Evil Geniuses claimed sole possession of first place in the League Championship Series Summer Split by winning on Wednesday as Week 4 action got underway.
After Evil Geniuses (8-2) defeated Dignitas (5-5), Golden Guardians downed Cloud9, leaving the latter two teams both at 7-3.
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.
On Wednesday, Evil Geniuses worked 33 minutes on red to top Dignitas. Sweden’s William “UNF0RGIVEN” Nieminen produced a 14-1-4 kill-death-assist ratio for Evil Geniuses, while Denmark’s Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen wound up at 5-3-7 for Dignitas.
Golden Guardians, playing on blue, got past Cloud9 in 28 minutes. South Korea’s Kim “River” Dong-woo posted a 6-0-9 K-D-A ratio for Golden Guardians, and another South Korean, Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol, finished at 2-2-3 for Cloud9.
TSM topped Immortals in 40 minutes on red behind a 6-1-8 K-D-A ratio from Canada’s Jason “WildTurtle” Tran. Edward “Tactical” Ra paced Immortals at 5-2-4.
100 Thieves handled FlyQuest in 30 minutes on blue as the United States’ Peter “Doublelift” Peng posted a 7-2-2 K-D-A ratio. South Korea’s Lee “Prince” Chae-hwan registered a 3-2-0 K-D-A ratio for FlyQuest.
NRG emerged with a 31-minutes win over Team Liquid on blue thanks to a 9-3-5 K-D-A ratio from Australia’s Ian Victor “FBI” Huang. The United States’ Sean “Yeon” Sung was the star for Liquid at 6-1-2.
Week 4 continues on Thursday with five matches:
–FlyQuest vs. Golden Guardians
–Cloud9 vs. Dignitas
–TSM vs. NRG
–Evil Geniuses vs. 100 Thieves
–Team Liquid vs. Immortals
League Championship Series Spring Split group-stage standings
1. Evil Geniuses, 8-2
T2. Cloud9, 7-3
T2. Golden Guardians, 7-3
T4. 100 Thieves, 5-5
T4. Dignitas, 5-5
T4. Team Liquid, 5-5
T7. NRG, 4-6
T7. TSM, 4-6
9. FlyQuest, 3-7
10. Immortals, 2-8
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