- Cloud9 ends its redemption arc after months of uphill battles
- Berserker proved to be crucial for Cloud9’s victory
- This match was the only 3-0 sweep of the 2022 LCS Championship
It seems Cloud9 has ended their series of misfortunes by becoming the lowest-ever seed to enter and win the LCS.
Cloud9 Crowned Champions
The competitive year in North American League of Legends has been leading up to the titanic battle between Cloud9 and 100 Thieves at the grand finals of the LCS. In what could be described as Cloud9’s epic finale of their redemption arc, the team who entered the finals as the fifth seed, defeated 100 Thieves in a sweeping 3-0, the only such match of the 2022 LCS Championship.
This win is a fitting end to what was a tumultuous year for C9 in the LCS. The team went through a ton of roster and coach changes and had its fair bit of controversies, role swaps, and the return of some of the organization’s most popular players.
Cloud9 Dominates 100 Thieves
The redemption plot was also relevant for 100T, as the team struggled to enter the LCS Championship. Their major opponent was Evil Geniuses, who also ruined 100 Thieves’ playoffs run in the Spring. 100T eventually managed to beat EG and go into the LCS Championship finals against C9 by putting their hopes on the shoulders of Felix “Abbedagge” Braun and Can “Closer” Çelik. This eventually led the team to a second-place finish in the regular season.
However, when going up against C9, 100 Thieves’ downfall came because of one crucial player – Cloud9’s Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol. The 19-year-old player was recognized to be of utmost importance to Cloud9’s strategies during the series, with the team drafting compositions around him with picks like Kennen, Nocturne, and Zilean.
100 Thieves recognized the threat Berserker posed, so the team targeted his picks. But despite banning the ADC’s picks, Berserker still found ways to be a hindrance for 100T, enough so that on the opposite side of the map, C9’s Fudge and Blaber were continuing to accumulate large leads for themselves.
The whole match seemed very one-sided, with Cloud9 needing just one initial teamfight to set the pace for the rest of the round. In the last game, 100T’s fledgling morale was further damaged when C9 made a quick kill on enemy territory right off the bat. Berserker countered all of 100T’s attacks while being covered by Jensen and Zven. With the 19-year-old player leading the charge, Cloud9 made quick work of 100 Thieves and became the lowest seed to ever enter LCS playoffs and win it.
Cloud9 Redeem Themselves
This win marks an end to what seemed Cloud9’s curse. During the past few years, the team always qualified for Worlds but never emerged from a playoff in the first place. The victory also marks Berserker’s first-ever LCS Trophy, with him ending with a KDA of 23/1/24. Jensen breaks a multi-year curse of not winning an LCS with C9, while Zven has now won an LCS trophy in two roles.
100 Thieves will have the chance to enact revenge upon Cloud9 as both teams will enter Worlds directly into the Group Stage. The Play-Ins for the World Championship will begin on September 29 in Mexico City.
