Golden Guardians defeated Counter Logic Gaming on the first day of the LCS Lock In series. The team consisting of two collegiate players and one support from Latin America proved their skills against a group of LCS veterans. Closing the game in 30 minutes, the team had a strong synergy that may follow them for the rest of the tournament.
At the start of the game Golden Guardians began with a small gold lead that eventually snowballed into a four thousand lead by 20 minutes. CLG took advantage of an early gank, allowing them a three to one score. Unfortunately for them, Golden Guardians worked to turn that around, grabed herald, earned dragons, and initiated successful teamfights leading to their victory.
A brand new team with determination
The team includes two Maryville University collegiate players, top laner Aiden “Niles” Tidwell and Ethan “Iconic” Wilkinson. Iconic led as Graves with a perfect score throughout the game, while Niles, as Gangplank, helped his teammates out with well-timed ultimates. Adding on to the team is All Knight’s former support Leandro “Newbie” Marcos, who effectively engaged in fights as Galio. Additionally, former Academy player Nicholas “Ablazeolive” Abbott help veteran teammate Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes secure kills and carry the game until the end.
Dying on weakside only makes me stronger. pic.twitter.com/s6Y5S96Gr0
— Niles (@NilesLOL) January 16, 2021
Golden Guardian’s win against a veteran NA team puts them in a different spot as they’re able to defeat some of the best players in the region. CLG was also missing their main jungler, Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen, who hopes to join the team sometime in February. Regardless, with players such as Eugene “Pobelter” Park and Jason “WildTurtle” Tran, CLG’s performance should have been more of a threat to Golden Guardians. Overall they failed to keep up with a less-experienced team that had better positioning and communication. This game counts as CLG’s second loss this season.
Better days ahead.
GGWP @GoldenGuardians. We go again tomorrow at 5 PM PT. #LCS
— CLG (@clgaming) January 16, 2021
Golden Guardians learn to work together
In the post-interview session between Desk Host Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen and Niles, he explained how he feels to start in the LCS as a former collegiate player. “I think the biggest opportunity for me this year is just to prove that there are a lot of players that are either amateur or collegiate or academy that deserve to play at the highest level,” he said. “The gap isn’t that big. I hope that’s the mark I leave.” Additionally, the 21-year old top laner also said that he’s impressed with his team, and that they’re still experimenting with different kinds of playstyles.
Golden Guardians is set to play against Team SoloMid on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5pm EST. Interested fans can catch the livestream and schedule on the official LoL website.
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