It was a Super Week worthy of the hype in the North American LCS. Double the games, double the action, and double the Phreak puns—fans were treated to upsets, surprising champions, and the most parity the LCS has ever seen. LMQ, CLG, Dignitas, and TSM all sit tied for first place, with Cloud 9 only a game behind them. With an impressive super week, Curse is only two games back from Cloud 9, in a firm 6
th place. This week showed us exactly who these teams are, but gave us no clear picture of who will emerge victorious as the second half of the split begins.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
LMQ VS Cloud9
With a bold flashback to last season, Cloud9 bring a top lane Dr. Mundo into their match against LMQ. For the first few minutes, it seemed as though C9 had returned to their spring split form as Meteos came top lane to give first blood to Balls. From there, reality came quickly flooding back as LMQ took profitable trades throughout the early game. However, the surprise Dr. Mundo was not to be undone, as a quick teleport bottom lane for a team fight turned a rough spot for Cloud 9 into 5 kills. From there, the game was back and forth, with both teams unable to hold a dominant lead for long. Ultimately, Cloud9’s global presence and poking power proved to be too much for LMQ as a pick on Noname’s Jarvan and an extended team fight netted the spring kings three kills and a victory.
CompLexity vs Evil Geniuses
“Back and forth” would be an understatement in this clash of the bottom tier teams. CompLexity was able to take first blood, but the Evil Geniuses quickly responded with some great dueling play by Pobelter’s Syndra. The teams traded kills and objectives, battling it out through the early and mid game. With an ace following a catch onto Pr0lly, CompLexity seemed to finally be in command of the game. However, EG was not done yet, as they chased the sieging CompLexity out of their base. Picking up three kills and a sneaky baron, EG now appeared poised to take over. Then, tragedy struck as Innox miscalculated in a duel with Westrice. Without their late game Jax, EG was unable to contest the ensuing baron. With Innox dead, CompLexity were finally able to break the long siege and, after a bit more struggle, CompLexity took the win in this 65 minute slugfest.
Curse vs Counter Logic Gaming
Coming off one of the most passive victories in LCS history, Curse looked to show their fans that they could win an aggressive game as well. Counter Logic Gaming struggled early, as Seraph gave up a surprising first blood without using Kayle’s Divine Intervention. With pressure secured in the top lane, Cop and Xpecial flipped a switch and became the aggressors on the Rush Hour duo. With the laning phase won handily by Curse, CLG looked for dragon. Despite securing the dragon, CLG lost the ensuing fight 2-1. Dexter’s team remained resilient through the mid game, sieging towers and picking up kills around objectives, but the early lead by Curse was unstoppable. Against a powerful sieging team with a gold lead, CLG’s only hope was to force a team fight. Despite a strong engagement, CLG lost their desperation fight 3-4. After Link tried valiantly to make a play, Curse picked up the final kill. With only two players alive, Curse took down CLG’s nexus, and their third win of Super Week.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Curse Ascending
Facing the toughest schedule out of the entire NA LCS, Curse ended the week with an impressive 3-1 record. Even in their loss to TSM, Curse came out of the gate making plays all over the map. Xpecial, as if sensing his 1000
th assist was near, returned to his All Star form landing incredible Death Sentences and Glacial Fissures to give his team early leads. Curse even let Quas dip his toe into his champion pool with the first successful Gragas top lane this season. With no team earning a perfect Super Week, Curse has entered the back half of the summer split rejoining the middle of the pack. It appears that Voyboy and his teammates may have finally hit their stride, joining the scrum for the first place spot leading into the playoffs.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Evil Geniuses: 0-4 The Nightmare
As the only team to finish Super Week without a single win, the Evil Geniuses are in a full state of panic. Now a full two games back from Complexity, EG appear destined to miss the playoffs and face relegation yet again. There are moments of greatness for this team, but each bright moment is surrounded by darkness. All week the team’s new leader, Helios, would make an impressive gank, only to follow it up with a foolish invade or an awkward engagement. EG’s laning phase has improved over the course of the season, but they simply could not close out a game this week. Super Week gives us a clear picture of where teams are halfway through the season, and the Evil Geniuses are clearly the awkward short kid mostly obscured by the popular kids in the foreground.
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