This week marks the end of the regular season in the North American LCS. While most playoff spots have been secured, two teams are battling it out for the final berth.
Teams that won’t make it to the playoffs may experiment with new rosters, while others may try to play spoiler. Every match is important for seeding, so expect teams to give it their all.
Let’s recap the action from the NA LCS games on Saturday, Aug. 18.
Team Liquid dominates Echo Fox
Liquid aimed to solidify their position as the best team in North America, while Echo Fox tried to continue their upward trend. Liquid chose Varus, one of the best ADCs, to support their star marksman Doublelift. Doublelift and Olleh had a strong performance, taking an early tower and securing kills around the map. Liquid’s sloppy play didn’t stop them from securing the win.
With this victory, Liquid secured first place in the regular season, as the only team that can catch them, 100 Thieves, loses the head-to-head matchup.
Cloud9 soars over 100 Thieves
Cloud9, a top two team, faced the hottest team in the league, 100 Thieves. Cloud9’s mid laner Jensen played a strong Fizz, dominating 100 Thieves’ Zoe. Despite a potential comeback from 100 Thieves, Jensen’s performance was too much to handle. Cloud9 secured the win and a spot in the playoffs.
TSM dominates OpTic for a decisive win
With a chance to secure a playoff spot, OpTic faced off against NA LCS titans TSM. TSM played a safe, hard-scaling composition, while OpTic focused on the mid-game. TSM’s bot duo, Zven and mithy, gained a big CS lead, allowing TSM to control neutral objectives. TSM’s splitpushing strategy and strong play secured them the win.
TSM is now in control of their playoff destiny – if they continue their strong play, they will be a force to reckon with.
FlyQuest triumphs over Golden Guardians’ defenses
The Golden Guardians gave a chance to their Academy League mid laner bobqin, while FlyQuest aimed to secure a tie for second place. FlyQuest dominated the jungle matchup, with Santorin having control early on. Despite good splitpushing by Golden Guardians, FlyQuest’s Rumble Equalizers helped them secure the win.
FlyQuest continues their Cinderella story and still has a chance for a first-round playoff bye.
CLG grinds out a win against Clutch Gaming
Neither CLG nor Clutch Gaming will make the playoffs, so CLG decided to give their Academy League top laner FallenBandit and jungler Wiggily a chance to play. CLG played aggressively and contested Clutch’s blue buff throughout the game. With strong ultimates from Biofrost, CLG was able to secure kills and objectives. Despite some mistakes, CLG sealed the win with a five-man fountain dive.
Clutch’s chances of making the World Championships through the gauntlet are slim, while CLG showed their usual mistakes past the early game.
These were the highlights from the NA LCS games on Saturday, Aug. 18. Stay tuned for more updates!
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