100 Thieves continue their winning streak in week 4 of the LCS, rising to a shared first place with TSM after a 3-0 week. Team Liquid and Cloud9 are one step behind as the league nears its midway mark.
With the last several weeks showing several differences in the LCS, NA League of Legends fans have been taking notice. The fourth week of the LCS brought several games that they had been waiting for and they came with several surprises.
Favorites Reign on Day 1
The weekend started with a very contested game between Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses. Neither team could get an advantage until 32 minutes in. TL killed both enemy solo laners and secured the Baron, then put it to good use to take EG out.
Despite a great first few minutes, Dignitas could not keep 100 Thieves down. A chaotic fight 23 minutes in saw the Thieves take over the game after two kills let them secure the Baron. With it and Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho’s Gnar, they dominated the map, eventually getting a second Baron and four kills before ending the game.
The third game of the day saw Cloud9 face a solid challenge by Golden Guardians. Despite losing a few early kills, the underdogs secured several early drakes and eventually got the infernal soul. However, Cloud9 turned it around with a big fight 28 minutes in, taking the Baron and elder drake and quickly ending the game.
Counter Logic Gaming started well against Immortals, trading blows in the early game before getting a clutch 3-0 fight 16 minutes in. However, it all fell apart nine minutes later when Immortals got two kills and the Baron. With it, IMT forged a big lead and eventually won a key victory.
The last game of the day pitted TSM against the struggling FlyQuest. While the underdogs were active early on, they overextended and got punished for it. The mid-game was all TSM and they decided the game in a 4-1 near the mountain dragon.
.@TSM (20-8) close out the night with a win against @FlyQuest (9-19)! #TSMWIN #LCS pic.twitter.com/4Xl8rPZ7kB
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 26, 2021
Evil Geniuses Trip TSM on Saturday
Once again, Team Liquid opened the day - this time against CLG. Liquid put a lot of pressure in the bot lane and were rewarded with an early lead they steadily expanded. CLG found no way back into the game and endured a second loss for the week.
Dignitas, meanwhile, bounced back from the Friday loss with a decisive win against FlyQuest. Despite losing first blood, they quickly stamped their mark on the game. After a 4-0 12 minutes they were fully in control.
Game three was the much-awaited showdown between Cloud9 and 100 Thieves. Despite losing the first blood in a top lane 1v1, 100T soon retaliated with three clutch kills for Felix "Abbedagge" Braun’s Azir. With much weaker mid and bot lanes, C9 kept conceding objectives and eventually, the Thieves stole another win.
In the next match, Evil Geniuses came out swinging against TSM, getting first blood and first tower for a 3K gold lead just 12 minutes in. TSM tried to come back with a Baron attempt 20 minutes in, only to lose two and the Baron to the counterattack. In the end, the EG deathball was too much and TSM’s winning streak was broken.
The last game of the day featured Immortals taking on Golden Guardians. IMT opened the game with two very early kills in the top lane. GG briefly equalized, but Immortals’ counterattck was brutal. They aced the Guardians three times in eight minutes before ending the game in decisive fashion.
TSM and 100 Thieves Stay Ahead
Dignitas and Evil Geniuses started their game with a brawl. EG’s tower pushing got them a small lead. Still, fights stayed close until 28 minutes in, where a big wombo combo and high damage gave them a clean ace and a free route to the Nexus.
100 Thieves had a flying start against Immortals as a skirmish just 3 minutes in delivered a double kill to Ssumday. With his mid laner Abbedagge also getting an early kill, Immortals were quickly put on the ropes. An early Baron sealed the deal and with it, 100T quickly secured their fifth consecutive win.
With their first place in danger, TSM faced a capable foe in Team Liquid. Despite two early kills by jungler Mingyi "Spica" Lu, the game remained close. Team Liquid seem to inch ahead but TSM struck back, getting three kills and securing the objective 24 minutes in, then ending the game with the Baron buff.
FlyQuest had what looked like a golden opportunity to end their losing streak with a game against Golden Guardians. While FQ had a big lead in kills, they were unable to prevent the Guardians from getting an early cloud soul. Eventually, it was GG who got the upper hand with an elder Drake, teamfight and Baron 36 minutes in, leading to FlyQuest’s seventh consecutive loss.
The final match of the week featured Cloud9 and Counter Logic Gaming. Despite CLG starting with a 2-1 in the bot lane, Cloud9 was able to narrowly win several fights. The difference seemed small - right until the spring champions got a clean ace 33 minutes in and ended the game.
Congratulations to @VictorHuang on winning the @MastercardNexus Player of the Week for week 4 of the 2021 #LCS Summer Split! pic.twitter.com/tP0hPx97zR
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) June 28, 2021
Read More:
- Misfits Gaming Return to the Top of the LEC
- Team Liquid's LCS Head Coach Jatt resignes
- 3-0 Week Puts TSM at LCS Top
The LCS continues next week with a showdown between the dominant 100 Thieves and a Team Liquid eager to stay in the fight for the top spots. Meanwhile, you can follow our coverage for more LoL news and analysis.