One day after losing its share of first place in the League Championship Series Summer Split, Cloud9 gained it back on Friday.
Cloud9 needed just 22 minutes on blue to defeat Evil Geniuses, leaving the two teams level atop the standings at 7-2. The United States’ Robert “Blaber” Huang led Cloud9 with an 11-1-8 kill-death-assist ratio, while Australia’s Bill “Eyla” Nguyen ended up at 1-3-1 for Evil Geniuses.
The 10 teams in the top North American League of Legends circuit will play every other team twice in the group phase, which runs through July 21. All group-stage matches will consist of a single map.
The first- and second-place teams will head to the upper-bracket semifinals for the double-elimination playoffs. The third- through sixth-place teams will open the playoffs in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. The seventh- and eighth-place teams will enter the postseason in the lower bracket, while the ninth- and 10th-place teams will be eliminated.
The playoffs will feature best-of-five matches. The top three finishers will earn berths in the League of Legends World Championship, to be played in South Korea from Oct. 10 to Nov. 19. The fourth-place finisher will head to a wild-card qualifier with a chance to land a spot at the World Championship.
In other Friday action, Golden Guardians defeated Team Liquid in 33 minutes on red. South Korea’s Kim “River” Dong-woo led Golden Guardians at 6-0-7, while Australia’s Harry “Haeri” Kang had a 5-3-2 K-D-A ratio for Liquid.
Dignitas earned a 34-minute win on blue against NRG thanks to a 6-2-7 effort from Denmark’s Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen. The United States’ Juan Arturo “Contractz” Garcia finished at 3-3-4.
100 Thieves defeated TSM in 33 minutes on blue as South Korea’s Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung registered a 7-1-4 K-D-A ratio. Canada’s Jason “WildTurtle” Tran wound up at 2-2-3 for TSM.
FlyQuest toppled Immortals in 24 minutes on red thanks to a 6-1-8 K-D-A ratio from South Korea’s Jeong “Impact” Eon-young. The United States’ Colin “Solo” Earnest produced a 2-4-1 K-D-A ratio for Immortals.
Week 4 opens on Wednesday with five matches:
–NRG vs. Team Liquid
–100 Thieves vs. FlyQuest
–Golden Guardians vs. Cloud9
–Dignitas vs. Evil Geniuses
–Immortals vs. TSM
League Championship Series Spring Split group-stage standings
T1. Cloud9, 7-2
T1. Evil Geniuses, 7-2
3. Golden Guardians, 6-3
T4. Dignitas, 5-4
T4. Team Liquid, 5-4
6. 100 Thieves, 4-5
T7. FlyQuest, 3-6
T7. NRG, 3-6
T7. TSM, 3-6
10. Immortals, 2-7
League Championship Series Spring 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 wild-card qualifier for League of Legends World Championship
5-10. No prize money
–Field Level Media