Cloud9 are back in North America after what seems like their longest break this year. Coming off of the disappointing ending of MSI, C9 are hoping to get their groove back as they return to the LCS. Now under newly promoted Head Coach Mithy and with new ADC K1ng, Cloud9 are gearing up for what should be an exciting weekend of matches. Cloud9 will kick off their Summer split against Golden Guardians, 100 Thieves and Team Liquid in Week 1. That’s right, in the Summer season teams will be playing three matches per week.
Courtesy of LoL Esports
Friday June 4, 8:00 P.M. EST (5:00 P.M. PST) on LoL Esports, YouTube and Twitch
Top Lane: Fudge vs Solo
Jungle: Blaber vs Iconic
Mid Lane: Perkz vs AblazeOive
Bot Lane: K1ng vs Stixxay
Support: Vulcan vs Chime
Golden Guardians were a team that struggled heavily in Spring. Bringing in multiple new players into the league at the same time did not yield the results the org had expected. Niles and Newbie were the unlucky pair that got demoted to Academy to make way for Chime and Solo. Chime has looked stellar in his time in Academy, and really should be a strong pair alongside Stixxay. Veteran journeyman Solo should bring some stability in the top lane for GG, but simply surviving may not be enough to help beat C9.
[Related: LCS 2021 Summer Split Week 1Powering Rankings]
Cloud9 should smash Golden Guardians on paper. While Perkz and Blaber could easily take over this game, but Cloud9 learned a very important lesson at MSI — never underestimate an opponent. Their loss against Pentanet.GG highlighted just exactly what happens when a team overlooks a weaker opponent. Cloud9 should come into this match with full focus, and make it a strong debut for K1ng.
Saturday June 5, 7:00 P.M. EST (4:00 P.M. PST) on LoL Esports, YouTube and Twitch
Top Lane: Fudge vs Ssumday
Jungle: Blaber vs Closer
Mid Lane: Perkz vs Abbeddage
Bot Lane: K1ng vs FBI
Support: Vulcan vs Huhi
Courtesy of Michal Konkol and LoL Esports
For the first time in years, Cloud9 will now face off against their former Head Coach Reapered as they take on 100 Thieves. Reapered joins 100 Thieves after a small hiatus and is certainly looking to get a bit of revenge on his former team. Abbeddage also makes his NA debut this weekend and 100T fans are hoping this time the mid lane remains stable through the year.
Since losing to 100T in the Lock-In tournament, it has been all Cloud9 between these two teams. Blaber in particular has boomed his jungle counterpart in multiple matches. Though it has been a long offseason for the talent 100T roster, and with a new coach that favors creativity, they can easily be a team that comes out hot off of the break. If C9 aren’t careful this could easily be a trap game for the former MSS champs.
Saturday June 5, 6:00 P.M. EST (3:00 P.M. PST) on LoL Esports, YouTube and Twitch
Top Lane: Fudge vs Alphari
Jungle: Blaber vs Santorin
Mid Lane: Perkz vs Jensen
Bot Lane: K1ng vs Tactical
Support: Vulcan vs CoreJJ
Whenever these teams play, fans can rest easy know its going to be an awesome match. Cloud9 and Team Liquid are the clear front runners to win the Summer split, and this match serves as a good preview as to what audiences can expect from them going forward. With K1ng being the only difference between the two rosters heading into Summer, the bot side of the map may just be where both teams focus their resources.
At this early stage of the split, Team Liquid are easily favorites heading into this one. Not only do they have the same roster that reached the Mid Season Showdown, but they now are at full strength with Santorin fully back. Cloud9 will need some strong performances out of their solo laners to win this matchup, especially Fudge.
Courtesy of LoL Esports
Overall a 3-0 weekend for Cloud9 is doable, but a 2-1 is most likely the reasonable outcome. The early games with a new ADC and a new Head Coach could be rough as everyone gets adjusted to the changes. It wouldn’t even be that wild to see Cloud9 lose to 100T but beat Team Liquid, because that’s just how they roll sometimes. It’s always fun to see a new player make their LCS debut, and with K1ng replacing Zven, all eyes will be on the newest member of C9 to see if the coaching staff made the right call.
Featured image courtesy of LoL Esports
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