LoL - LTA: 100 Thieves and Team Liquid defy expectations in semifinals

Coming into the final weekend of the LTA's first split, nearly everyone expected FlyQuest and Cloud9 to meet in the finals — 100T was perceived as a fluke first seed, an easy matchup for the reigning champions, while C9 was set to face a Team Liquid squad that had yet to find its footing in 2025. In the quarterfinals, every player on FLY dominated their respective LTAS opponent on Leviatan, while TL was the only North team to drop a game against a South team.

FLY and C9, with momentum, history, and mounting expectations at their back, were expected to sweep their semifinal opponents and meet in the Grand Final on Sunday.

100T have been underestimated at every stage. They beat TL, and everyone said TL was choking. They beat C9, and everyone said C9 was tired from their series against FLY. Now that they've defeated FLY — the team near-unanimously considered the strongest in the league — there’s no room for doubt. Ian Victor "FBI" Huang proved to be the perfect upgrade this roster needed.

In the LTA North, Kim "River" Dong-woo and Bill "Eyla" Nguyen had perfectly synchronized teamfighting, allowing superstar Lim "Quid" Hyeon-seung to pop off. All the while, FBI's near infallible ADC play kept the team in line. Today was no different — all four players returned to their domestic form after a shaky, jet-lagged first week of the cross-conference stage. But in the end, Rayan "Sniper" Shoura, the 100T player who has struggled the most this year, was named Player of the Series.

In Game 1, the team struggled overall — with FLY seizing the lead and never letting go. In Games 2 and 3, though, Sniper's Gnar and Jax defined every teamfight. In both games, he dominated the side lane against Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau, and consistently delivered game-winning plays. If Sniper maintains this level, he could soon establish himself as the best toplaner in the LTA.

Since their heartbreaking minion backdoor loss to FLY in last year’s LCS Summer Finals, TL hasn’t looked the same. Um "UmTi" Sung-hyeon and Eain "APA" Stearns have drawn flak from analysts and fans, struggling to find the impact they had last year. This year's simplified lane swaps seem to have sanded away TL's macro advantage against nearly every team in the world, and the team's overall coordination has suffered.

Still, despite TL’s struggles in the LTA, Sean "Yeon" Sung has remained the best ADC in the league — Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek may have drawn eyes on the international stage, but Yeon was always a stronger player domestically, and this year, he looks more dominant than ever.

Yeon earned well-deserved Player of the Series honors today, but the rest of TL finally seemed to come alive. APA's Taliyah dominated the opening match, and UmTi's signature Lilia carried the team over the finish line in Game 3. TL found creative engages, played fast around the map, and took decisive teamfights — they finally looked coordinated—C9 simply couldn’t keep up.

On Sunday, February 23, at 11 AM PST / 8 PM CET, 100 Thieves and Team Liquid will battle for the first-ever LTA trophy and a ticket to Korea for the inaugural First Stand tournament.