Cloud9 in playoffs with upset versus Team Liquid

Cloud9 closed things out on Sunday with a major upset win over Team Liquid.

Week eight in the 2019 LCS Summer Split was full of surprises. Just when Team Liquid was ready to lock up first place in the regular season, Cloud9 took a crucial game.

Bot laner Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi is back with the team after a brief moment on the bench. In the match versus Team Liquid, Cloud9 drafted comfort picks and the first Qiyana for mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. On Team Liquid’s side, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng played Sona who is still prevalent in the meta despite recent nerfs.

Doublelift and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in stood their ground in the early game and repelled ganks from jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen. In the mid lane, Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen struggled in the match versus Nisqy.

The game was tense for a moment while the teams decided their next move. For Cloud9, the plan was to attack the bottom lane.

While Doublelift CoreJJ, and Jake “Xmithie” Puchero absorbed the pressure from four enemy players, Jensen pushed and Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong got a solo kill in the top lane.

Once the laning phase was done, Impact assumed his split-pushing duties. Team Liquid shifted to a one-three-one approach with the solo laners in the side lines. Cloud9 was not about to let Team Liquid take the game, they forced a team fight and killed three enemies.

Xmithie was on the death chamber, so CoreJJ jumped into pit trying to steal the baron from Cloud9. He failed and Cloud9 pushed through the mid lane.

Svenskeren recognized that Impact was the biggest threat on Team Liquid’s side so he became the focus. With Impact down, Team Liquid had to find a way to engage. Xmithie went all-in but Cloud9 was more than ready to fight. One ace later, Cloud9 took the victory.

By the end of week eight, Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, and Team Liquid had all locked up playoff berths. Liquid remains in first place, but now faces the chance of slipping from that spot and losing their playoff bye.

Team SoloMid is in fourth place, fighting to keep that spot. OpTic Gaming and Golden Guardians are tied for fifth at 8-8 with 100 Thieves and Clutch Gaming just one game away. The race for the playoffs is closer than ever and it will all come down to week nine.