100Thieves, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Dignitas were successful, pulling in close victories today in LTA North’s Round Robin matches
Today in the LTA North Round Robin, teams came in riding the momentum of an exciting previous day, ready to battle for crucial positions in the standings. With this being the final week of seeding matchups, every win carried extra weight ahead of the Bo3 group stage kicking off in Week 4. Each match was tightly contested, with teams playing cautiously through the early game to avoid giving up advantages. But once a crack appeared, the games quickly unraveled.
LYON vs. 100Thieves
Less than five minutes in, a brutal 3v3 botside at pixel brush broke out. LYON were able to secure first blood and a second kill, giving Park "Hena" Jeung-hwan a blue buff and setting up a smooth start to their laning phase. Both teams were scrapping their way through the early game, trading objectives one-for-one, with the first drake going to 100T and five of the Void Grubs going to LYON.
100T snagged two kills as LYON were going for the second batch of Grubs, evening out the score and securing the remainder of the camp along with the second drake of the game. The teams traded kills, but 100T secured the first turret, giving them the boot upgrade. The third drake went to LYON following a bold 4v5, securing a kill before 100T retreated.
LYON secured Voracious Atakhan, effectively making any engage from 100T significantly harder. A long 5v5 in midlane led to deaths on both teams, but no objectives came from it. Kim "River" Dong-woo secured their third drake in a heated smite fight and Baron following the skirmish right after. Lim "Quid" Hyeon-seung got a gnarly triple kill in midlane during a 5v5 before 100T shoved their minions into the base and grabbed the win.
After this match: LYON (3-3) // 100T (4-2)
First blood went over to Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu following a high-stakes double gank top into a quick Hextech Drake. FlyQuest prioritized Void Grubs and the trend of close early games continued. Drakes were split 1-1, and Grubs were split 3-3. Everything stayed even heading into the end of the laning phase. The game felt almost too calm moving into the midgame.
A 4v3 broke out in the topside river, ending with one kill for C9 but two for FlyQuest, setting the score even. Moments later, Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek claimed the Feat of Warfare in a skirmish at Drake Pit. The trades continued with Cloud9 getting Rift Herald, but giving up the botside first turret. C9 sent the Rift Herald mid, starting a bloody fight with a huge ult from Lee "Loki" Sang-min's Azir, catching out half of FlyQuest, converting into Chemtech Drake, another skirmish topside, and Atakahan. This game was incredibly scrappy, with a 5v5 nearly acing FlyQuest off of C9 feigning Baron.
The fight converted into a strong push botside, giving C9 two of FlyQuest’s inhibitors. Shortly after, Cloud9 secured their victory just over 28 minutes in. The beginning of the game was rather slow, but once the snowball started, it could not be stopped.
After this match: Cloud9 Kia (5-1) // FlyQuest (5-1)
This game started with a full-system PC crash across both teams. Drafts had to be redone, and the game started running again about 10 minutes later. There was a risky tower dive just four minutes into the game, where Team Liquid earned First Blood and a second kill as Um "UmTi" Sung-hyeon pathed toward mid.
TL got both groups Void Grubs, first drake, and two Feats of Strength, firmly setting the pace for the early game. A 5v5 broke out at Drake and Shopify were able to pick up some momentum, as well as the second dragon of the game. Shopify got ahead in kills, slowly putting a dent in the 3k gold lead held by TL.
SR overwhelmed some Team Liquid players in the drake pit as the rest split pushed. The pressure was on as Team Liquid pushed lanes, trading slightly in between lanes as they traveled. TL feigned a baron rush, instead turning to ace Shopify Rebellion into Baron and Hextech Drake.
A strong shove down all three lanes capitalized on Team Liquid’s gold lead, bringing it up to over 9k. Moments later, Team Liquid pushed to victory. The game ended in just over 30 minutes.
After this Match: Team Liquid (4-2) // Shopify Rebellion (2-4)
The early game was played cautiously by both teams, with the Void Grubs being split between Disguised and Dignitas 2-1. First blood and an extra kill went to Dignitas in a 3v2 skirmish botside. After a lane gank topside, Dignitas claimed the Feat of Warfare, and the pace was set. A 3v4 at Void Grubs gave Dignitas two more kills and the first set of Void Grubs. DSG pushed the top turret as three, claiming First Turret for themselves as Dignitas rushed drake. A 4-man tower dive and a smooth outplay in botlane by Jett Michael "Srtty" Joye set the vibe for the remainder of the game.
A 4v4 skirmish midlane left Disguised without their tier two midlane turret and half of their team. Dignitas was capitalizing on their gold lead, and the fight at Atakhan brought that to a head. A 4v5 that turned into a full 5v5 solidified Dignitas’ momentum, securing them Atakhan and the Chemtech Drake.
The teams fought in Red Side jungle, killing four members of Disguised and converting into an easy run to Baron, before Dignitas rushed Disguised’s base. A race started, but DIsguised fell flat. they finally pulled a win, finishing their loss streak this split.
After this match: Disguised (0-6) // Team Dignitas (1-5)
Wrapping Up for Today
The games today consistently started with careful play, few kills, and rushing for objectives. Once midgame hit, though, without fail, one team took the reins and walked with it. Objectives started dying, turrets started falling, and gold leads continued to grow. Tomorrow’s schedule features four more matches: FlyQuest will face Dignitas, LYON take on Cloud9, Disguised will look to pull off an upset against Team Liquid, and finally, 100 Thieves go up against Shopify Rebellion.
Header photo credit: LTA/Riot Games
