North American League of Legends Week 5 Day 1
Game 1
The first game of League of Legends pitched Echo Fox against 100 Thieves. 100 Thieves are looking to win this game to gain solo possession of first place. The champion select went as follows:
- FOX vs 100T
- Top: Gangplank vs Darius
- Jungle: Trundle vs Rakan
- Mid: Zoe vs Xayah
- Bot: Ezreal vs Vladimir
- Support: Morgana vs Shen
A lane swap coming in for 100T. Typical to what we have seen in the earlier weeks this lane swap had mid lane and bot swap. Then a gold funnel strategy was implemented. First blood came in in the mid lane off a counter gank for FOX. This set 100T behind but they would find kills elsewhere on the map. A failed Baron attempt pushed 100T back ahead. 100T would end the game in 40 minutes. The highlights can be found below:
Game 2
The second game of the day pitched Cloud 9 against Team Liquid. A mismatch in the standings would seem to make this an easy win for Team Liquid as they look to pull a 2 – 0 weekend. The champion select went as follows:
- C9 vs TL
- Top: Poppy vs Ornn
- Jungle: Kindred vs Gragas
- Mid: Orianna vs Azir
- Bot: Swain vs Jhin
- Support: Fiddlesticks vs Morgana
Cloud 9 choose to continue the roster changes, this time substituting out starting jungler ‘Svenskaren’ for academy jungler ‘Blaber’. First blood would come in for Team Liquid in the top lane off a gank. However, C9 top laner ‘Licorice’ would get a return solo kill. After a hectic fight at Baron C9 would gain an advantage off a reengaged fight. This gave them enough momentum to control the end game and take the win. The highlights can be found below:
Game 3
The third game of the day pitched Team Solo Mid against Optic Gaming. Team Solo Mid look to get this win to get them back on track. For Optic, they are looking to steal one here. The champion select went as follows:
- TSM vs OPT
- Top: Gangplank vs Jayce
- Jungle: Xin Zhao vs Kindred
- Mid: Galio vs Viktor
- Bot: Varus vs Jhin
- Support: Tahm Kench vs Braum
TSM took first blood with a gank to the bot lane. The play only resulted in one kill but this was enough to get them going. TSM’s early lead forced OPT to play desperately. This resulted in OPT forcing a Baron attempt which they ended up securing. This allowed them to win the following fights and end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 4
The fourth game of the day pitched Golden Guardians against Counter Logic Gaming. Both teams have shocked fans at their current performances being much higher than expectations. The champion select went as follows:
- GGS vs CLG
- Top: Ornn vs Gragas
- Jungle: Kindred vs Trundle
- Mid: Talon vs Renekton
- Bot: Heimerdinger vs Varus
- Support: Fiddlesticks vs Tahm Kench
Interesting picks were pulled out in this game as we haven’t seen the Gragas top lane or Renekton mid come out from CLG yet. GGS also chose to adopt the EU special bot lane and opted into taking two smites. One on the jungler and one on mid lane. First blood came in for CLG due to a miscalculation of damage from GGS jungler ‘Contractz’. However, this would not deter GGS as they would find back to back winning fights. GGS would crack the base open to win even more fights and eventually take the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 5
The final game of League of Legends featured FlyQuest against Clutch Gaming. After an exciting four matches its only right that the fifth game is full of excitement too. The champion select went as follows:
- FLY vs CG
- Top: Dr. Mundo vs Gangplank
- Jungle: Trundle vs Kindred
- Mid: Zoe vs Galio
- Bot: Varus vs Jhin
- Support: Braum vs Galio
First blood went to FLY bot laner ‘WILDTURTLE’ after receiving a gank from his jungler. The game would go back and fourth trading winning fights with either team unable to gain a clear advantage. Eventually, CG would go for a Baron attempt where FLY would steal and gain the lead. This Baron would be all FLY needed to win the last fight and end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Standings
1 – 100 Thieves
T2 – FlyQuest
- Team Liquid
- Counter Logic Gaming
- Golden Guardians
- Echo Fox
T7 – Clutch Gaming
- Team Solo Mid
T9 – Optic Gaming
- Cloud 9
Missed Week 4? Recap: HERE
