Silver Scrapes sounded for today’s LCS elimination match between Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming, which saw the former winning after a reverse sweep. With this loss, CLG are eliminated from the LCS Championship, while TL keep their hopes alive for a possible spot at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship.
CLG reigned over the Rift in the first game of the series. Starting with first blood in a thrilling 2v1 in the top lane, CLG began taking over the top side of the map with deep vision and well-timed rotation from mid and bot lane. While TL focused their energies on taking on CLG during teamfights, their opponents split to gain lane advantage in the lower side of the map.
Once CLG took Baron Nashor uncontested, it was only a matter of time before they took Liquid’s nexus.
Liquid bounced back in the second, though it wasn’t enough to take the game — they succeeded in claiming first blood and gaining gold advantages in the top lane, however their bot lane, formed by the formidable Zeri-Yuumi combo, was being dominated by the opposing CLG duo.
While TL had more technical prowess during teamfights, CLG kept on widening their gold advantage by targeting neutral objectives, even smiting down the Baron uncontested at 25 minutes into the game. In one of the fights in front of the dragon’s pit, TL seems to be the one behind the wheel, but despite their Zeri electrocuting their opponents, it was CLG who eventually came out on top.
Then, after two losses, Liquid came to life. Their ability to change and adapt throughout a best of five saved them from dropping out of the LCS Championship.
During the third game, it was TL who gained the early game advantage, both in gold and kills thanks to Santorin’s map presence and consecutive ganks. The jungler’s movements across the Rift enabled his teammates and allowed them to take more risks that, ultimately, all paid off. Despite CLG’s proactive strategies and plays, it is TL who had the game in the palm of their hands throughout all the 29 minutes necessaries for them to take down the opponent’s nexus.
Game four cemented TL domination in the series. Once more, the team snatched advantages across the map thanks to a great jungle pathing from Santorin’s Trundle. First blood, first Herald, first enemy tower, Liquid snowballed the game in such an efficient way that they quickly boasted a 7k gold lead just 18 minutes into the game. CLG were powerless before the unstoppable force that was the whole TL team, especially Hans Sama’s Jinx.
With what is now the fastest game of the whole 2022 LCS Summer Split, TL closed the gap between them and CLG and brought the match to game five.
In the last showdown both teams went all-in with their draft picks, giving players like Bjergsen and Dhokla their signature champions. With everything to lose, both TL and CLG began the game slowly and steadily, without taking as many risks as they did in the previous games, thus avoiding early game ganks and jungle invasions.
But, similarly to the preceding game, TL eventually snowballed from the early minutes of the game and that lead only blossomed as Jinx got more and more excited at every kill.
After 26 minutes, and with the Baron in their hands, Liquid sieged CLG’s baseer. In one last attempt to defend their nexus and their hopes to stay alive in the competition, CLG charged TL, but the strength accumulated throughout the game put the latter in a position of absolute dominance, thus leading them to the much coveted victory screen and the 3–2 reverse sweep.
Next week, Liquid will face the losing team of the match between 100 Thieves and Cloud 9, who are competing in the upper bracket finals.
Today’s elimination match was the fifth match to go to game five during this playoffs stage, and it’s already looking like clutching the last game of the series is the key factor to move forward during this 2022 Summer LCS Championship.
