Today’s matches were far from what many had expected. Dignitas managed to continue their streak of running LTA North’s longest games, even when the pressure was on. Cloud9 narrowly avoided getting 2-0’d by LYON, climbing out of the trenches thanks to smart teamfight setups and a few pixel-perfect spellcasts.
Group B: 100 Thieves vs. Dignitas
Game 1:
A three-man gank from Dignitas was turned around 1v3 by Rayan "Sniper" Shoura, just barely getting First Blood in a one-for-one trade. 100 Thieves pulled ahead early with First Drake and a clean topside gank that killed Jett Michael "Srtty" Joye again. Dignitas secured a kill of their own, keeping the early game close.
100 Thieves continued to push a moderate gold lead. At about 20 minutes, both sides grouped around botside river, as DIG found a pick on Lim "Quid" Hyeon-seung and dove in, acing 100T and swinging the game to a 2k gold lead. They grabbed Atakhan soon after. But just before Baron, Kim "River" Dong-woo shut down Jade "Sheiden" Libut, allowing 100 Thieves to turn it into an ace and a Baron of their own, flipping the gold lead back.
At around thirty minutes, 100 Thieves’ lead was growing. Team Dignitas had no tier two turrets, was a couple of kills behind, and was down a Drake. In a fight for another Baron, 100T lost their jungler and the objective, but Victor "FBI" Huang was able to take down three members of DIG. Cutting their losses, 100T rushed to Drake with no smite and took Soul for themselves.
100 Thieves secured Baron just over 41 minutes into the game. A 5v4 at Elder went against them due to being outnumbered, but once Sniper returned, 100T turned the fight in their favor and claimed Elder Drake. With a strong group push toward Dignitas’ Nexus, the long 46-minute game ended with 100T on top.
Game 2
An early one-for-one botside gave First Blood to 100 Thieves, with the other kill going to Jonah "Isles" Rosario. A solo kill mid gave Dignitas a bit of early priority. The teams traded objectives, with the first Drake going to 100T, and the Void Grubs to DIG. The Feat of Warfare went to Dignitas as Kim "Keine" Joon-cheol got shut down by a sneaky three-man gank mid.
After a one-for-one at Drake pit, 100 Thieves grabbed their second dragon of the game and the first turret, setting them up nicely. Sheiden secured Rift Herald, and both teams were on the brink of claiming the Feats of Strength. Dignitas lost the battle for Feats, but did kill four members of 100 Thieves in the follow-up.
Srtty secured a double kill just as Dignitas went for Atakhan, but 100 Thieves prioritized destroying turrets to even out the gold lead, taking both top and mid tier twos. As 100T went for soul, Dignitas won a teamfight and claimed their first Dragon of the game. Trades went back and forth across the map, and the gold counts per team remained even throughout the midgame. That would not last for long.
Despite Dignitas keeping 100 Thieves from getting Soul, better setup around the river led to a heartbreaking ace for DIG. Instead of going for Soul again, 100T rushed to end the game, closing it out in just over 32 minutes—a short game by their opponent’s standards this split.
Result: 100 Thieves wins 2-0.
Group A: LYON vs. Cloud9 Kia
Game 1:
In an explosive start to the series, a 3v2 turned 3v3 in topside river led to LYON claiming three members of Cloud9 along with First Blood and the Feat of Warfare. Robert "Blaber" Huang took the First Drake before a midlane skirmish gave LYON another kill and allowed them to grab all of the Void Grubs.
LYON’s pressure across the map, between objectives and buying power, exceeded expectations, as they secured Infernal Drake and the botside tier-two tower. Scrappy fighting continued with one-for-ones across the map as both teams prepared for Atakhan. Kang "Saint" Sung-in ulted aggressively, securing a kill for Park "Hena" Jeung-hwan and putting LYON in a great position to take Atakhan. Neither team was up to fight right after, and LYON came away with pure profit.
At Drake Pit, Cloud9 secured the objective, but the fight afterward ended in a bloody three-for-three. With Dragons even at two, both teams were looking for a way to close out the match. A huge triple kill from Hena re-established LYON’s gold lead and earned them their second Ocean Drake.
Cloud9 kept LYON off of the next Drake, leaving both teams at Soul Point. Shortly after, an engage from C9 at Baron Pit got punished, and LYON took the Baron and pushed as four. One more coordinated push, and LYON claimed victory against one of the top teams in LTA North, 20-7.
Game 2:
Game two started off much calmer, with the most action in the first four minutes being a double Scuttle from Blaber. Thanks to a timely level-up to, Blaber claimed First Blood under LYON’s mid turret. Void Grubs were split, with LYON claiming two along with a kill just outside river.
Cloud9 maintained their gold lead and claimed the Feat of Warfare thanks to Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme’s Keeper’s Verdict from bush. Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu won the race for First Turret, and the Feats of Strength, thanks to an uncontested Herald.
LYON found an opening at Atakhan, taking down both Blaber and Lee "Loki" Sang-min, claiming Atakhan, and wiping Cloud9’s gold lead. They secured Ocean Soul and killed all but Thanatos just after. In a turnaround, Loki stole Baron with a pixel-perfect Yone ultimate.
A teamfight at Elder Drake went to LYON, who killed four members of Cloud9 and claimed the objective. But, equipped with both the soul and the Elder buff, LYON made a crucial overextensionunder Nexus turrets, losing all but Hena and giving C9 a free Baron. Another overextended teamfight in midlane let Cloud9 push down mid with Baron Buff and close out the game in a huge comeback.
Game 3:
The game started slowly, with First Blood not drawn until Sebastián "Oddielan" Alonso Niño Zavaleta ganked Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen and Vulcan, giving LYON two kills. Oddielan’s bounty was immediately claimed by Loki, who flanked from the jungle.
Cloud9 secured the first Drake and Void Grubs, but LYON took the second along with Rift Herald. Kills were traded botside while LYON used Herald to take two topside turrets. Cloud9 claimed the third Drake and won a bloody fight at Atakhan, with LYON taking heavy damage from both the camp and Loki’s long-ranged abilities. C9 secured their first Atakhan of the series.
Picks were traded across the map as LYON maintained a 2k gold lead, but the teams were even on most objectives. C9 got a huge pick on Kang "Saint" Sung-in and took their third Drake of the game—just moments later, the gold lead was gone. Baron melted and they reset for free.
LYON stopped a C9 push with a one-for-one at their tier-three botside turret. Park "Hena" Jeung-hwan stole Hextech Drake with the final shot of his ultimate, putting both teams at Soul Point. Despite LYON’s efforts, Cloud9 won a critical teamfight midlane, killing four and clutching the game.
Result: Cloud9 wins 2-1.
Wrapping Up
Tensions were high this week, with matches flipping on a single teamfight or a pixel-perfect ability. One well-executed play was often all it took to snowball into a win. Many (casters included) expected the second matchup of the day to be a clean 2-0 for Cloud9, yet they were a couple of minions away from a 0-2 loss. If nothing else, this week showed that the competitive spirit in North American League of Legends is alive and well.
Photo Credit: Riot Games / LTA North via Flickr
