The instant you hear it, feelings of anticipation and dread wash over you. Anticipation for what’s to come. Dread for what you’ll have to endure to get there.
Silver Scrapes is the infamous Danny McCarthy song that is played whenever an LCS series goes the distance. Nobody is quite sure how the droning melody became entrenched in LCS lore, but the upside is that whenever it’s played, something amazing is on its way.
That certainly was the case last week at the North American LCS Finals in Vancouver, where the championship series went to a deciding fifth game. We saw a incredible comeback, back-breaking plays, insane dives, and incredible escapes as TSM and Cloud9 fought their hearts out. So we went ahead and compiled some of the best for you to relive their glory.
Here are the best plays, starting with a magical escape:
Hauntzer and Sven get out
TSM top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell has a habit of attracting his opponents to his turret. After already killing Impact under his allied turret, this time, he recruits jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen to participate in the long con. Seriously, stop diving this guy.
Sneaky snipes Turtle
Game two was a mess for Cloud9 as they tilted off the stage. But at least ADC Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi got this highlight-reel play in before it was over—and it was over fast. Nearly all of C9 fell after the arrow hit.
Sven dies gloriously
Coming off one of their worst performances of the year and facing elimination, Cloud9 didn’t hold back. Neither did TSM. They played a tense game three with multiple outplays like this. Sven was dead to rights, but that didn’t stop him from turning on C9 mid laner Nicolaj Jensen.
Throwing haymakers
Both teams came out in game five to fight. In one chaotic sequence, champions go down all over the map in a series of chaotic exchanges. We saw deep turret dives, one-on-two outplays, and a fantastic expression of skill.
TSM wins the dragon fight
After Cloud9 finally took Baron in the late game, TSM forced the issue at the Elder Dragon. Cloud9 reacted almost immediately and zoned Svenskeren out of the pit. It looked like C9 had control of the situation, but one spell rotation by Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg ended C9’s hopes. We don’t know what happened to Jensen’s “R” key (or Zhonya’s), but we do know what happened to his champion—sent back to the fountain for the last time.
With such talented players duking it out over five glorious games, the real winner of the NA LCS Final were the fans.
