With the end of the end of the first LCS split we also saw
the beginning of the first LCS promotion tournament. For anyone that’s not
familiar with the structure it’s commonly used in European sports with multiple
levels of divisions where depending on a team’s performance they can move up or
down a division. This structure provides a really great way to all the teams to
experience some sort of postseason excitement. Since all the teams are taking
part in either the championship playoffs or the promotion relegation
tournaments all the fans have something exciting to watch. This creates the
feeling of ultimate joy for those teams who manage to make it into the top
division and ultimate disappointment for those who don’t.
We saw four of the LCS Spring teams enter the European tournament
with only the Copenhagen Wolves holding their spot to continue into LCS Summer.
Although we say goodbye to Ozone Giants, Against All Authority, and Dragonborns
we are privileged to see what newcomers Team Alternate, Against All Authority,
and Meet Your Makers will bring to the LCS. The games were all very interesting
but showed truly how close the European LCS scene really is.
On the North American Side of things we saw as Complexity,
Team MRN, Counter Logic Gaming, and Dignitas all entered the tournament. Two of
these teams weren’t expected to be here at all and two were expected by the
fans to lose their spot. Those expectations came true as CLG and Dignitas both
made it out successfully with decisive series victories over the challenger
teams. Complexity was swept out by Quantic, who was actually a heavy favorite
coming in, and Velocity eSports taking out Team MRN in a close series that went
all five games.
Every team put up a good fight and in the post-game
interviews the new teams were both excited and confident that they will be able
to perform at the highest level week by week. The chance to see their dreams
fulfilled was truly awesome and exciting to watch, on the flipside it was heart
wrenching to see dreams also being shattered. To all the teams that are no
longer in the LCS I hope you all continue competing and see you back in the LCS
someday, and to all the new teams welcome and enjoy the ride!
Series Stats – NA Series Stats –EU
Complexity: 0 Copenhagen Wolves: 3
Quantic Gaming: 3 Samurai in Jeans: 1
Team MRN: 2 Dragonborns: 2
Velocity eSports: 3 Meet Your Makers: 3
Dignitas: 3 Against All Authority: 0
Team Summon: 1 Sinners Never Sleep: 3
Counter Logic Gaming: 3 Ozone GIANTS: 2
Azure Cats: 0 Team Alternate: 3
Solid and well thought out post! Unfortunate for MRN disbanding and Complexity getting knocked down but hopefully we'll see them again soon!
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