Cloud9 topped Golden Guardians in a tiebreaking match to finish in first place in the League Championship Series Summer Split group stage.
After Cloud9 (13-5) defeated FlyQuest (6-12) as Golden Guardians (13-5) got past 100 Thieves (7-11), the top two teams squared off, with Cloud9 prevailing.
TSM (8-10) lost to Evil Geniuses (12-6) on Friday, but TSM still wound up in sixth place — the last position that advances directly to the upper bracket in the playoffs. Dignitas (7-11) and 100 Thieves both had a chance to pull level with TSM, but both lost their Friday matches. Dignitas fell to Team Liquid (10-8).
In a tiebreaker to determine the seventh-place team, Dignitas beat 100 Thieves in 28 minutes on blue behind six kills apiece from Denmark’s Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen and the United States’ Frank “Tomo” Lam. The United States’ Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng had a 3-3-2 kill-death-assist ratio for 100 Thieves.
The 10 teams in the top North American League of Legends circuit will play every other team twice in the group phase. All group-stage matches consist of a single map.
The first- and second-place teams will head to the upper-bracket semifinals of 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.
On Friday, Cloud9 beat FlyQuest in 26 minutes on blue as Australia’s Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami logged a 4-1-5 K-D-A ratio. No FlyQuest player had more than one kill.
Golden Guardians got past 100 Thieves in 37 minutes on red. South Korea’s Kim “Gori” Tae-woo produced a 5-2-8 K-D-A ratio, while Doublelift wound up at 4-2-5 for 100 Thieves.
Evil Geniuses defeated TSM in 28 minutes on blue. Canada’s Joseph Joon “jojopyun” Pyun registered a 6-1-5 K-D-A ratio for Evil Geniuses. The United States’ David “Insanity” Challe ended up at 4-6-1 for TSM.
Immortals topped NRG in 33 minutes on blue, led by a 8-3-8 K-D-A ratio from Sweden’s Onur Can “Bolulu” Demirol. Cristian “Palafox” Palafox powered NRG at 8-2-2.
Team Liquid bested Dignitas in 33 minutes on blue as the United States’ Sean “Yeon” Sung notched a 7-0-6 K-D-A ratio. Jensen led Dignitas at 6-1-2.
The playoffs are set to start on Thursday.
League Championship Series Summer Split group-stage final standings
1. Cloud9, 13-5
2. Golden Guardians, 13-5
3. Evil Geniuses, 12-6
4. Team Liquid, 10-8
5. NRG, 9-9
6. TSM, 8-10
7. Dignitas, 7-11
8. 100 Thieves, 7-11
9. FlyQuest, 6-12
10. Immortals, 5-13
–Field Level Media
