The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is in full swing with the Lock In tournament starting this weekend. This weekend begins the first matches within the group stage which will continue into next weekend as well. All ten teams have been split into two groups with five teams being in each group. FlyQuest and TSM finished top two last season which gave them the ability to pick who they went against.
100 Thieves vs TSM
Friday’s most anticipated match was 100 Thieves vs TSM which peaked at over 200,000 viewers on Twitch alone, according to TwitchTracker. 100 Thieves, like TSM, replaced four of their five original members with new players during the offseason. Many thought that these two were the winners of the offseason with the big names they were able to pick up. However this match was extremely one-sided with 100 Thieves crushing TSM in 27 minutes with a 13,000 gold lead.
Team Liquid vs CLG
TSM weren’t the only ones switching things up in the offseason as Team Liquid brought on a new top laner and jungler. After spending a hefty amount on their player contracts, fans were interested to watch Liquid perform. In their debut match against CLG things heated up quickly with early lane and dragon control. From there Liquid snowballed their lead to finish the game with Mountain Soul and only three deaths across the team.
It is a #TLWIN as @TeamLiquidLoL pick up a commanding win against @clgaming! #LCS pic.twitter.com/cL5wLBgkuU
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) January 16, 2021
Evil Geniuses vs Cloud9
If the TSM vs 100T match wasn’t exciting enough for you, then the Cloud9 game was a must-watch. Cloud9 acquired Luka “Perkz” Perković from G2 Esports in the offseason to replace Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer in mid lane. The match against Evil Geniuses would be his debut match in the North American league after playing in Europe. Unlike the first two matches of the day, the EG vs C9 matchup was not one-sided by any means. Both teams went back and forth for dragon control and kept within a 5,000 gold lead. It wasn’t until EG got Infernal Soul and Baron before finishing the game. After acing C9, EG destroyed the nexus at the 45-minute mark.
Dignitas vs FlyQuest
FlyQuest became known as the Cloud9 B-Team after they acquired three of their previous members. They released all their previous players in the offseason and started fresh in 2021. Dignitas also got a fresh look to their roster after replacing three out of their five starters. Despite the revamped rosters, this match was hardly even. Dignitas dominated all the solo lanes and ended the game in the fasted time of the night at 24 minutes. They had over a 15,000 gold lead and a 16 to three kill difference against FlyQuest.
An impressive performance from @dignitas as they defeat @FlyQuest to open their 2021 #LCS Lock In Group Stage campaign! #DIGWIN pic.twitter.com/c20SJkXhPc
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) January 16, 2021
Golden Guardians vs CLG
Golden Guardians were the only team in the offseason to pick up collegiate players for their starting roster. That investment ended up paying off for them in their first match against CLG who had already been stomped once. The match dragged on longer than the previous one, ending after 31 minutes with a 12,000 gold difference. CLG was not able to recover from their earlier loss and suffered against Golden Guardians. After Baron and three Mountain Dragons, Golden Guardians took the game with 18 kills to CLG’s six.
For more League of Legends Lock-In coverage, stay tuned to Daily Esports.
