NRG Esports, built from the fan-favorite former Counter Logic Gaming roster, has been crowned 2023 LCS champions after stunning reigning kings Cloud9 in a four-game League of Legends series in New Jersey this evening.
Many had C9 tipped as short-odds favorites heading into the Newark clash, especially considering they had swept NRG in three games a week ago. The now-2023 champions defied expectations in incredible fashion, bouncing back from a 33-minute game-one defeat to claim the organization’s first-ever League title. The franchise had been absent from North American League for the past seven years, exiting the LCS after the 2016 season.
AD carry FBI, who was named Finals MVP after the 3-1 win, declared in the post-match interview: “The felt fucking good… as a five-man we’re very close and as cliche as it sounds, the power of friendship shone through.”
The 3-1 loss denied C9 a chance to round out an LCS threepeat. Only two orgs have ever won three consecutive titles in the LCS: TSM (2016 Spring to 2017 Summer) and Team Liquid, who won four in a row (2018 Spring to 2019 Summer).
“NRG wanted it more,” C9 owner Jack Etienne said plainly in a post-match press conference. “I really respect the work Contractz, Palafox, and the rest of the guys at NRG did to get to this victory today, so, congrats to them. It sucks to lose, but these guys are going to bounce back. It hurts now, but tomorrow we’re going to be thinking about how we can improve for Worlds.”
The winning squad entered the LCS Championship bracket in fifth after a 9-9 record in the regular season. They upset Liquid and Golden Guardians in the upper bracket (3-1 each time) before the C9 sweep in the upper bracket final. Then, led by a resurgent Palafox, they went the distance against Liquid in a 3-2 victory that booked their spot in the grand final—and now, the rest is history.
For Contractz, the roster’s win at the Prudential Center marks the first time he’s claimed League silverware since Rift Rivals in 2017. It was also the 23-year-old jungler’s first grand final since that same season, when he and C9 lost to TSM in a 3-2 blockbuster in the final match of the NA LCS 2017 Spring Playoffs.
Today’s triumph also sees Dhokla, Palafox, and IgNar become LCS champions for the first time. IgNar last contested a final in 2020 while playing on FlyQuest. FBI becomes a two-time winner; he last lifted the trophy with 100 Thieves.
NRG will now travel to the 2023 League World Championship in South Korea as NA’s first seed, while C9 becomes the region’s second-slot representatives. Liquid will be the third NA squad at the event in October.
Related: All teams qualified for 2023 League World Championship
The three teams are all pre-qualified for the event’s newly minted “Swiss Stage,” which replaces the traditional groups in a reformatted version of Worlds. Meanwhile, Golden Guardians has the chance to become the fourth LCS team at Worlds if they beat Europe’s fourth seed in a qualifying playoff battle. Should they win that, they’ll then have to battle through Worlds Play-Ins.
The EU vs. NA Worlds Qualifying Series is set for Monday, Oct. 9 before the World Championship officially begins on a day later on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
