Today, LTA North’s top two teams faced off head-to-head to find out who would take the easy path to Finals. While Cloud9’s not out of the running, they will need to follow up today’s loss with a victory next week for their shot at a rematch. While both teams fought hard, FlyQuest’s efforts paid off once game five hit.
Game 1:
Kacper "Inspired" Słoma secured the Void Grubs without contest from Cloud9. First Drake went to C9, but FLY had control over the topside river as Rift Herald spawned. C9 took the second drake but Unfortunately for them, they got punished and gave over two kills just after. With both teams only one neutral objective away from the boot buff, stakes were high for either Atakhan or the next Drake.
FlyQuest daringly started Atakhan, and with Robert "Blaber" Huang sitting mid, there was no hope for Cloud9. Blaber fell as Inspired held the aggro, and Cloud9 was unable to find an in. Baron and another Mountain Drake went to FLY, both without contest. Pushing top and mid, FLY tried to make their advantage, but Lee "Loki" Sang-min took a turret to match down botside.
While the rest of FlyQuest postured over Baron, Song "Quad" Soo-hyung started third Drake of the game. FLY rotated to Baron, securing it as Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau sat botside before getting ambushed. Cloud9 overextended and Quad teleported in to keep Bwipo alive. Two inhibitors went down to FlyQuest as a team fight broke out in C9’s Nexus. Kills were traded, and the game ended just seconds later. FLY emerged on top.
Game 2:
The early game was much calmer in the second match of the day until Blaber got caught out in botside pixel brush. First Blood along with the first Dragon of the game went over to FlyQuest without contest. Despite the momentum shifting slightly, FlyQuest still maintained about a 1.5k gold lead following Herald. They still managed to take the tier one and two turrets topside before Cloud9 was able to drop Herald, securing the Feats of Warfare.
A massive team fight broke out at Drake Pit. A massive Renata ult from
Alan "Busio" Cwalina allowed FlyQuest to get their third Drake but unfortunately cost them three of their members. As Atakhan came up, both teams danced around the objective until C9 got scared off by the amount of Rend damage available. Right after, a flank took FlyQuest to their knees, killing all FLY players.
In an unexpected turn of events, Cloud9 shoved deep into FlyQuest’s base, but FLY were able to ace them in return. Another fight broke out as Cloud9 pushed down mid, but FlyQuest was able to take out all but Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme. FlyQuest pushed their best down mid, trying to end the game. They did just that, putting FlyQuest at Set Point.
Game 3:
Cloud9 took the first three kills of the game, but FlyQuest took the Feats of Strength. A team fight broke out in FlyQuest’s topside Jungle, killing everyone but Thanatos, who was pushing mid. The gold lead finally turned towards FLY with a very slim margin. FlyQuest took their third Drake, putting them at Soul Point before pushing down a turret in mid and setting up around Baron.
A huge fight in mid took out two members of FlyQuest before taking out another two, preventing FlyQuest’s Soul and claiming Baron for Cloud9. With C9 at two Drakes, the stakes continued to rise with each neutral objective that spawned. C9 two turrets botside, trying to capitalize on their buff. Both teams reached Soul Point—a massive shove down mid put Cloud9 in the perfect position to send us to a fourth game.
Game 4:
Cloud9 walked out of the Drake Pit with three kills and a dragon to boot, but FlyQuest fought back, all four of their kills going to
Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek. Despite FLY walking away with more on the board, C9 was the first to three kills, taking the Feat of Warfare for their own. First Turret went to Cloud9, and they took the Feats of Strength. Trades went back and forth midlane, but no kills were given up.
A major skirmish in the botside jungle put Cloud9 and FlyQuest even, two-for-two, but gave C9 the Drake. C9 started Atakhan and ultimately drove through the entirety of FlyQuest five-for-one. Yet another clean ace for Cloud9 went through on a fight down botlane. Despite the long timers, they chose to retreat rather than rush for an end. In mid, FlyQuest got aced again before Cloud9 took Baron. Splitting themselves between all three lanes, Cloud9 pushed to victory, sending us to game five.
Game 5:
Massu fell to a three-man gank from
Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen, Vulcan, and Blaber while Quad pushed the tower botside. Topside, FlyQuest put heavy pressure on the tier one turret, not quite able to knock it down yet. Quad pushed topside, taking First Turret along with the Feats of Warfare. Turrets continued to fall to FlyQuest, and they took their second Drake without contest. They started Baron but could not bait it, instead opting to push mid. FlyQuest looked for picks but couldn’t find much.
In an important pick, Zeri fell just before FlyQuest ran to Baron. With Baron in hand, FlyQuest was able to push through two inhibitors before leaving. Cloud9 tried to escape, but FLY took four kills, and the game along with it. After a long, hard-fought best-of-five, FlyQuest emerged victorious.
Wrapping Up
FlyQuest and Cloud9 ended up bringing us to a glorious first-ever LTAN Fearless Match Five. Despite C9’s efforts, they couldn’t quite make it. The series had fans on both sides on the edge of their seats. So many had expected a clean sweep from either side, but we ended up with teams on both sides fighting for their lives—or rather, to stay out of the loser’s bracket.
Upcoming matches in LTA North are as follows:
June 8: Team Liquid vs. Shopify Rebellion (Lower Bracket Semifinals)
June 14: Cloud9 vs. TBD (Lower Bracket Finals)
June 15: FlyQuest vs. TBD (Split 2 Finals)
Photo Credits: Riot Games // LTA North via Flickr
