North American League of Legends Week 4 Day 1
Game 1
The first game of League of Legends pitched Echo Fox against Counter Logic Gaming. Both teams are similar positions in the standings and as the season heads into the middle weeks of the season, wins become very important. After a disappointing ‘Rift Rivals’ for North America, Echo Fox looks to get back on track. The champion select went as follows:
FOX vs CLG
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Darius
Jungle: Graves vs Trundle
Mid: Yasuo vs Taliyah
Bot: Heimerdinger vs Varus
Support: Fiddlesticks vs Rakan
Standard lanes appeared in this game, the highlight FOX have decided to adapt the Heimerdinger + Fiddlesticks bot lane seen in Europe and at Rift Rivals. First blood came in the top lane for CLG as jungler Reignover outpaced FOX jungler Dardoch and picked up a kill. Although not picking up the kill this was enough for CLG top laner Darshan rolling and have him take over the game. Despite giving up dragon control, CLG would put up a dominate performance and win the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 2
The second game of the day pitched 100 Thieves against Team Solo Mid. 100 Thieves made some changes to their lineup before this week with the addition of ex FlyQuest jungler ‘AnDa’ acquired in a trade for ‘Meteos’. The champion select went as follows:
100T vs TSM
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Darius
Jungle: Rakan vs Alistar
Mid: Xayah vs Taliyah
Bot: Vladimir vs Heimerdinger
Support: Pyke vs Fiddlesticks
A few swaps coming in for each team this game. On the side of 100T, jungler AnDa is gold funnelling for Cody Sun in the mid lane on Xayah. Ryu is on Vladimir in the bot lane. For the side of TSM, jungler ‘Grig’ was gold funnelling mid for Taliyah. First blood came in late in this game. 12 minutes in, TSM would pick up a kill from the duo lane. Back and forth fights without a team getting a clear edge persisted through. 100T would have a break through moment winning consecutive fights. This allowed them to take Baron Nashor and end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 3
The third game of the day pitched Clutch Gaming against Golden Guardians. With a small shift in the jungle meta Golden Guardians look to adapt their play style accordingly. The champion select went as follows:
CG vs GGS
Top: Gnar vs Dr. Mundo
Jungle: Gragas vs Kindred
Mid: Swain vs Talon
Bot: Varus vs Jhin
Support: Morgana vs Soraka
Standard lanes were played in this game which gave both junglers a chance to shine. ‘Contractz’ would dive the bot lane took pick up two kills early, but would trade his own life. This relentless pursuit for GGS was may more than enough for CG to handle. Kill after kill came in for ‘Contractz’ ‘Deftly’, and ‘Mickey’. With perfect dragon control and Baron Nashor, GGS would push for the win in a 40+ minute game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 4
The fourth game of the day featured Team Liquid against Optic Gaming. A big win for Optic would give them momentum going into day 2 but it won’t be easy as Team Liquid look to continue performing above the competition. The champion select went as follows:
TL vs OPT
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Jarvin IV
Jungle: Shen vs Graves
Mid: Taliyah vs Syndra
Bot: Jhin vs Heimerdinger
Support: Tahm Kench vs Fiddlesticks
Team Liquid would opt for the gold funnelling strategy sending ‘Xmithie’ to the mid lane and ‘Pobelter’ into the jungle. OPT would play standard lanes, but adopted the European bot lane special of Heimerdinger and Fiddlesticks. First blood came early in this game as TL would get a pick onto jungler ‘Akaadian’ for Optic. The kill was credited to ‘Xmithie’. TL would maintain dragon control but Optic had the kill lead. This made for a very even game heading back and fourth. The game broke open over a baron fight that TL won. They would choose to neglect Baron and go straight for the win in a 40+minutes game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 5
The final game of League of Legends pitched Cloud 9 against FlyQuest. Cloud have chosen to substitute starting bot laner ‘Sneaky’ back in to pair with substitute support player ‘Zayzel’ for a unique pairing. FlyQuest have opted to not start newly acquired jungler ‘Meteos’. The champion select went as follows:
C9 vs FLY
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Jarvin IV
Jungle: Gragas vs Kindred
Mid: Orianna vs Galio
Bot: Morgana vs Lucian
Support: Pyke vs Braum
Standard lanes again in this game for both teams. First blood would come in for C9 with a gank to the top lane. The kill was credited to ‘Svenskaren’. The roster substitution worked well for Cloud 9 as the bot lane was apart of a majority of the teams office. C9 controlled the pace of the game with a dominating performance that was uncharacteristic of them by their previous weeks. The score was 16 – 5 in kills. An overpowering performance. The highlights can be found below:
Standings
T1 – Team Liquid
– 100 Thieves
T3 – Counter Logic Gaming
– Echo Fox
– Team Solo Mid
T6 – FlyQuest
– Golden Guardians
– Clutch Gaming
T9 – Cloud 9
– Optic Gaming
Missed Week 3? Recap: HERE
