This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
FlyQuest vs. Echo Fox
FlyQuest stayed alive in a fight for a playoff spot with a 2-0 sweep of Echo Fox on Friday during Week 9, Day 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split in Los Angeles.
FlyQuest (6-11, 15-25 match record) missed out on first blood but did better in turret trades to earn a gold lead over Echo Fox (7-10, 18-22) heading into the mid game. Echo Fox started to find picks onto key targets, most coming off of AD carry Yuri "Keith" Jew's Ashe ultimates to take control. Securing a Baron at the 25-minute mark, Echo Fox used the buff to great effect, locking down a 6,000-gold lead in a Baron power play. Echo Fox couldn't close out the game, however, unable to make timely decisions as FlyQuest took control of the entire map. FlyQuest failed to close out Game 1 through split-pushing, but succeeded once it grouped up and pushed to a 39-minute win.
Echo Fox jungler Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham's Rengar secured first blood in Game 2 but FlyQuest's bottom lane duo dominated early, securing first turret gold. With Echo Fox top laner Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok's Singed losing in the top lane after failing risky dives, FlyQuest kept winning the teamfights in the mid game as it bounced back from its previously weak early game, leading to a Baron buff. Echo Fox tried to stop the Baron power play with a desperation ambush strategy but it backfired, giving FlyQuest took a pair of kills and inhibitors. FlyQuest collected themselves for a final coordinated push, taking Game 2 and making a statement on the final weekend of the regular season.
Echo Fox plays in a crucial series against Team EnVyUs Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, while FlyQuest faces offs with 9th place Team Liquid as it looks to secure a playoff spot on Sunday at approximately 6 p.m. ET.
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Cloud9 vs. Dignitas
Week 9, Day 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles kicked off with two of NA's most prominent esports organizations in Cloud9 and Team Dignitas facing off against each other. Cloud9 was able to take home the 2-0 sweep over Dignitas on Friday, pushing through strong starts from Dignitas in both contests.
Game 1 showcased Dignitas' (8-9, 20-22 match record) cohesion and dominance in the early game. Dignitas showed high energy and proactivity early on that was nearly matched by Cloud9 (13-4, 29-13), but Dignitas jungler Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun took first blood and did everything he could to propel his team ahead. Despite having a mounting lead, Dignitas became its own worst enemy and began to over-pursue fights in the mid game. Over-aggression coupled with a Cloud9 Baron steal quickly turned things around, as C9 picked off Dignitas members to siege ahead and take the 1-0 lead in the series. Cloud9 midlaner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen played well throughout the game, putting up a 6/1/11 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) on Orianna.
The second game saw Cloud9 nab first blood before minions spawned, but that didn't slow down the constant pressure that Chaser put out, as he was able to get two quick kills. The Dignitas top and jungle duo of Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho and Chaser outshined anything and everything Cloud9 did in the early game. The mid game followed the same pattern of the first match: Dignitas over-aggression gave away to Cloud9 resurgence. After getting Baron 28 minutes in, Cloud9 began to push into the Dignitas base. However, a strongly forced teamfight by Sssumday mostly neutralized Cloud9's Baron buff. The 36-minute mark saw Cloud9 take Baron with Dignitas countering by taking Elder Dragon. The ensuing fight didn't outright end the game, but it was the bot-lane push that led to Cloud9 being able to close out the series 2-0. Jensen again showed his expertise on Orianna, putting up a 9/0/11 KDA.
Cloud9 will close out Saturday's action against Phoenix1 at 6 p.m. ET, while Dignitas will finish its spring split against Immortals on Sunday at 3 p.m.
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Immortals vs. Counter Logic Gaming
Immortals was able to improve its playoff chances by routing an incomplete Counter Logic Gaming roster in Saturday's Week 9 Day 2 North American League Championship Series match in Los Angeles.
A few minutes before the start of Game 1, news broke that CLG's star AD carry, Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes, would miss Saturday's game thanks to an illness, opening the door for emergency sub of Joseph "Joey" Hasleman. That meant that Zaqueri "aphromoo" Black would slide into the ADC role with Joey playing aphromoo's support position.
Immortals (8-9, 21-21 match record) had no reservations about capitalizing on the roster advantage and picked poke-oriented Karma for support Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung. Once Game 1 began, bottom lane predictably skewed into Immortals' favor where it remained the entirety of the match. Immortals forced fights often, hoping to snowball a lead and tilt the series in its favor before the opposing team's bottom lane could become accustomed to each other.
CLG (9-8, 20-21) was not ready to roll over, displaying great team collapses to keep the kill trades mostly even throughout early game. Unfortunately for CLG, the amount of attention the bottom laners required meant jungler Jake "Xmithie" Puchero was not able to devote enough attention to jungle objectives, and Immortals jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett was able to secure all four drakes and a Baron. Immortals built an insurmountable 10,000-gold advantage through the mid game and cruised to a 36 minute Game 1 win with an 18 to 10 kill advantage.
Immortals once again took advantage of the new-look bottom lane to start Game 2, with Dardoch managing to claim first blood in the area thanks to an opportune gank. That became the statt of an awful game for CLG's ADC and support combo. In Game 2, neither aphromoo nor Joey were able to secure a kill, but they accounted for 12 deaths. Dardoch's first blood kickstarted what was a dominant performance in Game 2, as he amassed an astonishing 13/2/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) while leading his team's charge with blistering tempo around the map. The game was never in question, and Immortals closed out the series by winning Game 2 in under 28 minutes, this time with a 21-to-6 kill advantage.
Immortals' playoff hopes will be on the line when it plays Team Dignitas at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday. CLG will hope for its ADC to make a return when it takes on Team EnVyUs at 6 p.m. ET.
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Team Liquid vs. Team SoloMid
Team Liquid managed to upset top-ranked Team SoloMid with a 2-1 series victory Saturday during Week 9, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split in Los Angeles.
Team Liquid (5-12, 16-29 match record) had a great start to Game 1 as jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeu-Jin's Olaf scored successful ganks, participating in all five of the team's kills. Reignover mostly ganked the bottom lane, which aided in AD carry Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng's Ezreal going on an early killing spree while building a nice lead in CS. Team SoloMid (14-3, 29-16 match record) kept the gold close and started to show some life in the mid game as it began securing kills in the top and middle lane but got picked apart trying to contest Baron. Team Liquid kept building on its momentum until it scored an ace around the 27-minute mark then pushed to finish off Game 1.
Team SoloMid was winning both solo lanes early in Game 2 as top laner Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell's Renekton and mid laner Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg's Vladimir quickly jumped out to advantages in kills and CS. Team Liquid's CS deficits only grew as it lost turrets and objectives. Doublelift was Team Liquid''s only hope as he tried to carry, but TSM had plenty of ways to chase him down for kills. Team Liquid was helpless as Team SoloMid methodically applied pressure around the map, winning Game 2 in just under 30 minutes.
In Game 3 the mid lane matchup was the same as Game 2, with Bjergsen's Vladimir against Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin's Taliyah. Once again Piglet struggled to make an impact early, falling behind in level and CS thanks to a number of ganks. Team SoloMid's early momentum began to dissipate as Liquid won teamfights throughout the mid game, however. That all led to Liquid sneakily killing a Baron near the 22-minute mark, only sacrificing a mid lane tier one turret to pull off the feat. The Baron power play left TSM's top lane inhibitor exposed, but the gold was still close on both sides. However Team SoloMid made a bad engage 30 minutes in that left only the support Vincent "Biofrost" Wang's Karma left to defend the Nexus. Biofrost wasn't much of an obstacle as Team Liquid's full squad pushed to complete the upset.
Team SoloMid will face off against Phoenix1 to close out the Spring Split on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Team Liquid's quest to avoid relegation will continue Sunday against FlyQuest at 6 p.m. ET.
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Cloud9 vs. Phoenix1
Cloud9 swept Phoenix1 on Saturday in Los Angeles to ensure a top-two seed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series playoffs.
The opening game saw Cloud9's bottom-lane duo of Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi and Andy "Smoothie" Ta absolutely dominate the early game. The duo was able to find two kills each while the rest of the team played well enough in lane to give Cloud9 (14-4, 31-13 match record) a 5,000-gold lead by 25 minutes. Cloud9 went up 1-0 in the series off the back of top laner Jeon "Ray" Ji-won, who managed to consistently engage and split up Phoenix1 (11-6, 26-13). Sneaky left his mark on the game as well with a 5/0/10 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) on Lucian.
The second match between two of North America's best teams saw Cloud9 continue to play well in the early game. Although Cloud9's early game had been one of its main weak points throughout the season, it looked like a strength Saturday. The mid-game also saw Cloud9 frequently moving around the map, but Phoenix1 did not back down, rarely giving up objectives or picks without a fight. Phoenix1 became its own worst enemy as it poorly executed a very winnable teamfight in the bot-lane in the mid-game. Cloud9 was able to close out the series sweep off a Baron kill and siege. Cloud9 midlaner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen played well, putting up an 8/1/6 KDA on Orianna.
With the win, Cloud9 has wrapped up is NA LCS Spring Split regular season, while Phoenix1 ends its regular season against Team SoloMid on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. If Phoenix1 wins its series against TSM, then Cloud9 will secure the top seed, while Phoenix1 is guaranteed a three seed in the playoffs.
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Echo Fox vs. Team EnVyUs
Echo Fox pulled out a much needed 2-1 series victory Saturday against Team EnVyUs to close out Week 9, Day 2 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split in Los Angeles.
Early in Game 1, Echo Fox jungler Matthew "Akaadian" Higginbotham got his Kha'Zix first blood in top lane. Akaadian then focused his attention early on the top half of the map as he also gave gank help to Echo Fox mid laner Henrik "Froggen" Hansen's Karthus. Echo Fox (6-12, 15-28 match record) went on to maintain a small advantage in kills but made poor turret trades, including giving up an inhibitor at the 16 minute mark for a tier two turret. Team EnVyUs (3-14, 13-29 match record) didn't kept up its fast mid game tempo, allowing Echo Fox time to make up most of its gold deficit.
EnVy lost vision control over Baron, and Echo Fox capitalized by quickly killing Baron 30 minutes in. Echo Fox's Baron power play was enough to knock down two inhibitors and wore off as it began to siege and knock down the Nexus turrets. Echo Fox overstayed, allowing EnVyUs time to regroup and pick up a few kills. Once Echo Fox respawned, it put together a rather clean final push to win Game 1.
Game 2 saw Team EnVyUs struggle in teamfights early as Echo Fox ran out to an early lead in kills. Its teamfight woes started to turn around, however, after turning an Echo Fox engage into a 3-0 teamfight win of its own near the 23-minute mark. That allowed EnVy to quickly rush neutral objectives, securing a Mountain Drake and then a Baron buff that was parlayed into near destruction of Echo Fox's base. Continuing to keep pressure on every lane, EnVy finally put Echo Fox away after a second Baron play, pushing the series into a deciding third contest.
Game 3 featured more of Akaadian's early ganks on Lee Sin, but the strategy backfired as EnVy jungler Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo killed him for first blood and then ran away with a CS lead. Echo Fox rallied back in the mid-game as it evened out gold and objectives. EnVy tried to sneak a Baron kill 23 minutes in, but Echo Fox's jungler Akaadian stole the buff. Echo Fox's stolen Baron power play exposed mid lane's inhibitor but didn't yield much of a gold lead. EnVy tried to maintain map control after the buff wore off, but AD carry Apollo "Apollo" Price's Varus got caught out by a flank. Jumping on Apollo, Akaadian jumpstarted a teamfight that eventually led to Echo Fox securing a 3-for-0 trade and a second Baron. Echo Fox forced a final fight over EnVy's final inhibitor and won 4-for-0 before pushing to win the series.
Team EnVyUs has its final series of Week 9 against Counter Logic Gaming on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. With its Spring Split now done, Echo Fox will have to hope to avoid relegation depending on the outcome of Sunday's Team Liquid vs. FlyQuest series
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TSM vs. Phoenix1
Week 9, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series kicked off with Team SoloMid completing a seemingly-effortless 2-0 sweep over Phoenix1 on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Game 1 saw Phoenix1 jungler Rami "Inori" Charagh start over William "Meteos" Hartman, but to no avail as TSM jungler Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen's Lee Sin popped off in a big way. Snowballing every lane to a significant lead with pressure in each lane, Svenskeren gave Team SoloMid (15-3, 31-16 match record) first blood early on. Surging ahead of Inori's Rengar, who had an admittedly terrible performance as far as damage output and game impact was concerned, Svenskeren put on a highlight-reel performance with a 6/1/14 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) to earn game MVP honors. Phoenix1 simply had no way to stop Svenskeren from carrying TSM to a dominant Game 1 win in 31 minutes.
The second game was a much closer bout with neither team taking any sizable leads until the 25-minute mark. After a sluggish early game, Team SoloMid stormed into the mid game, forcing and winning a 3-for-1 teamfight. Capitalizing on the victory, Team SoloMid was able to secure the first Baron of the game. Phoenix1 (11-7, 26-15 match record) did show some signs of life later in the game, but it was too far behind TSM, led by ace mid laner Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, who found several solo kills en route to a 5/4/9 KDA as Vladimir. Team SoloMid finished the series sweep in style with a crushing teamfight win despite Phoenix1's triple Cloud Drakes, closing the book on their 2017 Spring Split Regular Season.
Phoenix1 has earned the third seed, while Team SoloMid has secured the top seed and a first round-bye going into the playoffs.
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Dignitas vs. Immortals
Team Dignitas survived some rough early games in its 2-0 sweep of Immortals on Sunday during Week 9, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Spring Split in Los Angeles.
In Game, 1 Immortals jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett's Lee Sin executed ganks in the bottom half of the map to nab an early lead in kills. Team Dignitas (9-9, 22-22 match record) took over throughout the mid game, however, as it built its lead in turrets, kills and gold. Around the 25-minute mark, Immortals (8-10, 21-23 match record) found an opportunity to sneak a Baron kill, starting a Baron power play that gave Immortals a 1,000-gold lead. Dignitas rallied late, picking up teamfight wins despite giving up a Baron buff to keep the pressure on Immortals. Immortals put up a good defense, holding off Dignitas until 58 minutes in, when it won a much needed 3-for-0 trade that gave it space to stabilize. After Dignitas respawned, it forced a smite battle over Baron, winning its third Baron kill of the remarkable five total Baron Nashors in Game 1 before pushing to victory to take a 1-0 lead.
Game 2 featured another strong start from Dardoch, as his Rengar stole a buff and secured first blood. Immortals lost out on some teamfights in the mid game but ran up a 5-to-0 lead in turrets, as it knocked down Dignitas' mid lane inhibitor 26 minutes in. Once Immortals secured a Baron kill at 28 minutes, mid laner Eugene "Pobelter" Park splitpushed as Vladimir and won an impressive two-on-one fight that led to knocking down the bottom lane inhibitor. Dignitas held strong, though, turning things around as Immortals were punished for overextending, losing all its momentum. After a Baron for Dignitas at 37 minutes, Immortals were desperate as it quickly lost turrets and teamfights. Dignitas took a final 4-for-2 teamfight as it sieged its way to a series win and playoff berth.
Team Dignitas successfully secured one of the lower playoff spots with the victory over Immortals (exact seed is pending other results). The Spring Split playoffs start Saturday, April 8.
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Counter Logic Gaming vs. EnVyUs
Counter Logic Gaming went the distance to secure a 2-1 series victory against Team EnVyUs on Sunday during Week 9, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split in Los Angeles.
Team EnVyUs (3-15, 14-30 match record) dominated skirmishes to begin Game 1, thanks to roams from mid laner Noh "Ninja" Geon-Woo's Talon, as it slowly built a 5,000-gold lead in the first 20 minutes. Counter Logic Gaming (10-8, 22-22 match record) started to turn things around in the mid game as it put together some well-coordinated teamfights of its own. That helped to even out the kill deficit, but CLG was unable to cut into EnVyUs' gold lead. EnVy's Ninja started to apply split pressure late while his teammates won skirmishes on the opposite side of the Rift. Counter Logic Gaming was helpless as its defense was torn apart in the final 10 minutes to give EnVyUs the Game 1 win.
EnVy got off to another early lead in Game 2 as its rotations produced first blood and first turret gold. Counter Logic Gaming was better prepared for the early game moves however and managed to stop its deficit from going over 3,200 gold. Kills were fairly even approaching the 30-minute mark, but things quickly swung in Counter Logic Gaming's favor. The next six minutes were disastrous for Team EnVyUs as CLG dominated teamfights and ran around the map taking objectives. Counter Logic Gaming's Baron kill around the 33-minute mark was all it needed to push through the enemy Nexus and secure the Game 2 win.
In the deciding contest, Counter Logic Gaming put together better early roams as it scored the first three kills, even knocking down the first turret. Facing constant pressure, EnVy failed to deal with a debilitating split push, losing key 5 vs. 4 fights while CLG mid laner Choi "Huhi" Jae-hyun's Ekko knocked down top lane all the way to the inhibitor. The split push started to break apart as EnVy would nearly even up the gold and cut into the turret deficit, but the moment wouldn't last for long. Momentum swung back to CLG as it won the next fight over Baron and went back to split pushing. Struggling to close out Game 3, CLG finally secured the 67-minute win after a final split push destroyed EnVy's Nexus.
The win locked up fourth place for Counter Logic Gaming in the NA LCS standings, meaning it will face FlyQuest in the first round of the playoffs on April 9th. EnVyUs will have to survive relegation in order to requalify for the 2017 Summer Split, beginning first with its match against Gold Coin United on Friday.
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FlyQuest vs. Team Liquid
FlyQuest took down Team Liquid on Sunday during Week 9, Day 3 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series in Los Angeles, securing a playoff spot. On the other side of the Rift, Team Liquid's final chance to escape the Promotion Tournament was dashed.
Game 1 was an unusual game for FlyQuest (9-9, 22-22 match record), who opted to play solely meta picks, a far cry from its usual surprise pick strategy. This didn't work out early on, as FlyQuest went down in gold until a 3-for-0 teamfight went in its favor. Team Liquid slowly clawed back into the game by playing well around Drakes and taking down towers. A Baron by Team Liquid (5-13, 17-30 match record) 30 minutes in sealed the deal, allowing Team Liquid to go up 1-0 in the series. TL jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin led the way for his team, posting a 5/2/5 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) as Kha'Zix.
The second game saw FlyQuest and Liquid scrapping it out in a back-and-forth early and mid-game, highlighted by a teamfight at 15-minutes that saw a 3-for-3 trade and a triple kill for FlyQuest AD carry Johnny "Altec" Ru's Varus. FlyQuest took the lead and never looked back after getting Baron near the 20-minute mark. After forcing Team Liquid into its own base, FlyQuest was able to close out the game at 34 minutes and even the series 1-1. FlyQuest mid-laner Hai "Hai" Du Lam shined brightest in the game, putting up a 10/3/5 KDA as Orianna.
The decider match was similar to the second game, with the early and mid-game not seeing any significant leads for either team. However, it was Team Liquid that took a decent lead at the 26-minute mark. While Liquid sought to push its advantages, FlyQuest was undeterred, managing to find a 4-for-0 teamfight near the 30-minute mark and snowball to victory off of a Baron secure. FlyQuest was able to close out the series and secure a ticket to Vancouver on the back of a high-flying Hai, who posting a 7/1/4 KDA as Talon.
FlyQuest's victory cemented its playoff spot, while Team Liquid has been relegated to the Summer Promotion Tournament to return to the NA LCS for the Summer Split.
