Doublelift protects his throne, Liquid dominate 100 Thieves

Team Liquid dominated its first highly anticipated match against 100 Thieves and consolidated itself as the sole leader atop the LCS.

The match between the defending champions at Liquid and a newly retooled 100 Thieves created high expectations in the community. It was the first time that Yilliang “Doublelift” Peng would face two-time world champion Bae “Bang” Jun-sik on the LCS stage.

100 Thieves surprised in the picks and bans with Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho on Yorick and Bang taking Victor to the bottom lane.

As expected, it was in the bottom lane that the action got underway. At just six minutes, Doublelift claimed first blood in a two-versus-two trade. This allowed Jake “Xmithie” Puchero to secure the first infernal drake of the game.

Jungler Andy “AnDa” Hoang collapsed in the top lane to give 100 Thieves room to breathe, but Team Liquid retaliated in the bottom lane again, putting Doublelift solidly ahead of Bang.

Both teams took a step back during the mid-game and took aim at securing neutral objectives. This strategy was not good enough for 100 Thieves, as the team was already behind in gold and items.

Thieves tried to find picks to turn their luck around, but Team Liquid was better in the team fights.

A desperate 100 Thieves continued to aggress. Team Liquid turned their attention to the baron, but 100 Thieves interrupted the action. It seemed 100 Thieves might steal the buff, but Xmithie was able to secure it for Liquid and effectively end the game.

100 Thieves failed to scale properly and Team Liquid proved the superior team. So it was that Doublelift has successfully taken down another import bottom laner in North America.