Week 6 was an odd one for Cloud9. Obviously no one expected the loss against CLG, and the following matches against Dignitas and Immortals were equally weird. The matches seemed oddly unlike anything fans have seen from Cloud9. The good news is that regardless of all of the inting and misplays, Cloud9 crash landed into the first seed for the Mid Season Showdown.
What Was that CLG Game?
Every analyst and fan watching this game already decided in their heads that this game was over. The mighty Cloud9 would never fall to some stumbling roster like CLG’s. If people didn’t know better, Cloud9 themselves played like they had already won too. The draft was standard, but once the teams loaded onto the Rift, not a moment after could be considered standard. Well, CLG did get first blood once again, that is still pretty standard.
Realistically, where to even begin with this entire game. This game had “trap game” written all over it – all of the signs were there. C9 had been struggling the previous week while CLG somehow found their stride. Once Pobelter re-joined the roster, CLG has looked completely revitalized. With the perfect conditions in place, the shocking upset was sure to happen.
Trap game or not, Cloud9 certainly felt like helping CLG out in making the upset happen. Specifically Blaber made some truly horrible decisions. Trying to 1v3 the enemy team seems like a bold strategy regardless of opponent. Maybe the worst offense was the lack or urgency throughout the game from the entire Cloud9 squad, as they simply let Broxah grab every objective without any pressure. The biggest thing to take away from this is a game that Cloud9 should move on from this loss, but not forget it. It serves as a prime example of why underestimating your opponent can come back to burn you.
The Team Balance was On Display this Weekend
As Blaber solo-dived under the top turret, the rest of the team picked up the slack. Whatever was going on with the all-star jungler this week, he’s pretty lucky to have a great team right there with him. Perkz looked good following the loss against CLG, and as always Zven and Vulcan remain a rock in the bot lane. Most importantly, it was Fudge’s weekend to really step up when he was given the chance to shine.
[Related: How Two Plays Cost Cloud9 a 3-0 in Week 5]
Yes, Fudge’s Camille game was a bit rough against CLG – but did anyone really look good to open the weekend? It was Fudge on Renekton that really brought the confidence back into the top laner. A solo kill to start off the game set the tone for the next 20 minutes against the surging Dignitas roster. Then on the flip side of the Renekton/Sion matchup, Fudge denied Revenge any advantage in lane.
Cloud9 needed this weekend to happen to prove to themselves that they can win even when one of their key pieces fails to perform. Blaber has spent the majority of this split utterly dominating the opposing jungle, to a point where the rest of C9 could do whatever and they would still win. Seeing what happens when that isn’t the case, Cloud9 now can adjust and adapt when the worst happens.
Heading into the Mid Season Showdown with Momentum
The key to this past weekend with playoffs already locked in, was for Cloud9 to leave the weekend with heads held high. Momentum is king in League of Legends. Far too often have teams fell to a reverse sweep because they lost their momentum with one key play. If Cloud9 lost to either Dignitas or Immortals, they would easily been seen as one of the teams to likely flame out in the spring playoffs.
With those wins, C9 can feel good about their match up against 100 Thieves. They have already beat them twice in the spring split, as well as a reverse sweep in the Lock In Tournament. Cloud9 has a massive mental advantage over 100T already, it’s now all about putting that lead to good use. As long as Blaber gets back into form, C9 shouldn’t be worried in the first round of the bracket.
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Featured image courtesy of Oshin Tudayan Riot Games
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