Top-seeded Cloud9, who cruised through the upper bracket, defeated Golden Guardians 3-1 to capture the grand final of the League Championship Series Spring Split on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
Cloud9 won the $100,000 first prize and received an automatic bid to the Mid-Season Invitational. Golden Guardians took home $50,000 and also booked a spot in the Mid-Season Invitational. The second-place finish was the best in Golden Guardians history.
After Cloud9 opened Sunday’s best-of-five match by winning on blue in 38 minutes, Golden Guardians responded with a 28-minute win on blue. Cloud9 prevailed on blue again in 26 games and then finished it off with a 29-minute victory on red.
Cloud9 was led by Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea with a 22/6/17 kills-deaths-assists ratio and Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami of Australia with a 12/6/20 K-D-A ratio.
Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes of the United States led Golden Guardians with a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 12/10/14.
The 10 teams in the top North American League of Legends circuit played every other team twice in the group phase. The first- through fourth-place teams then headed to the upper-bracket semifinals of the double-elimination playoffs. The fifth- and sixth-place teams entered the playoffs in the lower bracket.
The winner and runner-up in the playoff final earned berths in the Mid-Season Invitational along with other teams from LoL leagues worldwide. The LCS Spring Split carried a $200,000 prize pool.
League Championship Series (LCS) Spring Split playoff prize pool
1. $100,000 — Cloud9
2. $50,000 — Golden Guardians
3. $30,000 — FlyQuest
4. $20,000 — Evil Geniuses
5-6. No prize money — 100 Thieves, Counter Logic Gaming
7. No prize money — TSM
8. No prize money — Team Liquid
9. No prize money — Immortals
10. No prize money — Dignitas
–Field Level Media