Pro League of Legends is back! The top NA teams start the summer season. Mid-Season Showdown champion Cloud9 had a rough start, while rivals bared their teeth.Pro play in North America’s LCS resumed last weekend with fifteen games to start off the LCS 2021 Summer Season. After Cloud9’s somewhat disappointing performance at the Mid-Season Invitational, many fans were wondering how the team would perform back home. With games against 100 Thieves and Team Liquid, the spring champions were going to get a serious challenge.
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TSM avenges TL loss
Day one kicked off with a banger between TSM and Team Liquid. TSM had a big advantage in the mid-game, securing the first Baron, the infernal soul and even an Elder drake. Still, TL doggedly held on and nearly turned the game around before TSM won a close fight near the next Elder drake to secure the win.
Evil Geniuses, meanwhile, had a good start against Dignitas, led by Daniele "Jiizuke" di Mauro’s top lane Tristana. However, Dignitas rallied and played better as the game went on, securing a clutch win. The first surprise on the day came when Golden Guardians delivered an unexpected upset over Cloud9. The champions recovered from an early deficit and looked poised to win after taking the first Baron. However, GG clawed their way back with some beautiful Zoe snipes and managed to steal the win.
From 10th place in the 2021 #LCS Spring Split to taking down Cloud9.@GoldenGuardians put a HUGE win on the board! pic.twitter.com/OL8e2PZrKI
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 5, 2021
Upsets continued with a very one-sided match between Immortals and 100 Thieves. Despite their lower ranking, IMT looked by far the stronger team, getting a lot of early advantages and using them to snowball the game. The last bout of the day featured FlyQuest and CLG. With both teams near the bottom of the table, FQ scored a clutch win after staying ahead of their opponents in most teamfights.
0-2 for Cloud9
TSM continued their strong showing against Evil Geniuses, once more seizing the lead in the mid-game. After losing the Baron 26 minutes in, EG tried to force a base race three minutes later when they secured two kills. However, TSM held them off while and managed to interrupt the backs, allowing their splitpushers to win the game.
LOST WINS THE BASE RACE!!! @TSM #LCS pic.twitter.com/HK8pUyOZmA
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 5, 2021
The next match saw Dignitas cut FlyQuest’s momentum with an overwhelming early game that saw Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett’s Rumble dominate the map. Dignitas would easily secure their 13th win. Cloud9, meanwhile, continued to stumble in a fairly one-sided defeat for 100 Thieves. 100T had a strong start with an over 4K gold lead at the 10-minute mark and proceeded to quickly rout C9 in the mid-game.
Team Liquid bounced back from their loss with a win over Counter Logic Gaming. TL had a strong early game, but CLG bounced back with good performance in the top lane. However, a 4-2 fight for TL 30 minutes in gave them the Baron and two inhibitors and they ended soon afterwards. The day ended with a decisive win for Immortals over Golden Guardians. IMT dominated the early game and remained proactive, giving GG no breathing room and winning in just over 26 minutes.
#IMTWINA strong start in the 2021 #LCS Summer Split for @Immortals (9-11) as they collect another victory against @GoldenGuardians (4-16) pic.twitter.com/TAQcSsHjC8
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 6, 2021
EG and FlyQuest go to war
100 Thieves took on Dignitas in the opening Sunday game, with Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho once more having a standout game, this time on Gwen. They used an early Baron to break into the Dig base and ended shortly afterwards. Evil Geniuses and FlyQuest, meanwhile, followed this up with a slugfest of a game that took over 53 minutes. Despite an infernal soul going to their opponents, EG rallied and secured an Elder drake, nearly ending the game only to get aced in the enemy base and see their Nexus crumble.
Cloud9 faced another tough opponent in Team Liquid, but this time the Spring champions were on point, led by Luka "Perkz" Perković on Sylas. TL found some success in the mid-game, but a clutch fight 32 minutes in saw C9 rout them and end the game. Golden Guardians, meanwhile, put up a good fight early on against TSM, even coming out ahead after a 3-1 fight 14 minutes in. However, the favorites struck back in the mid-game, using their first baron to devastate their opponents’ base. GG had to contest the second Baron, but they got aced for their trouble and TSM completed their 3-0 week.
The final game of the week saw Immortals dismantle CLG. A great start set up the IMT bot lane for success. CLG showed signs of life in the mid-game, but 33 minutes in a big teamfight saw Immortals secure the Elder drake and take the win, ending the week with a 3-0 record.
Congratulations to @XerxeLoL on winning the @MastercardNexus Player of the Week for week 1 of the 2021 #LCS Summer Split! pic.twitter.com/MWP6EuSzRY
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 7, 2021
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The LCS continues next week, starting with a match between TSM and 100 Thieves. Over in Europe, the LEC kicks off as well with a game between MAD Lions and G2 Esports. For more League of Legends news and analysis, make sure to check our coverage at earlygame.com and follow us on Facebook!