North American League of Legends Week 2 Day 1
Game 1
The first game of League of Legends pitched Counter Logic Gaming against Team Liquid. Both teams came out of week one with a win and a loss and were looking to push ahead in the standings. Both teams were tied for third coming into the day and strong performance here and day two could result either team solo possession of a high standing. The champion select went as follows:
CLG vs TL
Top: Ornn vs Singed
Jungle: Sejuani vs Trundle
Mid: Zoe vs Irelia
Bot: Varus vs Kai’sa
Support: Morgana vs Tahm Kench
A solid gank from CLG’s jungler Reignover would credit him first blood. The kill came in the top lane with the assist to top laner Darshan. CLG has been surprising everyone with how they looked in week one expecting to be one of the weaker teams of the split. However, the season is still early and we will see if they stay on top. What would look like a good fight for CLG broke out in the mid game would backfire horribly for CLG as they would get aced losing all 5 members and not killing a single player on TL. The trend would continue as TL found another winning fight and would end the game. The highlights can be found below:
Game 2
The second game of the day pitched Team Solo Mid against Clutch Gaming. A strong performance in week one allowed them to go 2-0 to start the week. This match is a rematch of the spring semi-finals where Clutch Gaming previously took down Team Solo Mid. The champion select went as follows:
TSM vs CG
Top: Dr. Mundo vs Aatrox
Jungle: Nocturne vs Skarner
Mid: Anivia vs Swain
Bot: Ezreal vs Xayah
Support: Morgana vs Rakan
First blood wouldn’t come in to late around the 15 min mark. The kill would go onto CG’s jungler Lira and two more would quickly come in too. CG would continue this trend looking very strong in this game. TSM’s jungler Grig would have a beautiful smite steal flying in on the nocturne and smiting down baron nashor. However, this wouldn’t be enough as CG would find the fights they need. History would repeat itself as CG would take down TSM. The highlights can be found below:
Game 3
The third game pitched Optic Gaming against Echo Fox. Echo Fox went undefeated in week one and are looking to continue the trend going into week two. Continuing their tried of interesting strategies Echo Fox looked to employ a lane swap strategy again. Echo Fox are also subbing in support player Wang “Feng” Xiao-Feng in place of Adrian. The champion select went as follows:
OPT vs FOX
Top: Ornn vs Karthus
Jungle: Kai’sa vs Irelia
Mid: Nunu vs Sejuani
Bot: Lucian vs Vladimir
Support: Tahm Kench vs Sejuani
A lot of roll swapping done in this game. On the side of OPT, mid laner PowerofEvil would be jungling and jungler Akaadian would be playing midlane. On the side of FOX, mid laner Fenix would be playing top, top laner Huni would be jungling, and jungler Dardoch would be playing mid. FOX’s triple swap strategy would seem to be working as they would land fist blood onto now playing mid laner Akaadian. The kill credited to Huni giving up his own life in a trade kill. Fox would make a bunch of plays pushing them ahead but a bad fight would put OPT in the lead. OPT would take baron to gain a lead. Using this lead they would win a late game team fight and be able to push for the win. The highlights can be found below:
Game 4
The fourth game of the day pitched 100 Thieves against FlyQuest. Both 100 Thieves and FlyQuest are looking to get their first win after 0-2 starts to the season. After this game one team will have solo possession of last place. The champion select went as follows:
100T vs FLY
Top: Aatrox vs Ornn
Jungle: Nocturne vs Camille
Mid: Lissandra vs Swain
Bot: Lucian vs Xayah
Support: Braum vs Rakan
A gank to the top lane would give 100T first blood and kill credited over to Ssumday on Aatrox. 100 Thieves would dominate another fight at dragon acing FLY and giving them a sizable lead. The dominance continued as they would get another winning fight killing four but giving up three. This wouldn’t do much for FLY as 100T would take baron and win a fight in FLY’s base and winning the game in just under 30 minutes. The highlights can be found below:
Game 5
The final game of the day pitched Golden Guardians against Cloud 9. Cloud 9 is continuing to use their substitute roster as a decent performance in week one was enough to keep their spots. Golden Guardians would look to surprise everyone with a much stronger split than spring. The champion select went as follows:
GG vs C9
Top: Ornn vs Shen
Jungle: Kai’sa vs Evelynn
Mid: Braum vs Swain
Bot: Yasuo vs Ezreal
Support: Alistar vs Tahm Kench
A triple swap came out for GG. GG’s jungler Contractz would play mid, GG’s mid laner Mickey would play bot, and GG’s bot laner Deftly would play jungle. This is the gold funnelling strategy becoming more and more popular as teams pick it up. First blood came in for C9 picking up a kill in the botlane. C9 kept the ball rolling getting more kills and maintaining great dragon control. The game was heavily in their favour securing baron nashor but giving up two kills to do so. A failed engage from C9 would swing the game back in favour of GG. GG would win a few more fights and take down baron nashor. A desperation bass race attempt for C9 wouldn’t be enough to get the job done as GG take down C9. The highlights can be found below:
Standings
T1 – Echo Fox
– Team Solo Mid
– Golden Guardians
– Optic Gaming
– Team Liquid
– Clutch Gaming
T7 – Counter Logic Gaming
– Cloud 9
– 100 Thieves
10 – FlyQuest
Missed Week 1? Catch up: HERE
