Cloud9 Open Worlds with Win Over Kabum

Cloud9 started its journey in the World Championship with a win after defeating KaBuM! e-Sports in the first game of the play-in stage.

The 2018 World Championship has officially begun, as the play-in stage opened on October 1 at the LoL Park in Seoul. Twelve teams are competing for the last four available spots in the main event. In Group A, Cloud9 kicked off the tournament with a win against Brazil’s KaBuM.

The early game didn’t see much action, as both teams were focusing on efficient trading and trying to accrue enough farm for later on. At 11 minutes, Cloud9 top laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie took the first turret. From that point on, both teams became much more aggressive.

At 14 minutes, Marcelo “Riyev” Carrara initiated a fight in the jungle but Cloud9 was quick to respond and rebuff Riyev and his teammates. This would become a trend in the game, as every time KaBuM attempted to initiate a fight, Cloud9 would find a way to turn it around.

At 26 minutes, Cloud9 aced KaBuM and took the baron. This allowed the North American team to push and break into the enemy base. KaBuM put up a fight until the game’s final moments, but the scaling was dramatically in favor of Cloud9 as the NA LCS representative destroyed the enemy nexus at just 30 minutes.

Cloud9 finished day one in first place of Group C with two victories. In Group D, the LMS’ G-Rex came on top with two wins of their own.

The play-in stage continues on day two when Groups A and B begin play.