NRG took down Golden Guardians 3-1 on Sunday to advance to the upper-bracket final at the League Championship Series playoffs.
The victorious NRG unit claimed a match-opening win on red in 33 minutes, then won again on blue in 38 minutes for a 2-0 lead. After GG stayed alive with a 33-minute triumph on blue, NRG finished the match with a swift 29-minute win on red.
With the loss, GG dropped to the lower bracket, where they will take on Dignitas in a quarterfinal match on Friday.
Australia’s Victor “FBI” Huang starred for NRG with 28 kills, 26 assists and 11 deaths for the match. American Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes led GG with a 26-8-14 kills-deaths-assists ratio.
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.
The playoffs take a few days off until the next match on Thursday. This week’s schedule includes three matches:
–Thursday: Team Liquid vs. Evil Geniuses (lower-bracket quarterfinals)
–Friday: Dignitas vs. Golden Guardians (lower-bracket quarterfinals)
–Saturday: NRG vs. Cloud9 (upper-bracket final)
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