After a tough loss during their first match of the 2019 summer split, Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and Clutch Gaming looked to bounce back against spring split semi-finalists, Cloud9. Read how Clutch Gaming fared in their second match of the summer split below!
Draft
Clutch immediately banned out Irelia and Yuumi, as well as Aatrox after watching C9’s Eric “Licorice” Ritchie dominate with the champion. However, Cloud 9 answered back with Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam immediately drafting Taric, hinting at the possibility of playing the Sona-Taric Bot Lane. CG felt no pressure from the double support team comp and banned out Kindred and Hecarim, putting pressure on Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen. Consequently, C9 happily drafted Sona for Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi to complete the double support Bot Lane duo. Lastly, Clutch took a page out of G2 Esports’ playbook and drafted Pyke for Huni in the top Lane.
Early Game
Clutch started things off well with an early invade onto the red side jungle, forcing Licorice to back within the first minute of the match. CG continued to pressure across the map as Cody “Cody Sun” Sun gained a huge CS and poke advantage over the Sona-Taric. Cody Sun continued his dominance by taking first blood onto Svenskeren. However, C9 wouldn’t go down without finishing the fight, as Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer and Eric “Licorice” Ritchie would eliminate the lovers duo. Clutch took their advantage in the Bot Lane by taking the first Tower in under 10 minutes. Cloud9 fought their way back in a two vs. two fight in the Top Lane where Licorice and Sven found a pick onto Nam “Lira” Tae-yoo. CG took another fight in the Top Lane after summoning the Rift Herald. However, C9 countered by eliminating Huni, Lira, and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme.
Despite having a massive kill disadvantage, Clutch managed to stay equal by staying ahead in neutral objectives and CS.
Late(r) Game
Cloud9 utilized their kill advantage and Clutch’s mistakes to snowball their lead into something almost insurmountable. After teleporting into the Baron Pit, Huni found himself caught out and stunned by C9, giving C9 another kill in their pocket. Clutch attempted to come back after Huni’s death by taking their third Tower and finding a crucial second kill. Despite taking the Tower and the kill onto Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam, Cloud9 were ready to team fight. So, they took their man advantage and nearly aced Clutch, with only Tanner “Damonte” Damonte running away with his life.
C9 utilized their massive kill advantage again by taking both Turrets in the Mid Lane. Clutch began to become desperate and tried to find as many kills as they could, however, by 25 minutes they would be at a 15 kill disadvantage. C9 quickly finished Clutch Gaming winning out in under 30 minutes.
Final Thoughts
It seems that Clutch has discovered their win condition: Cody Sun. Despite the big loss, Clutch Gaming continues to solidify their aggressive play style in comparison to their more passive play against Optic. As Crumbz stated, Clutch Fans can still be optimistic for the rest of the as long as CG continues to become more aggressive.
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