Cloud9 open LCS Summer Split week 8 with win over first-place 100 Thieves

On the heels of two consecutive wins, a definitive victory to keep the ball rolling against North America’s best team, 100 Thieves, is exactly what Cloud9 needed to get themselves back onto the right side of the playoff race. 

In 36 minutes, Cloud9 was able to dispatch 100 Thieves, hanging tough with the league’s first-place team throughout the majority of the contest before exploding for a five-for-zero teamfight at the back-end of the game. The ace, in turn, allowed Cloud9 to strangle the map and pour resources into their strongest weapons on the Rift.

Cloud9 top laner Fudge managed to put together another stellar performance on Gwen, a champion that’s quickly becoming a signature pick for the first-year LCS star. Fudge posted a final line score of 6/2/7 tonight, good enough for a KDA of 6.5 on the day. Across Cloud9’s last three games, Fudge has racked up a total score of 19/4/18, making him one of, if not, the most effective players at any position in the LCS over the span of the last few weeks. 

If Cloud9 is able to go on a bit of a winning streak at the backend of the season and swing their standing back into the top position they found themselves in at the back-end of the Spring Split, there’d be reason to believe that Fudge could stand out as a genuine candidate for LCS MVP. 

“Fudge understands his lane way better than he did before. He’s improved in every aspect of the game. Teamfighting, side-laning; everything,” Cloud9 mid laner Perkz said of his teammate after tonight’s win. “To me, there’s been clear improvements from Fudge. I’m very happy with him.”

And while the team has locked up a playoff berth, they’re still eyeballing a relatively arduous task over the span of their final five games. Tonight’s victory shrunk 100 Thieves’ lead over them in the standings to a measly two games, but with TSM and Evil Geniuses still waiting for Cloud9 on the horizon, the defending champions need every win they can get, as the team could still mathematically finish as low as fifth place to close out the regular season.