise early in Game 3 as his ganks secured kills in every lane. LirA's first gank was very clean, but he got progressively sloppier with his turret dives. Immortals struggled to deal with split push pressure as Team EnVyUs trimmed away all Tier 2 turrets by the 25 minute mark, getting dragged around the map before eventually being lured out of their base to contest a Baron. Team EnVyUs secured the buff and won the ensuing teamfight 4-for-1, leaving Immortals hopeless. Team EnVyUs shoved their way into Immortals base to take the 2-1 series win.
