LCS Semifinals: Business As Usual?
It’s finals week for the League of Legends Championship series, but before we conclude the Summer Splits and see who will claim the right to head to the Season 5 World Championships as the #1 seeds of the west, let’s remind ourselves what happened last weekend.
Two reigning champions, one undefeated and one struggling, looked to be one step closer to reclaiming their crowns. On the other side, rivals old and new would struggle for the right to face the top dogs… or so we thought.
Fnatic vs Unicorns of Love: Don’t Mess With the Champ
The most straightforward and expected outcome of all the semifinal matches was between the undefeated Fnatic of historic 18-0 regular season record fame, and the inconsistent but lovable fan favorites, Unicorns of Love.
Despite their rapport with the crowd, nobody expected the Unicorns to beat the Spring Split champs, but a good number were wagering that the sly picks of the Unicorns could upset Fnatic at least once in the series. Sadly for Unicorns fans, the Fnatic that showed up in the semis were not the same team the pink pony players faced in last split’s finals.
Febiven’s game face. Half effortless, half murderous intent.
In what was undoubtedly the most dominant thrashing of the playoffs yet, Fnatic manhandled the Unicorns in 3 straight victories. Their highest end score gold lead over the Unicorns—a whopping 20k gold! What’s more, over the course of the series, Fnatic amassed 48 kills, while only giving up 12.
With 21 straight wins to their name, the question on everyone’s minds is “Who can stop Fnatic now?”
Team SoloMid vs Team Liquid: Return to Form
TSM, the champions coming off their weakest LCS split ever. Team Liquid, the side always one hair shy of greatness with their first ever #1 placing in the regular season. This was the bout to decide if there would be a new world order in North America.
As it turns out, there wouldn’t be. Team Liquid came so close, with the first two matches going over 50 minutes of non-stop back and forth action before TSM pulled off clutch play after clutch play to seal in the victories.
Liquid fought back in game 3, finally getting Kim “FeniX” Jae-hoon his best champion in Azir. But as TSM is wont to do, they quickly reset their mentality and assessed their opponent. The 4th and final game was a stomp, with TSM finishing 13k gold above their opponents.
H2K-Gaming vs Origen: The #1 Contender
For all of Fnatic’s dominance over the Summer Split, only two teams have ever come close to stopping them: H2k and Origen. This semifinal would determine which team would ascend to become the true contender for the throne.
Both teams are similar in the sense that they effectively run triple threat compositions and they springboard almost exclusively off early game leads. With each of the laners somewhat evenly matched, it fell to the jungle and support roles to tip the scales, and that’s when Origen really swung the match.
Paul “soaZ” Boyer was given room to work over his opponent thanks to superior jungle pressure, and the roams of Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez snatched victory from under H2k’s feet. H2k managed a single convincing win of their own, but after some questionable Lee Sin performances by Jean-Victor “loulex” Burgevin, Origen would advance to the finals.
Team Impulse vs Counter Logic Gaming: G O L D E N A G E
CLG, the team living in the past. CLG, the playoff chokers. CLG, the potential that never was. CLG, the golden age turned pink. The team had to endure all these jeers as split after split they disappointed fans with horrible playoff runs.
But no more. Up against one of the greatest tests of their mettle in Team Impulse, a team known for late split excellence (winning 11 out of their last 13 games) and unrelenting aggression, CLG silenced all the critics by showing up big.
Impulse had come from a their own 3-0 trouncing of Dignitas, but that didn’t stop CLG from shutting down their momentum. Taking away Azir, targeting the jungle, getting Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng ahead—CLG did all the right things in order to succeed, and they were rewarded with a clean sweep of their own.
As they head into the finals with their playoff curse seemingly broken, CLG fans finally have something to celebrate. Maybe now the players will get some well-deserved rest from all the vitriol they receive.
The Final Countdown:
For the 3rd/4th place matchups, Team Liquid will try to salvage their split by claiming 3rd place against Team Impulse. Should they win, their combined Championship points can net them a spot at Worlds. H2k will be looking for an all-important win against UoL, as a win for the Unicorns could mean an automatic Worlds berth due to points as well.
The finals marks the first time CLG has ever made it this far, and what a story for them to be facing their classic rivals, TSM. The two teams have never actually been on equal footing in the last two years, but now CLG’s realization of their golden age has rekindled the rivalry.
For Fnatic, Origen will be the 6th opponent they’ve faced in an LCS final. While the previous contenders have come and gone, Fnatic has been to every European final and won 4 out of 5 of them. It’s present Fnatic vs. past Fnatic—either way, Fnatic fans win!
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