The LCS Championship continued with four exciting matches once more this weekend. Cloud9 and Dignitas had to continue in the lower bracket after last weekend's losses, while Team Liquid and EG moved on in the top half of the bracket. How did this weekend's games end?
"Raes had an insane ult, Xerxe had a great steal, and I got a hook on Aphelios so... It quite possibly went as good as it could have."@Destinyy celebrates this HUGE #IMTWIN in our first LCS Playoffs match. #IMTReacts pic.twitter.com/TGmQHyzl77
— Immortals (@Immortals) August 13, 2021
Immortals Decimate Dignitas
Dignitas might have gotten the first kill of the series, but other than that, they didn’t get much else. Game 1 was a spirited affair, with lots of back-and-forth fights, but after a dragon take at the 22nd minute went awry for DIG, Immortals turned up the heat, taking baron and inching their way towards their base.
The second game had Immortals' top laner Revenge put on a clinic. He showed off just how OP Tahm Kench is in the top lane, winning out trades he had no business winning. Thanks to the lead he gained, Immortals easily won this match as well, going up 2 - 0 in the series.
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Dignitas tried to switch things up in the third game with a mid lane Qiyana, but it wasn’t enough to get them a much-needed win to stay in the series. They started of strong with good skirmishes, but Immortals fought their way back, staying in the game even when behind, and were able to close out the series with a solid 3 - 0 scoreline.
WE'RE GOING TO WORLDS. We are so excited and honored to represent North America in the 2021 League of Legends World Championship in China this year! #100T #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/YptuXb0u8p
— 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) August 15, 2021
100 Thieves Move on After Exciting 5-Game Series
The series between 100 Thieves and Evil Genius wasn’t for the faint of heart. Game 1 went back-and-forth, EG managing to come back after a horrendous early game. Their efforts weren’t enough, though, because Closer on Viego was just too strong.
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Game 2 had EG come back with vigor. They placed their rookie ADC on Tristana, one of his best champions, and he showed off his prowess on the little Yordle, punishing 100 Thieves aggressive play and earning the team a victory to tie up the series.
Game 3 was won by 100 Thieves once more, and game 4 saw Evil Genius tie up the series one last time before heading into the final showdown. Game 5 went completely in 100 Thieves’ favor. The team punished any misstep and mistake, earning the win after 27 minutes.
I'm sorry playoffs perkz was not there last week but I got him ready on speed dial from now on
— Luka (@C9Perkz) August 13, 2021
Playoff Cloud9 is Activated
Before the series, Perkz tweeted that playoff Perkz has come online, and that is what we saw in the series between C9 and Golden Guardians. Vulcan showed off his skills on Thresh in game 1, letting everyone know why this champion is so dangerous. Golden Guardians had no chance against his hooks, nor the well-placed Trundle pillars of Blaber.
Game 2 went in similar fashion to game 1. Cloud9 took control of the dragons and through their smart macro plays, they were able to inch out advantages in their lanes. Their team fighting in the mid game led them to victory in game 2 as well.
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The third game was another solid performance by Cloud9. Through their team fighting, they were able to inch ahead of Golden Guardians who weren’t able to gain the upper hand at all, thus falling in 32 minutes to the spring champions of the LCS.
Game 4 was for our 4th run at #Worlds2021. LET'S GO LIQUID!!!! #TLWIN pic.twitter.com/9lRmx6vUGs
— Team Liquid LoL (@TeamLiquidLoL) August 15, 2021
Team Liquid Beat TSM in Convincing Fashion
TSM had better control over neutral objectives in game 1, while Team Liquid had a clear body count advantage. It was in the late game when the momentum shifted from a rather even game to a complete slaughter-fest by TL and by 40 minutes, they decimated TSM to earn the first victory.
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TSM continued to play through the top lane, hoping to enable Huni, but TL thwarted their plans by ganking the top lane early or creating plays elsewhere on the map which TSM couldn’t ignore. Game 2 was another convincing victory of TL.
In the third game, TSM fought back, earning their only victory in the series, but the team fell in game 4 to a surging Team Liquid, who had looked strong in their last two series.
Team Liquid and 100 Thieves have both earned spots at the 2021 World Championship, leaving one final spot to open for the remaining teams. Next week, the action will continue with C9 vs EG, IMT vs TSM and TL vs 100T.
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