Dignitas And 100 Thieves Eliminated From LCS Playoffs
A near one-sided playoffs week in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) as Golden Guardians swept Team SoloMid in an upset, Evil Geniuses nearly reverse swept FlyQuest, and both Dignitas and 100 Thieves got knocked out of playoffs.
Golden Guardians surprised everyone as they dominated Team SoloMid, even though Team SoloMid had a good start to game one. FlyQuest turned it up in their series, continuing where they left off in the regular season against Evil Geniuses, getting ahead 2-0. Still, Evil Geniuses had a late resurgence making it the only series to go the distance - but it wouldn't be enough. Both of these losing teams would take it out on their lower bracket opponents, sweeping each of them.
Team SoloMid vs Golden Guardians
Team SoloMid began the series quickly jumping ahead in the lead during the early stages of game one. A game-turning team fight win for Golden Guardians would seal the deal, acing Team SoloMid, and granting them Baron buff. Leading up that point Team SoloMid looked poised to be in full control of the game, Golden Guardians' bot lane of Victor "FBI" Huang and Choi "Huhi" Jae-hyun would be kings in this team fight.
The start of game two was the start Golden Guardians were looking for in game one. Golden Guardians took an early game lead being up four thousand gold, as Team SoloMid slowly chipped away at the lead. It all came to a head as Golden Guardians made a game-winning decision of having multiple teleports into Team SoloMid’s base, ending the game.
In a slower-paced game three, Golden Guardians would still dominate and put Team SoloMid out of their misery. Team SoloMid looked out of sorts, leaving their bot lane to get completely dominated. Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg was left on Sett duty being the facilitator for the team, not allowing him to keep his team afloat with flashy plays on a championship, like Azir, in which he played the first two games.
FlyQuest vs Evil Geniuses
The first two matches of the series were a wash as FlyQuest continued their win streak from the regular season into the playoffs, dominating Evil Geniuses from start to finish — Lucas “Santorin” Larsen had a 30.0 KDA through the first two games.
Going into game three, Evil Geniuses seemed to have woken up, making it more competitive. It all ended as Evil Geniuses made the genius play of allowing FlyQuest to start Baron, as Evil Geniuses contested with five players. FlyQuest backed off to later start the Baron again, and Evil Geniuses ended up punishing FlyQuest - killing four of them in the mid lane and winning the game.
Game four would be a completely different story as Evil Geniuses would do a complete 180 in champion select, picking Shen and LeBlanc. Evil Geniuses outlasted FlyQuest allowing them to push the series into the only five-game series of the week.
In the fifth and final game of the series, FlyQuest got off to a quick lead having Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun roam up from the bottom lane, helping Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage get first blood. This would lead to an early game lead forcing Evil Geniuses to claw back into the game. This wouldn’t be enough for Evil Geniuses, as they showed no sense of urgency while FlyQuest ran laps around them, ultimately losing them the series.
Team SoloMid vs Dignitas
Team SoloMid bounced back after getting humiliated by Golden Guardians with a 3-0 of their own onto a Dignitas team that limped their way through into the lower bracket. Dignitas were looking to prove that they were deserving of the final playoff spot.
It was a slow game from both teams to begin game one, but Team SoloMid's rushing of the Baron on two separate occasions would give them the edge. Sergen "Broken Blade" Çelik was crucial to Team SoloMid's early game, having both great team fighting and drawing constant pressure to wherever he was on the map. Every objective, push, and play that Dignitas would try to do was poorly done, and it netted Team SoloMid kills. Dignitas was the aggressor as Team SoloMid played their classic passive playstyle.
Game two would be the complete opposite of their final game versus Golden Guardians, as Team SoloMid once again put Bjergsen on the Sett being the facilitator. Team SoloMid's idea of having Bjergsen be the facilitator while Mingyi "Spica" Lu dominated on the Nidalee finally worked. Team SoloMid dominated from start to finish - showing the team composition's original intent.
Although a slower last game of the series, Dignitas would be in the lead early. Team SoloMid would soon shut it down after an outstanding play of corralling Dignitas in the dragon pit after they took their third dragon. Team SoloMid elongated the fight enough that it allowed Bjergsen to go back to base and teleport back into the fight — Team SoloMid ace Dignitas and get Baron, allowing them to end the game.
100 Thieves vs Evil Geniuses
100 Thieves were looking to prove that even though they were in the lower bracket, they weren’t a team to be trifled with, while Evil Geniuses were looking to show that those two games they won against FlyQuest were no fluke. The last time these two teams faced off was during their very last match of the season, in which 100 Thieves completely dominated Evil Geniuses.
To start the first game Juan “Contractz” Garcia three buffed Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, putting him miles ahead. Even though 100 Thieves had an early game lead, First Blood wouldn’t come until 9:55 in which Contractz, partnered with Tommy “Ryoma” Lee, would dive Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon in the top lane. Although 100 Thieves had the early game with a fed Contractz and a farmed up Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho on the Renekton, they were too passive allowing Evil Geniuses to take control of the game — it was a textbook win for Evil Geniuses.
To punish Contractz’s early game invade, all of Evil Geniuses were waiting at their red buff. This led to a first minute 5v5 in which Evil Geniuses’ Svenskeren gained First Blood. This would be the early final nail in the coffin for 100 Thieves as Svenskeren posted a 16 kill game, while the rest of his team kept a good lead but struggled to close the game out.
It was a final statement game for Evil Geniuses as they dominated 100 Thieves from start to finish, putting the icing on the cake. Much like FlyQuest outclassed them, Evil Geniuses would do the same to 100 Thieves throughout most of the series. Both Base “Bang” Jun-sik and Svenskeren played a great series, with Svenskeren being named player of the series.
Click to enlargeWhat to expect from next week’s playoffs
Going into the second week of playoffs Golden Guardians look to prove that their decisive upset over Team SoloMid was no miracle, as they face off the first-seeded Team Liquid, while FlyQuest get their Spring Finals rematch versus Cloud9. Team SoloMid awaits the loser of Team Liquid versus Golden Guardians, while Evil Geniuses await the loser of FlyQuest and Cloud9.
As playoffs continue moving along, teams look to be on top of their game especially when facing the top two seeds in the LCS.
Images via lolesports
