After a perfect split, C9 might lose LCS playoffs for the 8th time in a row

Ben Boland Published 11/06/2026

After going 7-0 in the regular season, Cloud9 lost to LYON in the LCS Spring Split playoffs. Despite dominating through the entire split, they now sit in the loser’s bracket after a 3-0 loss. This wouldn’t be alarming for any other team. However, this is already the story of Cloud9’s last seven splits.

Cloud9’s historic undefeated regular season

C9 completed the regular season of the LCS Spring Split 2026 without dropping a single match. In spite of a few close calls, they managed to secure every victory. Behind them, LYON and Team Liquid both stood at 5-2, meaning that the competition wasn’t even close.

Before this split, only one team had managed a perfect run in an LCS season (excluding short splits). It was Team Liquid who first achieved that feat in Summer 2024.

Then came the playoffs.

LYON beat Cloud9 3-0

The LCS playoffs started and C9 took down FlyQuest 3-2, and that result gave everyone mixed feelings. It was a win, but too close for comfort against the fourth-place team. That said, FLY had already put up a good fight against them in the regular season. On the other hand, sudden close series is how C9’s downfall regularly begins.

Then came the upper final against LYON to prove that point. LYON clean swept Cloud9, and while the first game was close, the next two definitely weren’t.

This series culminated as C9 achieved their dreaded playoffs form in the final game. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen made inexcusable mistakes, Robert “Blaber” Huang was always on the backfoot, and the team as a whole made poor decisions.

Will history repeat itself as C9 risks missing MSI?

Cloud9 having one form in the regular season and another in the playoffs has become the norm. Since the start of 2024, the team has always done well in the regular season. However, they’ve failed to win a single split. Worse, they haven’t qualified for any international event.

In fact, C9’s signature move is to lose the match that would qualify them. The team has achieved that feat five times since the start of 2024. The only time they’ve avoided that fate was Split 1 of 2025, as they lost one match earlier.

C9 has already fallen down the loser’s bracket in the LCS Spring Split 2026. Now, they’re up against Team Liquid. While TLAW should logically be weaker, they’ve made short work of the FlyQuest that stood up against Cloud9.

And C9’s form against LYON wasn’t promising. On top of this, the fact that they know how each previous playoffs went has to get in their head. League of Legends betting odds favor Cloud9, but history does not.

TLAW will face C9 on June 13 at the Mullett Arena in Arizona for NA’s final spot at MSI 2026.

Featured image source: Stefan Wisnoski / Riot Games

Ben Boland

About Ben Boland

Ben is the Lead Editor at Win.gg, bringing a decade of iGaming industry experience having worked for both the operator and affiliation sides. With a formal journalism background, he is responsible for ensuring that every piece of content that we publish is relevant, accurate and well-written. In his own time, he enjoys playing video games and especially enjoys Rockstar titles, considering Red Dead Redemption 2 the finest title ever made. He has also spent a lot of time playing GTA V over the years and is fascinated by how streaming is changing the landscape of the industry.

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