
NRG is the 2023 LCS Summer champion after pulling off a major upset against Cloud9.
NRG is closing its first season in the LCS with a title. The team achieved what many believed impossible and denied Cloud9 its third consecutive championship.
NRG started its finals weekend with a hard-earned victory against Team Liquid in a series that went the distance. The semifinal series was the perfect warmup for NRG. In the match against Cloud9, NRG played to their strengths, relying on their coordination when it came to team fighting.
It’s been a long time coming for the NRG squad. The roster fell short during spring while playing as CLG and missed the qualifications to MSI. In the Summer, the team stumbled during the regular season and barely made it through playoffs, but when it mattered the most, NRG got the result.
It is an emotional victory for the NRG players. With the exception of bot laner Ian Victor “FBI” Huang, none of the players had won LCS before. After six years as a competitor, Jungler Juan “Contractz” Garcia has earned his first domestic title.
NRG will have some time to celebrate before turning its focus to the 2023 World Championship. NRG is heading to the event as the first seed for North America. Cloud9 claimed the second seed, and Team Liquid is the third team for the region.
Golden Guardians will have to fight for their chance to participate in Worlds. Due to a change in the event’s format, the fourth seed from North America and the fourth seed from EMEA compete in the Worlds Qualifying Series. It is a best-of-five series where the winner earns a spot in the Play-In Stage.
The Worlds Qualifying Series will be played on October 9 at LoL Park in Seoul.
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