After a rocky start to the season, 100 Thieves have finally picked up their first win of the 2019 LCS Spring Split.
100 Thieves pulled out Yorick yesterday against Team Liquid to no avail, and it looked like they were out of their comfort zone. Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho made a valiant effort, but the reigning champions of the LCS eventually took over, continuing their win streak.
Even despite Bae “Bang” Jun-sik’s best efforts in the bot lane, the team struggled through their first three matches of 2019. The two-time world champion has looked out of his depth, and even with the win today, he’s far from his best form. The star AD carry can no longer rely on his former mid laner, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, to account for any sloppy mistakes.
Nonetheless, today’s matchup against Golden Guardians was promising for 100 Thieves. The split is far from over, and despite a rough opening two weeks, the team can only improve. In reality, it was a battle for ninth place, and the teams were each riding a three-game losing streak. But 100 Thieves had to start somewhere.
Golden Guardians are another team that haven’t fully put it together yet. Similar to 100 Thieves, they have most of the important components to create a competitive team, but their synergy is lacking. They still don’t seem like a cohesive unit yet, and it will take a lot of time, energy, and maybe even roster changes for them to properly develop into a team that can contend for the top spot. It is the Spring Split, though, and there’s plenty of time for the team to improve.
100 Thieves picked a sensible composition today, and Bang played Ezreal, one of his comfort picks—in stark comparison to Viktor yesterday. It was a slow start for both teams, but Andy “AnDa” Hoang gathered a large advantage in the jungle, heavily out-farming Juan “Contractz” Arturo Garcia, and soon pushed ahead Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun in the mid lane.
Although Golden Guardians secured first blood, 100 Thieves answered back and pushed their advantage. They took out Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, and eventually, with the help of the Rift Herald, pushed down the mid lane tower.
The mid game was full of tense back-and-forth action, with 100 Thieves taking the advantage after needlessly trading kills and towers. Bang finally played with more confidence. Although he fell behind in the bot lane, he soon fought back and bolstered up his KDA with a well-timed Trueshot Barrage snipe from across the map.
It looked like 100 Thieves were heading toward a fast and easy win, and they were playing with calculated caution. But they soon slipped up, losing impactful teamfight after teamfight, and much of their gold lead.
Golden Guardians overwhelmed 100 Thieves and headed toward the Baron—but it was much too good to be true, and they quickly blew their chance at a comeback.
100 Thieves’ carries were still very much alive, and despite being in a three-vs-five scenario, a low-health Ssumday stole the Baron and cleaned up Golden Guardians with the help of Bang.
100 Thieves pushed home the advantage, quickly destroying Golden Guardians’ remaining towers before promptly securing their first win of the 2019 Spring Split.
100 Thieves will next play against Clutch Gaming on Saturday, Feb. 9, where they’ll compete for their second win of the season.
