The 2018 Worlds semifinalists, Cloud9, have found their first win of the LCS Spring Split. They were able to take down 100 Thieves in a pretty onesided 26-minute match.
#C9LoL strike back on day 2 of the #LCS and take down the @100Thieves! We finish week 1 with a 1-1 record! #GGWP #C9WIN pic.twitter.com/DXuL6s9zNi
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) January 27, 2019
Cloud9 might have had one of the toughest schedule starts to the LCS Spring Split. First, they would have to face the North American powerhouse, Team Liquid. Unfortunately, they would get stomped in that matchup pretty easily. It was clear that the team needed time to build synergy with their new mid laner, Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. Granted, Team Liquid looks like they could defeat any team in the league right now.
Across the Rift, 100 Thieves were looking to bounce back from a pretty lopsided defeat at the hands of Team SoloMid. They might have been the recipients of Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen’s best game in North America, as well as Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s Zilean. Many people expected them to be a top team in the region after picking up former World Champion, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik. They need this game to find some confidence ahead of Week Two.
Nisqy Impresses Cloud9, Huhi falters for 100 Thieves
Luckily for Cloud9 fans, the boys in the blue would take over thanks to their newest member. Nisqy had a field day in this matchup, starting with a quick solo kill against Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun. After that, both teams would go back and forth, but Cloud9 would keep a good lead for themselves with objective control and kills. At the twenty minute mark, Cloud9 would engage in a great fight around the dragon pit. This is where they would walk away with three more kills and a fire dragon.
.@Cloud9 extend their mid game lead with three kills and the Infernal Drake! #LCS pic.twitter.com/uPnqWm3hi4
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) January 27, 2019
Ultimately, this would be the swinging point of the match, as 100 Thieves would not be able to find any footholds. Additionally, they seem to be lacking a good amount of synergy and coordination as a team. For example, Andy “AnDa” Hoang could not find any good engages alongside Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black. Also, Huhi seemed to be having a lot of problems today. He was constantly making bad positioning decisions, getting caught out multiple times and dying for almost no reason. He and AnDA would combine for nine of 100 Thieves’ thirteen deaths.
Meanwhile, Cloud9 would keep the pressure on their opponents. They would eventually get strong enough that 100 Thieves could not deal enough damage in the long run. This is a great win for Nisqy’s confidence, as he really needed the bounce back from the game yesterday. He would state in a post-game interview that he “owed them a win” after their match against Team Liquid.
Final Thoughts
For Cloud9, this is a good building block for a team looking to learn how to play with one another. Again, losing Jensen was huge for the team and it will take some time to adjust. Even still, if Nisqy can continue these good performances, we should expect Cloud9 to challenge the top teams of the LCS once again. However, for 100 Thieves, this might be a wake-up call for a team that looked like a top-tier team in the offseason. They will need to return to the drawing board and get more experience together as a team.
What are your thoughts on Cloud9 taking down 100 Thieves in week one of the LCS? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more LCS coverage, check us out here!
