There’s nothing more exciting than a Cinderella story.
America cheered in unison when a collection of college kids dethroned the Russian Olympic team in the
"Miracle on Ice". New York Giants fans will forever remember when
David Tyree’s helmet-catch ruined the Patriots perfect season. In the 1954 World Cup, the juggernaut
Hungary team was toppled by a West Germany team to whom no one gave a chance. Even the LCS has had its share of incredible upsets and underdog stories. As we enter another epic playoff stage in League, we remember the best upset victories in the LCS playoffs.
Vulcun 2 - 1 Curse
After an average spring split, Vulcun limped into the playoffs as the fifth seed. While they surprised spectators by taking down fourth seed Counter Logic Gaming, CLG had also been underperforming. The upset was further cheapened by Vulcun’s defeat at the hands of the superior TSM. Clearly Vulcun had gotten lucky, and would be returned to earth by another resounding loss to Curse, who would be vengeful after a stunning loss to Good Game University. However, Vulcun rallied strong, and not only handled their business with Curse to end the first LCS split in third place, but would ride that momentum all the way to the Season 3 World Championship.
Team SoloMid 2 - 0 Vulcun
New views of the LCS may only remember XDG (previously Vulcun) as the last place team that paved the way for LMQ to join the NA LCS. But just one split earlier, Vulcun were a dominant team. Mandatorycloud had earned the LCS record for most kills in a single split. Zuna and Bloodwater were a strong bottom lane and an even stronger leadership pair. If not for Meteos, Xmithie would have been in the discussion for strongest jungler in North America. Finishing the 2013 summer split 6 games ahead of TSM, Vulcun were the clear favorites in this playoff matchup, coming into the playoffs as the second seed.
TSM had struggled all season long, so no one but the most hardcore of TSM fans were prepared for the slaughter that occurred. Mandatorycloud seemed completely overwhelmed by the spotlight in both games. With their strongest player incapacitated, Vulcun had no answer for the resurgent TSM squad, who took both games of the series in convincing fashion.
Fnatic 3 - 1 Lemondogs
Despite entering playoffs as the second seed, Fnatic were far from a dominant team in the 2013 summer split. In fact, they finished the split with an identical record (15-13) to Evil Geniuses, Gambit Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. On the other side, the rookie Lemondogs had exploded onto the LCS stage and held a commanding first place for much of the season.
Dexter and Nukeduck led their team on an incredible run, only to fall short at the goal line. Fnatic played a dominating series, pulling out unique champions and obliterating their lane matchups. Fnatic’s upset of Lemondogs led them to yet another World championship appearance, and a fantastic season, while Lemondogs floundered in Worlds and did not make it out of the Group Stage.
Good Game University 2 - 1 Curse
In the inaugural split of the NA LCS, there was a clear gap between the four veteran teams (Curse, Team SoloMid, Counter Logic Gaming, and Dignitas) and the newcomers (GGU, Vulcun, Complexity, and MRN). Curse had dominated much of the split, with TSM right behind them. While Curse’s strength had begun to wane towards the end of the split, everyone expected them to take on TSM in the finals. GGU had other plans.
After dismantling Dignitas, Good Game University set their sights on the second seeded Curse team. What followed was a shocking victory. Led by their bottom lane and veteran jungler, NintendudeX, GGU took their second upset win, and would go on to force TSM into a full five game final series.
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