C9 just keep winning, lock up LCS first seed in pivotal tiebreaker win over FlyQuest

After trading places at the top of the LCS standings in the final moments of the Spring Split, Cloud9 and FlyQuest ended up deadlocked in first place after the full scheduled 18-game slate. It was appropriate that the two teams needed a winner-take-all tiebreaker to decide the top two seeds in the postseason bracket, and when the dust settled, it was Cloud9 who definitively earned the top spot, beating FlyQuest in one of the most competitive games of the split. 

Earlier this week, FlyQuest got run through by C9 in a match that appeared to all but lock C9 as NA’s number one seed heading into the postseason. However, after C9 lost to CLG and FlyQuest beat TSM to open today’s slate of games, it quickly became guaranteed that the two teams would meet at the end of the day to settle first place. 

In a real goliath-vs-goliath match, C9 proved that their late-split winning ways were for real, as they ran away from FlyQuest in just over 29 minutes. 

C9 stays hot, FlyQuest stays cold(ish)

While the game these two teams played earlier this week was a one-sided, over-before-it-really-started stomp in favor of C9, today’s game was much closer, and one could even make a case that it was the tightest, most back-and-forth game of the split thus far. Neither team was able to establish a commanding gold lead that exceeded 3,000 until C9’s final push, while the two squads traded blows in both kills and towers throughout the majority of the contest. 

It wasn’t until C9 secured a Hextech Soul and Baron buff within one minute of each other that they were able to run away with the game and put FlyQuest in the rearview for good. 

With this win, C9 go into the playoffs on a tear that’s seen them win eight of their last nine games. Meanwhile, FlyQuest are continuing to slump, as they’ve gone 3-4 in their last seven—a stark contrast from the eight-game winning streak that they opened the season with. 

Did Berserker just clinch MVP?

Coming into the tiebreaker match (and for the better part of the last week, too), narratives had been driven up around Berserker and Prince, and how the MVP race was heating up between the two best players at their position. 

Although other names have floated around the MVP talks this year, Berserker and Prince remained atop the rest of the league. Tonight, Berserker put the discussion to bed completely. 

Even though Prince earned a Pentakill against TSM earlier today, Berserker put his carry pants on against FlyQuest, taking the game by the reins and flat-out dominating the opposition on a commanding Draven pick. After he was relegated to Varus duty earlier today, Berserker balled out on Draven, finishing with a scoreline of 12/1/2, accounting for over 28 percent of the team’s damage, and earning over 30 percent of their gold. 

Still, when asked who should be the MVP of the league in a postgame interview on the LCS broadcast, Berserker remained humble, saying that his teammate Blaber should be named the MVP. 

C9 and FlyQuest will start the postseason as the number one and number two seeds in the bracket, respectively, Their first-round opponents will be determined by a series of tiebreaker games that are still yet to be played, although some combination of Evil Geniuses, 100 Thieves, and CLG could potentially await them on the horizon.