Categories
League of Legends

A New Champion: 100T Sweep Team Liquid in the LCS Championship

Change is in the air in North American League of Legends, as 100 Thieves defeat Team Liquid to win the LCS Championship. 100T swept opponents Team Liquid in three straight games in the best-of-five series to become champions of the league.

The win makes 100T just the fifth ever team to capture an LCS title. Cloud9, Team SoloMid, Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming—All storied teams in the league—are the only other organizations to claim an LCS seasonal victory. 

In an empty arena (fans were unable to attend the event in person), the LCS 2021 season wrapped up with a bang. Team Liquid, who had been on an incredible hot streak before tha match, struggled immediately with the pace at with 100T played. Having met previously in the Upper Bracket finals, it seemed logical that TL would again have 100T’s number.


But as the teams met on Sunday, it was almost like a completely different 100T than the one TL faced in round four of the playoffs. Chief among the success was Can “Closer” Çelik. The Turkish Jungle dominated his opponent, showing the raw power of picks like Viego jungle. 

Ian Victor “FBI” Huang, import Australian ADC was also a standout for the team. Already the best in one region, Oceania, FBI was on the warpath on Sunday. He wanted to prove he was the best in NA as well.  In three games, his scores of 5/1/4, 3/1/9, and 3/0/7 showed just how dominant he is.

Unfortunately, the crowning of a new champ in North America will once again spark a debate about imports. This year NA will only send three native NA talents to Worlds 2021. LCS teams must field a minimum of two NA players on a roster. However, with Oceanic players counting as NA residents, and import players who have become a lawful permanent resident in North America able to count as one of those two, 100T is able to field zero native NA players. 

Despite a victory that is sure to be tinged with controversy, it is a well deserved win for 100T

Categories
Valorant

Cloud9 Blue Adds Floppy and Xeppaa, Building a VALORANT Colossus

Cloud9’s ‘Colossus’ CS:GO may have pumped the brakes, but in C9 Blue VALORANT things are looking up. That’s because on April 19th Cloud9 announced the signing of both Ricky “floppy” Kmeru and Erick “Xeppaa” Back to its lineup. 

Both pros signed over from former careers in CS:GO. The pair had been pars of the so-called C9 Colossus team which sought to dominant NA CS:GO. However, the roster was dismantled in March after disappointing results. 

C9 as a whole backed out of CS:GO leaving much of it’s roster in limbo. Xeppaa and Floppy are the first of that former roster to land, each switching game to try and bolster the C9 Blue roster. C9 like many top esports organisations has struggled to find consistency in the torrid waters of competitive Valorant. The nascent scene has seen many traditionally strong teams fall by the wayside against relative unknowns and unsigned squads.

The organisation has also struggled with building it’s new roster. A mishmash of former CS:GO pros and C9’s other aborted projects, such as C9 Korea, the lineup has found little consistency. Some of their biggest players were dropped or retired before competition proper began. However, the team is on the clock with VCT Challengers 2 and a vital chance to head to Reykjavik in May.

Ultimately, this may be another experiment gone wrong for Cloud9 Blue Valorant. The team will want solid results from their new lineup, otherwise another Colossus dismantling is just around the corner.

Make sure to follow Dartfrog for all the latest NA Valorant esports news on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

Categories
Valorant

Cloud 9 White dunks on Renegades in WSOE Qualifiers

Despite being such a young game, Valorant esports is already getting spicy, with Cloud 9 White destroying Renegades in the WSOE Online V: Valorant Qualifier. C9 White, the all-women Valorant team signed just last month by Cloud 9 defeated Renegades 13-4 in the opening round of the qualifier. 

The result elicited surprise across social media for a multitude of reasons. But it was Cloud 9 White’s own team captain Melanie “meL” Capone who put it best: “Renegades a Tier 1 team that’s f*cking cap.”

With the victory, C9 White’s momentum continued, defeating Able Esports 13-11. However, the team’s run through the qualifiers would be cut short against Elysium in a tight 7-13 defeat against Elysium. After falling to the Lower Bracket, the squad would again narrowly be defeated, this time by Big Frames.

Regardless, the results show that Cloud 9 White is definitely more than a match for many of the teams in the North American Valorant scene. In outperforming Renegades, and Complexity – another storied NA organization – this squad has definitely made a name for itself.

What’s more, the team is definitely doing better than it’s sister team Cloud 9 Blue. The men’s roster parted ways with Tyson “TenZ” Ngo last week. The squad hasn’t yet found a replacement, and as a result has missed recent competition. With their Blue roster inactive and their Korean squad disbanded, it’s safe to call C9 White the organization’s top Valorant roster.

Make sure to follow Dartfrog for all the latest Valorant esports news on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

Categories
League of Legends

Perkz signs with Cloud9: A new hope for NA fans

League of Legends will see its most important transatlantic trade in recent memory as Luka “Perkz” Perković officially signs with Cloud9. The announcement of Perkz deal with Cloud9 came just hours after his former team, G2 Esports, revealed the signing of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. The signing, revealed across social media on November 20, fills in some of the final pieces of the LoL free agency period.

We’ve known since early November that Perkz would likely make the move from the LEC to the LCS. However, only now has the move been confirmed. With a reported five million dollar buy-out clause and a multi-million dollar contract on the line, exactly where the star mid and bot laner would land was up for debate. Taking over the mid role in C9 was one of the most likely destinations.

Three days ago, G2 Esports bid farewell to Perkz in an emotional series of posts on their website. Since debuting on the team as a rookie, the player developed alongside G2 Esports to become one of the very best in the world. His move to NA could fundamentally shift the balance between the regions.

And that’s just what Perkz wants to do. In a reply to the announcement of his signing, the freshly minted NA import proudly stated that this would be the “first year that NA is better than EU.”

Still, despite the confidence shown by C9’s newest player, questions remain as to whether the Croatian player will be able to adapt to the NA lifestyle. North America’s solo-queue comes under frequent criticism for its bad attitude, and numerous cases exist of players moving regions to NA, only to flounder in their new region. Notable examples include the legendary Henrik “Froggen”  Hansen, Alexey “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin, and Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen.

However, if Perkz can avoid the fall off in ability and motivation which has struck almost every import to NA, C9 seem poised to dominate the region. Their 2021 roster is one of their strongest of recent years, and with the signing of Perkz to Cloud 9, they’re ready to make a push to more international competition – something they missed out on in 2020.

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