The LCS Playoffs continue on with Cloud9 taking on Flyquest in a rematch of the 2020 Spring LCS Finals. Both teams have intentions of not only making it as an LCS Worlds representative but also have their sights on an LCS Championship. During the regular season, Cloud9 went 13-5 while Flyquest followed close behind with a 12-6 record. Who will come out on top?
For Cloud9, they followed up a Spring Championship with a relatively easy 9-0 start to the Summer. Then, teams had them in the second half as the team went 4-5 down the stretch. They have seemingly lost their identity during the last few weeks of the season. Luckily C9 have had plenty of time to right the ship. Here are three keys to victory for Cloud9 in their matchup against Flyquest.
Flyquest are a very steady and controlled team. When someone puts on the pressure, Flyquest quickly try to keep things stable, if they don’t stabilize then that’s when they lose. Cloud9 have been able to exploit this in every matchup they have had dating back to Spring.
It will be incumbent on Cloud9 to make sure that they start this aggression in draft. They have to give Blaber the opportunity to run into fights with Nisqy backing him up no matter what part of the map they are on. Sure, this is the common strategy for C9 but it is what has worked. This will be especially important early in the series.
Not only does aggression fit with how C9 play but it is the anti-Flyquest playstyle. Because of this, Cloud9 would be making a massive mistake to just go into late game comps and hope they can outplay teamfights later. If they fall into this passive mindset, it could be a much longer and uncertain series for a very strong team.
Most drafts see teams focus on getting their solo lanes the counter-pick. For Cloud9, they should want to help Blaber feel comfortable by giving him the counter-pick, at least until they get their first win of the series. This is because if Blaber is comfortable early in the series then he can play with confidence throughout the rest of it.
The key to this will be getting him good matchups with a clear direction and plan. It is likely that Olaf will be banned but having him counter-jungle with Lee Sin or play to be the carry with Kindred should not only give him comfort but confidence. This is because he can make plays and likely won’t have invades that throw him off his groove.
A comfortable and confident Blaber equals a winning Cloud9. He has been the catalyst to so many of their wins and when he is right so is the team.
This team may have started its rut completely because of its own experimentation. Nearing the end of the first half of Summer and early second half, Cloud9 started experimenting. While there is no issue with this in theory, it can often throw teams out of their groove. This happened with Cloud9.
Because Cloud9 have confidence in their ability to make Worlds and the Summer Finals, there is the chance that they may test things out a bit even during the playoffs. The only way they would even consider “getting cute” would be if they were up 2-0 and winning with relative ease. Here is some advice, just don’t do it.
This doesn’t mean they can’t pull something out that they are confident will be part of the meta. It means don’t try and force something because a couple of scrims made it seem like it works. If they have something in their back pocket that they have been working on for awhile and are confident that it will work, then go for it. If not then stick to what works because their best is still better than just about everyone else on any given day.
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Robert!
“From Our Haus to Yours”
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
