LCS Summer Split Dawns: What Teams to Watch
- Andrew Donovan
- Jun 13, 2020
- 4 min read
The start of the League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split begins on June 12th. Many fans are itching to see content come from North America - a region we have not seen any action from since April 19th, the conclusion of last split's playoffs. With many exciting and shocking off-season roster moves, this split is sure to be a spicy one!
No doubt the COVID-19 pandemic is greatly effecting everyone's daily routine, and the LCS is no different. The days of the LCS studio, fan meet-ups, and big stages are currently halted, making way for a new "remote-play" setup. As opposed to playing on a stage in front of a crowd, teams will now be playing from their "Team Houses" (a previously established custom in esports) online against opponents.
Let's take a deep dive for a few of the 10 teams participating in the inaugural remote-play Summer Split, and my predictions for how those teams will play out!
CLOUD 9
Cloud 9 had the most dominant performance of any North American team yet, boasting a 17-1 record in the regular season. This feat has only been achieved by two other teams: 2016 Spring Split Immortals and 2016 Summer Split TSM. Where C9 differs from the aforementioned teams is the sheer decisiveness displayed in their victories.
They continued to show dominance going into the playoffs, only dropping one game across their entire playoff run, bringing their total season record to 26-2, eventually taking the title after 6 years without winning a split.
In their victorious split, they boasted 61% of first bloods, 94% of first towers, and an average game time of 31:07 just to name a few. Combine some bonkers stats with the fact that each of their players in their respective roles are the best in the region, and you have a team that is sure to turn some heads.
Cloud 9's jungler Robert "Blaber" Huang was the recipient of the 2020 Spring Split MVP, which marks a now back-to-back MVP title for the organization with ex-player Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen winning the previous split's title.
The organization has fostered some incredible native talent, and it will be a treat to watch some more clean League of Legends played from this squad.
TEAM LIQUID
Team Liquid's story is a puzzling one: going from forever being cursed to finish 4th place, to becoming 4-time champions of the LCS after consecutively winning 4 splits in a row, is truly a story to tell. The number four is at every turn in the Team Liquid dynasty, as they became the 4th unique team to hoist the trophy.
Numerology aside, Team Liquid had the biggest roster swap of the off-season, when star ADC player Yiliang "Doubelift" Peng announced his departure. Doublelift played a key role in the team's consecutive victories, and is often considered some of North America's best native talent.
Doublelift cited poor coaching and lack of communication on the current roster as his reasons for leaving. There is a chance Doublelift jumped ship after the roster finished 9th - juxtaposing their dominance over the last 2 years, or 4 splits.
To further add fan to the flame, Doublelift rekindled his love with former organization Team Solomid, a team he also saw major success on as he dominated and won the 2016 Summer Split. To fill the clown-sized shoes of Doublelift in the ADC role comes Edward "Tactical" Ra, a rookie who has lots to prove on a roster filled with veterans.
Liquid's recent acquisition of European talent Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen proved to be a solid pick up, despite the unfortunate visa delays that happened earlier in the year. Broxah has excellent coordination with the current roster, and will only get better on the squad as he builds his synergy accordingly.
This current iteration of Liquid may be dangerous, bolstered by the fact that Tactical's young blood will power the current veterans to mentor their new ADC. Not only this, but Tactical will also have a lot to prove - potentially lighting a fire in him that will allow him to perform ahead of his competition.
FLYQUEST
If there was an award for most improved roster, it would go to FlyQuest hands down. Coming into the scene just as the franchising-era began, FLY looked to be bottom-barrel. With a low-grade finish of 8th to their introductory season, and a roster full of older players who were seen as "washed up," not many were keen on FlyQuest in their infancy.
Even as they went on to play in the 2019 splits, they were a niche team at best, favoring erratic and often times coin-flippy play styles over low-risk and calculated play. Sure they may have been a treat to watch from a wildcard angle, but they had lots of work to do before they could be a real title contender.
FLY needed new infrastructure - a rework from the ground up, and that's what they did. They brought in insightful and fresh coaching talent with the likes of Anand "Curry" Agarwal, as well as Assistant Coach Lim "David" "DLim" Joo-sung to breath new life into the org. They also grabbed European legend Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage for the mid lane, as well as hopeful Korean prospect Lee "IgNar" Dong-guen (who also had a stint in Europe) as their new support player.
These two acquisitions proved to pay dividends for FlyQuest, catapulting them to finishing 2nd this past split, only to lose against Cloud 9 in a dominate 3-0 to end their hopes at the org's first title. Despite this defeat, FlyQuest has captured the hearts of many North American fans, and has many excited on their future endeavors.
It's also worth noting that FLY put in place their "TreeQuest" initiative last split, where the organization planted trees based on certain milestones the team hit. Following the success of TreeQuest, the organization continues their ecologically conscious ventures by introducing "SeaQuest." This initiative will focus on strengthening the Coral Reef Alliance charity fund based on milestones reached this split.
This incoming split will undoubtedly be a banger, and it's super exciting to finally get some games going again.
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