Team Liquid rally from behind to take sole possession of first place with a win over 100 Thieves

Team Liquid orchestrated a comeback victory against 100 Thieves today to take first place in the North American LCS.

Both teams came into the day with eight wins and four losses—and with only three weeks left in the split, this game was especially important to establish the best team in the league.

An early invade by 100 Thieves handed jungler Andy “AnDa” Hoang control of the Liquid red buff. He used that control to steal Liquid’s blue buff and take both scuttle crabs. Liquid jungler Jake “Xmithie” Puchero tried to stick around and contest the blue buff steal, but a roam by 100 Thieves mid laner Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook resulted in first blood in favor of 100 Thieves.

While the game looked all but over for Liquid after the disastrous early game, Xmithie was able to farm his way back into the game. Repeated ganks onto the bot lane allowed Liquid to essentially even the game up. Three Ocean Drakes further helped the Liquid cause, rendering the poke from 100 Thieves virtually useless.

An engage by Liquid mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park onto 100 Thieves marksman Cody Sun gave Liquid two picks and the Baron buff. From there, Liquid took the reins and slowly choked 100 Thieves out of the game.

For Liquid, this is the second time they’ve come back from a massive deficit in the early game. Against Golden Guardians last week, a botched gank in the bot lane fed a triple kill to the enemy Fiddlesticks—but Liquid clawed their way back into the game. Although they’ve looked shaky at times, Liquid’s ability to play from behind indicates they’re on a higher level than most of their counterparts in the league.

100 Thieves, on the other hand, were unable to get star top laner Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho involved, and he ended the game deathless with zero kill participation. Ssumday is usually the catalyst for this team’s success, and without him, the team looks lost at times.

Liquid will try to retain their hold on the standings against FlyQuest at 2pm CT tomorrow, while 100 Thieves will look to bounce back against Golden Guardians at 5pm CT.