North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split Kicks Off
The North American League of Legends Summer split kicks off and will run for nine weeks. With the addition of franchising in League of Legends the 10 teams will battle it out to be champions of the rift. The top six teams at the end of the split will make playoffs and battle it out for championship points and winners get a trophy and a direct qualification for Worlds 2018.
Teams
100 Thieves
Top: Ssumday
Jungle: Meteos
Mid: Ryu
Bot: Cody Sun
Support: Aphromoo
Team Solo Mid
Top: Hauntzer
Jungle: Grig
Mid: Bjergsen
Bot: Zven
Support: Mithy
Cloud 9
Top: Licorice
Jungle: Svenskeren
Mid: Goldenglue
Bot: Keith
Support: Zeyzal
Team Liquid
Top: Impact
Jungle: Xmithie
Mid: Pobelter
Bot: Doublelift
Support: Olleh
Clutch Gaming
Top: Solo
Jungle: Lira
Mid: Febiven
Bot: Apollo
Support: Hakuho
Optic Gaming
Top: Dhokla
Jungle: Akaadian
Mid: PowerofEvil
Bot: Arrow
Support: Big
Counter Logic Gaming
Top: Darshan
Jungle: Reignover
Mid: Huhi
Bot: Stixxay
Support: Biofrost
Golden Guardians
Top: Lourlo
Jungle: Contractz
Mid: Mickey
Bot: Deftly
Support: Matt
Echo Fox
Top: Huni
Jungle: Dardoch
Mid: Fenix
Bot: Altec
Support: Adrian
Flyquest
Top: Flame
Jungle: Santorin
Mid: Keane
Bot: WildTurtle
Support: Kwon
Day 1
Game 1
Game 1 pitched Team Liquid against 100 Thieves. With an interesting meta of picks, teams are testing new strategies throughout the season. The champion select went as follows:
Team Liquid vs 100 Thieves
Top: Aatrox vs Renekton
Jungle: Camille vs Trundle
Mid: Galio vs Irelia
Bot: Xayah vs Vladimir
Support: Rakan vs Leona
Team Liquid would pick up first blood in the bot lane with a 2 vs 2 kill credited to Xayah, but 100 Thieves would bounce back and get a return kill a few minutes later credited to Vladimir. 100 Thieves look to keep the ball rolling as they would pick up kills in the top and bottom lanes. A Dragon fight would break out landing trade kills for each of the team. Team Liquid would bounce back picking up two kills and taking the Baron Nashor. They will then win another fight and take the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 2
Team Solo Mid takes on Counter Logic Gaming in a rivalry that is one of the longest on going rivalries in League of Legends. The champion select went was follows:
TSM vs CLG
Top: Aatrox vs Ornn
Jungle: Olaf vs Graves
Mid: Irelia vs Renekton
Bot: Kai’sa vs Ezreal
Support: Alistar vs Braum
CLG would find first blood in a 3v3 skirmish before Darshan picked up a solo kill to go up two kills to zero. However, some questionable decisions would allow TSM to crawl their way back in winning a close fight that would get them back in the game. TSM would go on from there to win the final fight and close out the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 3
Clutch gaming takes on Cloud 9 in Game 3 of the day. The big story here is Cloud 9 has subbed out three of their most notable players in an attempt to shake things up. The champion select went as follows:
CG vs C9
Top: Ornn vs Shen
Jungle: Graves vs Nocturne
Mid: Lulu vs Zoe
Bot: Vladimir vs Brand
Support: Morgana vs Nautilus
Clutch Gaming would pick up first blood followed by a second kill in a miscommunication by Cloud 9’s bot a support. About a minute later Clutch Gaming would pick up a third kill taking an early advantage in the game. Cloud 9 would crawl their way back into the game, but a lack of execution in crucial fights would allow Clutch Gaming to take baron and end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 4
Game 4 pitched Team Echo Fox against FlyQuest. With a difficult meta to grasp these changes looked as though they would favour Echo Fox. The champion select went as follows:
Echo Fox vs FlyQuest
Top: Yasuo vs Ornn
Jungle: Trundle vs Xin Zhao
Mid: Irelia vs Lulu
Bot: Dr. Mundo vs Swain
Support: Shen vs Tahm Kench
Echo Fox would pick up first blood in a 2 vs 2 fight with Huni in the bot lane. The kill is credited to Adrian the support. The game quickly became a blood bath as there was 18 kills in 15 minutes. After going back down Fox would climb there way back into the game by taking two Infernal Dragons and grabbing Baron Nashor. This would be enough for them to close out the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 5
The final game of the day pitched Golden Guardians vs Optic Gaming. These relatively new teams did not have good showings in Spring and are expected to be near the bottom of the standings again. The champion select went as follows:
GG vs OPT
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Ornn
Jungle: Graves vs Xin Zhao
Mid: Lulu vs Viktor
Bot: Brand vs Ezreal
Support: Rakan vs Braum
A roam from Optic Gaming top-laner Dhokla would allow Power of Evil to get first blood, but the kill would be answered in the bot-lane a few minutes later. The trend of trade kills would continue until Optic finally found the fight they needed to push for the win and end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Standings
T1 – Team Liquid
T1 – Team Solo Mid
T1 – Clutch Gaming
T1 – Echo Fox
T1 – Optic Gaming
T6 – 100 Thieves
T6 – Counter Logic Gaming
T6 – Cloud 9
T6 – FlyQuest
T6 – Golden Guardians
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