After six years, Cloud9 are back on top of the LCS, capping off a hugely successful season with a clean 3-0 sweep against FlyQuest in the grand finals.
Game 1 – Slow and Steady first blood for Cloud9
FlyQuest began the series well, with a hook from Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun’s Blitzcrank securing the first kill six minutes into the game. Cloud9 soon equalized the kills and the gold, and though Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer’s Veigar had a rough start, he eventually ramped up after his team won several small fights.
The game remained close, however. Or at least until C9 pulled out an impressive outplay in a teamfight 26 minutes in where they got a 4-2 and soon later secured the baron. FlyQuest tried to resist and finally got a positive teamfight eight minutes later and netted four kills. Alas, it was not enough.
Eventually, Cloud9 secured the ocean soul and another baron before ending the game in just over 39 minutes.
Game 2 – On another level
The favorites came on the Rift strong in Game 2 after their first win and set up an early pressure in the bot lane.
FlyQuest replied with a counter-gank in the top lane that gave them the first two kills of the game but Nisqy arrived on the scene to get two back for himself. In just over a minute, his teammates would get two more double kills and suddenly, they were once again in control of the game.
FlyQuest risked being left in the dust when they spotted Nisqy’s Yasuo alone under a tower and went for a dive. However, he lasted long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Cloud9 chased down the retreating FlyQuest to get back 3 kills and secure an early Baron.
An ocean soul going C9’s way a minute later broke the game quite open. While it took some 8 more minutes for them to close it out after an ace near the elder dragon, the writing was on the wall.
Game 3 – Hail to the champs
FlyQuest needed a way to counter Cloud9’s impressive early game. In Game 3, they seemed to have found a way, getting a kill just three minutes in on Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage’s signature Syndra.
In return, Cloud9 focused on the bottom lane where they got two kills on Jason “WildTurtle” Tran to secure the game lead. At the 15-minute mark, the kills were even at four each but the favorites had a lead in both gold and drakes.
FlyQuest appeared to have found a promising teamfight near the dragon 18 minutes in. They killed the enemy jungler before the fight started but as they chased, a great equalizer by Nisqy’s Rumble hit the entire team. It set up a beautiful Aphelios ultimate that saw C9 turn the fight around.
Now with a firm lead, they pushed their advantage to get an uncontested Baron three minutes later, then nearly ended the game on the first push. The final fight came 27 minutes in as Cloud9 engaged on the enemy jungler and even though they lost Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen early on in the fight, they had more than enough left to get four kills back and end the game.
Dominant series to end a dominant season for C9 as one of the LCS iconic teams takes its first title since 2014.
This was a vindication for their roster moves and coaching staff: the new bottom lane – Zven and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme have proven the best bot duo of the season. Just as importantly, their new jungler Robert “Blaber” Huang is the MVP of this split.
While we have to congratulate FlyQuest for an impressive season as well – not everyone expected them to make it to the playoffs, much less the finals – it was not enough to challenge Cloud9 at their finest.
If you missed the LEC finals to see which team proved to be the best in Europe, check out our review and keep an eye on our League of Legends section for more LoL esports!
