Moments that defined the 2016 NA LCS Spring Playoffs

The 2016 NA LCS Spring Split has been the most competitive one yet, with insane, high-action matches and tons of surprises.

TSM in 6th place? The Immortals going 17-1? Rookies stepping up and defining the season? And things have only gotten more exciting as we step into the Playoffs. If you missed out on the action, don’t worry -- we’re here to share the heart pounding, jaw dropping moments that defined the NA LCS Quarterfinals and Semifinals of the Spring Split Playoffs.

THE QUARTERFINALS

TSM vs. C9

TSM v C9 is a matchup that has historically happened during the Finals. This time, the two teams met in the Quarters, and most viewers were confident that Cloud 9 were going to continue their Spring Split Dominance over TSM. After losing the first game, a totally new TSM emerged and proceeded to take the wind out of C9’s sails.

Take a look at this moment from their match against C9:

The series had been 1-1 up to this point, and C9 were still considered the favorite to take the match home. This fight showed that TSM didn’t give a damn about what the analyst desk and fans thought -- they were going to win the series, come hell or high water. Hauntzer and Svenskeren move in as a united front line, skirmishing around C9’s inner turret. TSM’s carries take Rush out of the equation, andthe team swings up to Baron as a united front. When Cloud 9 is forced to contest the objective, TSM turns and take the fight, pick up Baron, and arguably the rest of the series.

If you asked people what they thought about TSM heading into the Playoffs, the overwhelming consensus would be that they would wander around the map as a disconnected mess, before getting swept up by Cloud9. Instead, TSM is a focused and dedicated unit that move in on plays together. Not only have their individual play improved, but they clearly have faith in one another to follow up. The team is obviously starving to take their title back from Counter Logic Gaming -- if they keep this focused team play up, they may just walk away with not just their prize, but the satisfaction of knowing that they proved everyone who called the new roster a failure utterly wrong.

LIQUID vs. NRG

Liquid entered the series as a dark horse. Their rookie heavy roster combined with a few shaky moments throughout the season meant that people expected their series against NRG to be very even. Instead, Liquid stomped NRG in a dominant 3-0 performance. While the entire series showcased Liquid’s incredible potential and team synergy, there are a couple of moments that shone through.

The first big fight of Game 2 broke out around five minutes.

Liquid engage in a fight with NRG that, under many circumstances, would have absolutely gone NRG’s way. The positioning of the Liquid’s carry, combined with Impact Teleporting in on Gnar, and the stage was set for Liquid to be smashed into the wall by a well-timed GNAR! If the furball had a little more rage, Piglet would have automatically been removed from the fight, and Liquid would have crumbled in his wake. Combine this with the Alistar lockdown and NRG’s carries being hungry to redeem themselves after Game 1, and it’s easy to see how things could have gone horribly wrong for Liquid. Instead, the carries manage to get out of reach and rain carnage down on NRG. While Piglet and Fenix are pumping out damage, Dardoch refuses to go silently into that good night; instead, he dives in fearlessly to pick up as many kills as possible.

This wasn’t just a fluke. A similar fight plays out when NRG seemingly has Liquid cornered in the jungle.

NRG dives deep with a Lissandra ult and Lourlo is alone in NRG’s backline. Despite that, Dardoch’s insane Lee Sin plays along helps Liquid clean the team fight up, thanks to consistent damage from the carries. Of course, the Ghostblade didn’t hurt.

THE SEMIFINALS

COUNTER LOGIC GAMING vs. LIQUID

It’s nearly impossible to select just one series from this explosive, jaw dropping series. The reigning champions and Liquid took turns taking games off each other, each game being a bloody stomp. The teams kept swinging at each other, and Game 5 was the best match of the series, culminating in an edge-of-your-seat match that easily could gone either way.

Neither team held anything back. The first real prolonged fight was a skirmish in the bot lane that caused multiple champions to go down.

CLG fought Liquid in the jungle to contest a Baron, and both teams had huge moments that led to kills.

But it all ended with the final double teleport and push to win from CLG that shocked Liquid, gave them the surprise they needed to take out Piglet, and finish the bloody marathon of a series.

If Liquid play like this against the Immortals, they stand a strong chance at taking third. However, they’re going to have to keep their nerves steady. CLG was able to push small advantages into big ones by exploiting Liquid’s nerves; hopefully they’ve learned from the experience and can stay steady in their 3rd place match against the Immortals.

CLG are heading into the final against TSM as the reigning champions. Counter Logic Gaming had to replace their two star carries with rookies, and yet they’ve managed to not only survive, but thrive with the new roster. The current NA Champions took their crown in one of the best series in finals history, drew blood from the Immortals, and battled back Liquid. This team is looking their strongest, and it’ll take everything TSM has if they want to dethrone the current Kings of the Rift.

TSM vs. IMT

The Immortals' triple AD comp raised eyebrows heading into game one, but the analyst desk still anticipated that the 17-1 team would come out ahead based off the strength of their performance during the normal Split. TSM exploited the Immortals’ confidence heading into the series. IMT picked up an early lead with First Blood, maintaining a small gold advantage that snowballed into a 7 kill lead and 7k gold advantage at 23 minutes.

In spite of the gold lead, TSM kept their cool, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to react to the Immortals’ aggression. When the Immortals picked a fight in the upper jungle, TSM was more than prepared to respond.

Hauntzer's Maokai soaks an enormous amount of damage while separating Reignover from his team. Even though TSM are 7 thousand gold behind, their strong team fighting lead to TSM picking up multiple kills. Immortals try to swing around and recover, but Braum protects Svenskeren and Doublelift, and TSM closes the lead even more. This fight led to TSM taking the first game -- and eventually the series, in a crushing 3-0 win.

The Immortals were clearly thrown off by losing not just one game, but three in a row. They may yet be able to collect themselves and return strong for the third place match. The team need to shape up their Picks and Bans. Ironically, their dominant season may be working against them, as they are struggling with loss more than lower ranked teams. The upcoming match against Liquid will be their shot at pulling it together and redeeming themselves for the Spring Split.

Meanwhile, TSM achieved the unthinkable by walking away with the Immortals’ throat between their teeth. The next two games were dominant TSM victories, with the same strong focus on team play and following up on each other's’ initiations. Svenskeren earned MVP of the series with his massive map presence and kill-heavy play on carry junglers like Nidalee, Graves, and Lee Sin. Team SoloMid has managed to turn their 9-9 team into a powerhouse that stands a very real chance of dethroning CLG and reclaiming their championship.

The action isn’t over yet!

This weekend, Liquid, Immortals, Counter Logic Gaming, and TSM are heading to Vegas to settle the score once and for all. Who do you think will come out ahead in the battles? Let us know what you think of the Playoffs so far, and your predictions for the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split Finals!

Cassandra "Requine" Marshall is a storyteller who fell in love with Starcraft and never looked back. Follow her on Twitter @CERequine!