Today’s Summer Semifinals would see 100 Thieves and Team Liquid face off in a rematch of last season’s NA LCS Finals.
.@TeamLiquidLoL WILL DEFEND THEIR TITLE AGAINST @Cloud9 IN OAKLAND NEXT SUNDAY! #NALCS pic.twitter.com/GNKSUVq8IA
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 2, 2018
100 Thieves would actually head into this match with a switch of their rosters. Instead of main ADC Cody “Cody Sun” Sun in the bottom lane, they would field Academy player Richard “Rikara” Samuel Oh. People believe that the roster change would be due to the Cody Sun – Doublelift matchup, a duel that Cody Sun has been struggling with. However, the NA LCS stream would confirm that Cody would not even be available as a sub. We aren’t sure why Cody wasn’t in the studio, but we suspect it may be something serious. No player would miss such a huge game for something trivial. Even still, 100 Thieves have their superstar top laner Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho and shotcaller Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black.
On the other hand, Team Liquid is looking stronger than ever. Many people are hailing Team Liquid as the best team in North America. Also, they have been the most consistent team in terms of success. They have perennial champion Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng playing some of his best League ever. He may be a shoe-in for the Most Valuable Player award this split. The only weakness to speak of for Team Liquid could be the mid lane in Eugene “Pobelter” Park, who hasn’t been playing too well lately. However, the rest of his team is able to cover up his shortcomings with great macro.
100 Thieves Strike First
The 100 Thieves would show off an impressive display of skill in the first game of the semifinals. It was a relatively close game, up until the first Baron take. 100 Thieves would use the buff to gain a lead that would slowly grow as the game would progress. By the time the second Baron would roll around, it would be 100 Thieves’ macro that would be the deciding factor. Aphromoo’s shotcalling would be huge, as they would eventually take the game via a big combo from the 100 Thieves’ captain:
.@aphromoo with the massive combo on Alistar to win the team fight for @100Thieves! #NALCS pic.twitter.com/Gp5tyyW0PE
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 2, 2018
Team Liquid dominates
The next three games would be all Team Liquid, all across the lanes. In the second game, it would be Pobelter to step up for the team. He would absolutely dominate 100 Thieves’ mid laner Ryu “Ryu” Sang-wook, and his presence would be felt throughout the match. Meanwhile, Aphromoo’s Rakan play would leave something to be desired, while Ssumday could not carry with his Gnar. It wouldn’t help that jungler Andy “AnDa” Hoang did not make much of an impact anywhere either.
The bottom lane difference would be huge in game three, where Doublelift and Team Liquid support Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung would stomp on Rikara and Aphromoo. This wouldn’t even be close, as Olleh would put on a Thresh masterclass, and Team Liquid would just slaughter 100 Thieves at every engage. Doublelift would get too strong, and 100 Thieves did not have a chance to strike back with their team composition.
A massive fight breaks out near the dragon pit with @TeamLiquidLoL taking down four and extending their game three lead! #NALCS pic.twitter.com/i5Pt73oGIo
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 2, 2018
Finally, the fourth game would be the quickest game of the series. Olleh would again show off his Thresh mechanics, starting off multiple key fights with some great hooks. Doublelift would outclass Aphromoo and Rikara, and the rest of Team Liquid would look dominant as always. It wouldn’t look like 100 Thieves ever stood a chance, as Liquid would be one step ahead of their opponents.
Player of the Series – 2018 #NALCS Summer Semifinals – @TeamLiquidLoL vs @100Thieves – @TLDoublelift pic.twitter.com/8o0y7QKqj9
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 2, 2018
What’s Next
Team Liquid will now face off against Cloud9 in the NA LCS Summer Finals, which should be a great matchup. Team Liquid dominance and sheer firepower versus Cloud9’s great teamplay and compositional flexibility. Who will be able to take the crown? We will have to find out next weekend in Oakland! As for 100 Thieves, they will be hoping for a Team Liquid win, as that would guarantee them a trip to the World Championships in Korea.
What do you think of Team Liquid’s semifinals win against 100 Thieves? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. If you want more NA LCS coverage, check us out here!
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