Team Liquid and NRG cruised to 2-0 wins on Thursday as Week 3 of the League Championship Series Summer Split got underway.
Liquid improved to 3-0 by sweeping 100 Thieves, while NRG downed Immortals for their first victory.
Eight teams are fighting for six spots in the double-elimination playoff bracket. The top two seeds will head to the upper-bracket semifinals, with the other four seeds duking it out in the upper-bracket quarterfinals.
The winner will take home $100,000 of the $200,000 prize pool, with the top three teams qualifying for the World Championship.
On Thursday, Liquid prevailed in 41 minutes and 29 minutes, both on green. The United States’ Sean “Yeon” Sung paced Liquid with a 12-2-17 kill-death-assist ratio. South Korea’s Kim “River” Dong-woo wound up at 6-5-7 for 100 Thieves.
NRG also won twice on green, in 35 minutes and 38 minutes. The United States’ Cristian “Palafox” Palafox led NRG with a 6-1-12 K-D-A ratio, while South Korea’s Cho “Castle” Hyeon-seong finished at 3-6-1 for Immortals.
Group play continues on Friday with two matches:
–Shopify Rebellion vs. Cloud9
–Dignitas vs. FlyQuest
LCS Summer Split group stage standings (overall record, individual game win-loss record):
1. Team Liquid, 3-0, 6-1
2. Cloud9, 2-0, 4-1
3. Dignitas, 1-1, 3-2
4. FlyQuest, 1-1, 3-3
5. NRG, 1-2, 3-4
T6. 100 Thieves, 1-2, 2-4
T6. Immortals, 1-2, 2-4
8. Shopify Rebellion, 0-2, 0-4
LCS Summer Split prize pool:
1. $100,000, qualification to Worlds
2. $50,000, qualification to Worlds
3. $30,000, qualification to Worlds
4. $20,000
5-6. No prize money
7-8. No prize money
–Field Level Media