Liquid jump into third place in 2022 LCS Summer Split after handily defeating CLG

Following their loss yesterday to 100 Thieves, it was unclear how Team Liquid would bounce back against CLG, a team whose upward momentum had propelled them to the top of the LCS. Yet with their unmatched teamfighting skills and map-wide vision, Liquid successfully secured their fifth win of the Summer Split.

Contractz sought to impede Liquid’s room to progress from the start of the game. With Luger and Poome at his side, Contractz secured himself the enemy blue buff and wolves, then avoiding Santorin’s line of sight to steal Gromp and gain an early level advantage.

CLG welcomed Amumu to the Rift in the pick/ban phase, a champion that has not been seen in the LCS for some time, but one that recently received substantial buffs to his role in support. This pick served to be a powerful answer to the Hans sama/CoreJJ bot lane duo—one that has spent the year being crucial to Liquid’s success.

Yet, Santorin was prepared to retaliate for the damage Contractz had done in the early game. With Contractz occupied on the more squishy members of Liquid, Santorin ran his Volibear through the pile of bodies and into the dragon pit to secure his team’s second drake, balancing the gold between the two teams.

From there on, every member of Liquid was willing and able to rotate around the map freely. With red-side wards hidden deep in CLG’s jungle, Liquid knew where nearly every member of CLG was at all times, disjointing the blue-side team when it mattered most.

Bjergsen’s Swain at the helm ensured any member of CLG attempting to escape would do so unsuccessfully and it was the key factor that would bring Liquid the victory after a Baron fight. The combination of Baron buff with the newly-acquired Mountain Soul shred through CLG, even under the safety of their own turrets.

Liquid finish week three with one win and one loss and now advance to third place in the LCS with an overall 5-2 record. Despite CLG’s focus on securing themselves an early-game lead, Liquid’s team composition afforded them near uncontestable team fights, allowing Liquid to advance out of the tie in the standings they had with today’s opponents.

The LCS will be going on a one-week break next weekend.

Week four will start on July 16 and mark the halfway point of the 2022 Summer Split. Liquid will face Golden Guardians to end the first day of week four, while CLG look to avenge their 0-2 weekend against Immortals.