Cloud9 looked like the most dominant force in North American League of Legends after their unstoppable 2020 Spring Split performance. But this summer has been quite the opposite—they’ve only won two games in the second half of the 2020 LCS Summer Split.
This past weekend, C9 suffered their first 0-2 week since the 2018 Summer Split with two big losses against a rising TSM squad and a Golden Guardians team that’s now won three games in a row. At the beginning of the season, these are two teams that fans would have never expected C9 to lose to.
There are plenty of possible explanations why C9 have slumped so hard over the past few weeks. Many pundits attributed their earlier losses to draft experimentation. But after a few disappointing losses with the roster playing on comfort champions, the issues have seemingly become a bit more muddier.
In an interview with Inven Global, talented mid laner Nisqy brought up C9’s read on the current meta and said they’re “not sure what’s the best for [them] to play, or what’s the best for [their] opponents.”
Their drafts have been off-putting. In their loss against Golden Guardians, for example, they picked Zoe, Aphelios, and Nautilus, which are all comfort picks. But they weren’t great into the Morgana that Golden Guardians picked beforehand. It doesn’t look like they’ve adjusted too well to the new meta, while other teams are starting to finally catch up and adjust accordingly.
The rest of the LCS looks a bit more fleshed out, with various rosters and players finally showing up big in the later stages of the season. Teams like TSM, Team Liquid, and FlyQuest all look completely different compared to earlier in the summer. Now, C9 are tied for second place alongside TSM, with Team Liquid leading the way. FlyQuest and Golden Guardians are right behind them with decent records of 10-6 and 9-7, respectively.
You can catch the final week of the 2020 LCS Summer Split on Friday, Aug. 7.
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