Comfort picks aren’t necessarily the most picked champion by each player. They are their signature, sometimes off-meta picks that will always guarantee an exciting game. Most famous would be Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg’s Syndra. Anytime he pulls his Syndra out, he is playing for keeps. But what are some of Cloud9’s comfort picks for this split? Well, they are certainly their highest win rate champions, because the team has yet to drop a game this split.
Sett Splash Art via Riot Games
Even though Eric “Licorice” Ritchie played his first game as Sett only three weeks ago, he has shown why he is at home on Sett. Licorice has always had the most success on Brawlers and Duelist; Aatrox, Gnar, etc. and Sett is the prototypical fighter. His motto has been “I’m not stuck in here with you, you’re stuck in here with me” and Sett further enforces the motto. Sett’s ability to get to the fight fast, keep enemies in the fight makes him perfect for Licorice. His ultimate prevent any possible escape, bringing carries back into the fight. During their game against TSM, Licorice found their flank multiple times and moved Kobbe directly to the middle of Cloud9, resulting in a kill.
Yes, Sett is one of the newer champions released by Riot but Licorice has shown he is a force to reckoned with. Sett was banned in nearly all game towards the beginning of the season, but the one time he slipped through, Licorice dominated TSM.
Unless Riot completely guts Sett, Licorice will be playing him a significant amount in the future. This is a strong possibility, maybe even a sure thing, but the utility of his ultimate and the true damage on his E mean he is going the route of Galio or Shen. Those two are not picked as consistently as Sett currently, but their abilities always allow the option of drafting them with success.
Robert “Blaber” Huang loves his Lee Sin. Of the 12 games played, Blaber has picked Lee Sin 6 times making the blind monk his most played champion this split. Blaber, in his three seasons in the LCS, has played Lee Sin 8 times, meaning he had two games of experience coming in to Season 10. Ironically, the player with the most Lee Sin games across all regions is the man he replaced, Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen with 79.
Even with 75% of his Lee Sin games occurring in the last month, Blaber looks very comfortable on Lee Sin. His kicks, and to a greater extent the threat of a kick, along with Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme zone the enemy into kill lanes or away from the team. Blaber is always willing to invade, and Lee Sin’s Q allows him to scout out a Jungle camp without exposing himself to damage. Blaber uses this mechanic both as a tool to steal jungle camps and as a temporary ward, allowing the rest of Cloud9 to create a blueprint around what the Q hits.
Zoe Splash Art via Riot Games.
Early in the split Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer looked to favor relatively high burst champions such as Qiyana or Pantheon. But Head Coach Bok “Repeared” Han-Gyu wanted more spice and more burst. In comes Zoe, just for a split second during Week 1 and then in full force in Weeks 5 and 6. Nisqy has shown that his playstyle is perfect for the roaming he does every game. As soon as he gets Luden’s Echo, the roams start. Luden’s Echo allows Nisqy to return to lane briefly, just enough time to fire a Paddle Star, leap forward and erase a whole wave faster than a Supernova.
Zoe’s Spell Thief compliments Nisqy perfectly. This ability allows Nisqy an insane amount of utility and adaptability. Need to play safe? Here’s a second flash. Roaming to secure a kill or steal Blue Sentinel? Here’s a smite.
Senna Splash Art via Riot Games.
Jasper “Zven” Svenningsen’s signature champion this split is more than a perfect pun. Prior to the nerfs to Senna, Zven split his time between Aphelios and Senna. The Cloud9 coaches used a 400 IQ strategy of having Vulcan farm on Tahm Kench and use Senna to harass. Due to this super effective strategy, Senna has been banned away from Zven for three games straight.
After playing Senna three times, Zven has yet to die on her. He also uses Senna as an off-support, due to the healing on her abilities. Literally shooting allies and restoring health. He uses her ultimate to provide cross-map pressure and healing, enabling the other lanes.
Tahm Kench Splash Art via Riot Games.
Vulcan likes to play Tahm Kench. Tahm Kench currently sits at 6 games picked by him with a 10.8 KDA. Vulcan creates a significant amount of threat by his passive and then using Devour. The threat of him eating Zven and spitting him out to safety is evident in their second game against Immortals. Both Vulcan and Zven pushed the lane and forced Immortals to farm under their tower. Their opponents need to actually harm Zven to bait out the long cooldown of Devour, but Vulcan body blocks so much damage he doesn’t have to use Devour as often.
The most effective trait Vulcan uses is Tahm Kench’s uncanny ability to zone the other team. Many times the support doesn’t use a single ability but still forces the opposing team to move a different direction. This allows Cloud9 more time to take an objective or finish a kill. An example of this is during their first game against TSM. Vulcan prevents all of TSM from collapsing and protecting their tower. Tahm Kench also serves as a natural skill shot sponge due to his size and his Thick Skin ability. Coupled with a Gargoyle’s Stoneplate, there’s almost no way a skill shot is getting through to Zven or the rest of Cloud9.
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