Credit: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Cloud9 cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Evil Geniuses on Saturday in an upper-bracket semifinal match of the League Championship Series playoffs.
Cloud9 opened the match with a 40-minute win on blue before prevailing in 30 minutes on red and 28 minutes on blue in round three.
Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea led the winners with a 21-3-26 kills-deaths-assists ratio. Sweden’s William “UNF0RGIVEN” Nieminen was the only member of EG to finish with at least 10 kills, posting a 13-8-11 K-D-A.
With the loss, Evil Geniuses was relegated to the lower bracket, where they will face Team Liquid in a quarterfinal match on Thursday.
After the regular season, the first- and second-place teams in the North American top League of Leagues circuit headed to the upper-bracket semifinals of the double-elimination playoffs. The third- through sixth-place teams opened the playoffs in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. The seventh- and eighth-place teams entered the postseason in the lower bracket, while the ninth- and 10th-place teams were eliminated.
The top three teams in the playoffs will secure berths in the League of Legends World Championship, scheduled for Oct. 10-Nov. 19 in South Korea. The fourth-place team will head to the World Championship’s Wildcard Qualifier.
Playoff action continues on Sunday with the other upper-bracket semifinal match:
–Golden Guardians vs. NRG
League Championship Series Summer Split prize pool:
1. $100,000, berth in League of Legends World Championship
2. $50,000, berth in League of Legends World Championship
3. $30,000, berth in League of Legends World Championship
4. $20,000, berth in League of Legends World Championship’s Wildcard Qualifier
5-6. No prize money
7-8. No prize money — TSM, 100 Thieves
9. No prize money — FlyQuest
10. No prize money — Immortals
–Field Level Media