The 2022 League of Legends Championship Series kicked off with a bang on Saturday as the LCS’ 10th anniversary season started with surprise draft picks and newcomers standing out.
The match of the day saw 2021 Champions 100 Thieves (1-0) take down the 2022 Lock In Tournament winners, Team Liquid (0-1), in 40 minutes.
100 Thieves got ahead early through the bottom lane, putting bot lane ace Victor “FBI” Huang in position to take over the game as Aphelios. FBI quickly got fed thanks to his team’s effort, allowing him to deal massive damage in teamfights as 100 Thieves started taking over the map. By the time FBI was done, he had picked up a perfect 9/0/4 KDA (Kills/Deaths/Assists) for 100 percent kill participation as 100T picked up the hard-fought win.
Elsewhere, the upstart Evil Geniuses (1-0), who looked like world beaters until they dropped the finals of the Lock In Tournament, took down the brand-new TSM (0-1). TSM’s young roster looked mechanically impressive but lacked cohesion and couldn’t execute properly.
In stark contrast, EG played proactively and assertively, picking up massive leads for bot laner Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki, who played the newly released Zeri. Danny would pick up a pentakill to close out the game around the 33-minute mark, finishing with a 7/1/4 KDA as Evil Geniuses took their first win of the season.
In other matches, Cloud9 (1-0) debuted their new roster with style, playing a double-enchanter composition featuring mid laner Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami’s unconventional mid lane Ivern. Golden Guardians (0-1) looked decent enough, executing well on a pick composition early, but Cloud9 forced GG to try and take a risk that led to a Cloud9 ace at 15 minutes.
Cloud9 went on to take the game in 26 minutes in the fastest game of the day, promising more innovative compositions in the weeks to come.
FlyQuest (1-0) also utilized a strange composition, using top lane Janna with Smite in what would eventually be a 48-minute win over Counter Logic Gaming (0-1). FlyQuest’s early game was stellar but both teams made several mistakes as the game went on, taking turns surrendering control of the map. FQ would eventually hold on to win, but it was shaky.
Elsewhere, Dignitas QNTMPAY (1-0) took down Immortals Progressive (0-1) in a 31-minute win. DIG was in control from the jump, rolling over Immortals and winning through teamfighting.
The LCS continues on Sunday with five matches:
100 Thieves vs. Counter Logic Gaming
TSM vs. Dignitas QNTMPAY
Cloud9 vs. Evil Geniuses
FlyQuest vs. Golden Guardians
Immortals Progressive vs. Team Liquid
LCS Standings:
T1. Evil Geniuses, 1-0
T1. Cloud9, 1-0
T1. Dignitas QNTMPAY, 1-0
T1. FlyQuest, 1-0
T1. 100 Thieves, 1-0
T6. TSM, 0-1
T6. Immortals Progressive, 0-1
T6. Counter Logic Gaming, 0-1
T6. Team Liquid, 0-1
T6. Golden Guardians, 0-1
–Field Level Media