Did you expect Cloud9 to escape Groups?
Worlds 2021 Group A Recap - Cloud 9
The dust has finally settled upon Group A at Worlds 2021. The end-result was about as exciting as it could've been; a 3 way tie between EU/NA/CN with the North American team making it out? The script writers are working extra hard this year during Worlds 2021!
Group A Recap for Worlds 2021
When we left off before the final day of Group A began, the standings were completely flipped. Cloud9 were sitting at 0-3 after having made it to groups from Play-Ins, with a rocky road at that. Anyone claiming that C9 would make it out of groups this year would be laughed at, and rightfully so. It's been a brutal last few years for the region, with LCS teams rarely escaping the group stage. However, Cloud9 was able to flip the odds.
Game 1 Recap
Shockingly, Cloud9 were able to take the first game of the day in a fantastic win against Rogue. It only took 25 minutes for the NA representatives to pummel their opponents into the dust and take the game. Rogue had taken a bit of a gamble on a Draven pick - which seemed to struggle along with their Jungle Qiyana throughout the game. C9 was able to shutdown these champions off of strong performances from Blaber and Perkz on their Lillia and Irelia duo respectively.
- Missed our last Worlds recap for Day 3? Check it out here!
Game 2 Recap
Next up, Cloud9 had to take down FPX; this looked difficult, but do-able for sure. When these two met earlier this week, C9 threw their lead away and lost the game. Fudge admitted in an interview at the end of the day that the team had their doubts about whether or not they would pull off this win. However, this time Cloud9 looked a lot better. They were able to punish FPX in the early game off of the back of excellent game play from the solo laners; this time, closing the game out before 30 minutes!
Game 3 Recap
After that, Cloud9 had to face their worst nightmare - Damwon Kia. This team has been so incredibly dominant at this worlds, it's scary. Statistically, Damwon has been a better team this year in Groups as opposed to last year; they appear to be ready to take another World Championship. Cloud9 was defeated, but this was their strongest performance yet against DK. They were able to snag Mountain Soul and kept themselves in the game for a long time, but eventually lost to Showmaker's Kassadin in the late game. However, C9 had already secured a spot in the 3 way tie. From there, they just had to sit back and watch FPX lose to Rogue before securing the last win to make it through. It's worthy to note that Damwon Kia secured themselves an undefeated Group Stage performance off of this last win, they sure look scary!
Game 4 Recap
This last match was a doozy. If you didn't get the chance to watch the replay yet, do yourself a favor and watch it all the way through on the LoL Esports website. You'll earn Worlds Mission Credit for it, if you haven't earned it already. In this game, Cloud9 fans were finally given the pleasure of watching Perkz in true playoff form. His Leblanc was a massive reason for why C9 eventually took this win over Rogue in a game that went back and forth. Cloud9 was finally able to close out the match and secure their Knockout-Stage dreams after a brutal fight to keep themselves in Worlds 2021.
Are your pick'ems completely ruined? We know ours are! However, this is just the first of four groups to finish up before the beginning of the Worlds 2021 Knockout Stage. Tomorrow, things will resume with matches from Group B which includes: EDward Gaming, T1, 100 Thieves, and DetonatioN FocusMe.
You want more exclusive lol content? Compact, to the point and with the high quality you deserve? Then check us out at RiftFeed!