Cloud9 Reflects on Challenges at 2023 League of Legends World Championship
The Cloud9 faithful were left disappointed after a loss to LNG Esports at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. However, the organization’s stars remain confident despite the challenges they have faced. In an interview with Korizon Esports’ Ashley Kang, AD carry Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol discussed the reasons behind C9’s lack of success at previous international tournaments, including this year’s Mid-Season Invitational.
Berserker highlighted the team’s strengths in individual laning and raw mechanics but identified communication issues and a lack of mid-jungle synergy as the main weaknesses in the mid-to-late game. He also pointed out that C9 lacked a clear macro goal, resulting in multiple losses throughout the year.
According to Berserker, during MSI, C9 would immediately fight for objectives when they were up. However, if the opposing team chose to avoid the fight and focus on global gold leads through farming and turrets, C9 would end up gold deficient. For example, contesting the second Rift Herald often led to unfavorable outcomes for the team.
Berserker also admitted that the team struggled with aspects of the game like side lane wave management, which affected game tempo. As a bottom laner, he would ask his teammates to push mid so that he could push his own lane. However, this negatively impacted the rest of the team’s farming and ability to gain advantages.
Going into Worlds, C9 has dedicated time to learning strategies for the mid-to-late game, particularly focusing on farming, wave management, and macro play, which Korean teams excel at. This has been a weakness for many LCS teams over the years, despite their mechanical skill in laning.
C9’s Path Forward in the Championship
Although C9 currently holds a 2-1 record, they still have the opportunity to secure a spot in the knockout stage. Their next challenge will be facing Faker and T1’s formidable lineup on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 2am CT.
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Cloud9, League of Legends, World Championship, esports, C9, berserker, mid-to-late game, communication issues, macro goals, wave management, Korean teams, LCS, knockout stage, T1, Faker