Team Liquid cements first-place finish in 2020 LCS Summer Split

Steven Rondina Published 09/08/2020

In one of the most impressive turnarounds of the year’s League of Legends competitive season, Team Liquid has mathematically secured a first-place finish in the 2020 LCS Summer Split.

Liquid bested Immortals on Saturday, advancing the team’s record to 14-3 in the summer split. With just one game left in the season, second-place teams Cloud9 and Team SoloMid are unable to catch up at 12-5. This assures Liquid first place in the season, as well as top seeding in the playoffs.

This is an impressive turnaround for Liquid after a disastrous 2020 LCS Spring Split. Despite entering the season as the favorites to win everything and the reigning champions of both 2019 LCS splits, a series of disappointing turns hit Liquid in the spring. 

The team’s high-profile free agent acquisition, Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen, was unable to play with the team for much of the split due to lingering visa issues. This was followed by Liquid losing star ADC Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng to a controversial benching. The end result was a ninth-place finish in the spring split with a 7-11 record.

The team following these struggles by adding Joshua “Jatt” Leesman as the new head coach while moving Jang “Cain” Nu-ri into a different position.

Liquid’s fans were understandably questioning everything about the team, ranging from the rationale behind dropping former jungler Jake Kevin “Xmithie” Puchero in favor of Broxah to possible structural issues within the organization. Ultimately, the only way that struggling teams can prove themselves to fans is by winning games. And that’s exactly what Liquid started doing.

Lots has happened to Liquid this season:

• Broxah discusses Cloud9’s slide in the summer
• Doublelift blasts Liquid on Twitter, deletes it
• Doublelift’s stream sparks drama, too

Team Liquid proves itself in 2020 LCS Summer Split

The roster shuffling of the spring prevented Liquid from ever gaining any kind of footing. The 2020 LCS Summer Split gave Broxah and new bot laner Edward “Tactical” Ra the opportunity to play as a real unit for the first time. The results were beyond question.

Liquid started the season with a 2-0 week one and continued to look strong from there. Spring split champions Cloud9 initially looked to be set for a repeat first-place performance, but a 0-2 week eight saw Cloud9 slip behind Liquid in the standings and fall into a sprint for second place with TSM.

Now 14-3, Liquid has just one game left to play against TSM. Win or lose, they’ll remain atop the standings and can focus their efforts on the playoffs.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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