The 2019 LCS Summer Split erupted with an exciting Week 1. It showed fans new rosters, the new meta, and what Yuumi looks like in pro play. However, things weren’t so explosive for updated Clutch Gaming. Whether it was slow play or just miscommunication, things weren’t able to click during week 1 for CG. However, CG looks to bounce back during week 2 against the Golden Guardians and 100 Thieves.
Photo Courtesy of Golden Guardians Twitter Account
While the Golden Guardians had a short stint in playoffs during the 2019 spring split, they have come back into the summer with a vengeance. GGS has been sending a message to the rest of the league that they are not willing to just roll over and give free wins to the tops teams anymore. Not only do the Golden Guardians as a team have the best K/D and gold differential per minute in the league, but they also have the second highest gold per minute.
Furthermore, midlaner Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, has the highest K/D/A at a flat 17 and has the second highest gold per minute in the league. Lastly, GGS players hold 3 spots in the top 5 highest K/D/A in the LCS. While the sample size for these stats is small, Golden Guardians clearly pose as a massive threat to Clutch Gaming.
Courtesy of Dotesports
Damonte will need to show his best against GGS if Clutch wants to come out with a win. Froggen will be his biggest test yet this split. However, Damonte has shown that he can utilize flex picks such as Jayce extremely well, going 3/0/3 against Optic Gaming. CG fans have seen him succeed against “better” midlaners like his 6/0/3 Akali match against TSM’s Søren “bjergsen” Bjerg. While his K/D/A may not be as good as other midlaners, he currently leads his team in KDA and CS per minute. Damonte is one of the rocks that Clutch can build their success upon. If CG manages to work out things such as their communication issues, they may stand a chance against the undefeated Golden Guardians.
While Clutch faces a seemingly very strong opponent in GGS, Clutch may come out with a win during day 2 against 100T. However, despite their record, 100 Thieves’ roster is nothing to sneeze at. 2-time world champion, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik, ranks higher in K/D/A and CS per minute than any other player on Clutch Gaming. In addition, top laner, Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho, is consistently ranked as one of the best top laners in the LCS.
However, 100T are still trying to figure out things with their new midlaner and jungler, Max “Soligo” Soong and Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneide. If Clutch fixes their communication issues, then they should have a good shot at winning against 100T.
cody sun
Cody Sun will need to have a great game against 100T’s former world champion ADC. However, its clear that Clutch understands their win condition of playing through the botlane, based on their match against Cloud9. Cody was able to gain a massive CS lead over the Sona-Taric botlane. Furthermore, he is the only player on Clutch who ranks higher than Bang in gold per minute. Clutch need to build their team comp around Cody Sun and allow him lead his team to victory.
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