Tag: Cloud9

Categories
League of Legends

DetonatioN FocusMe Makes History At Worlds 2021

DetonatioN Focus Me have become the first ever LJL team to advance to the group stage (image via DFM)
DetonatioN Focus Me have become the first ever LJL team to advance to the group stage (image via DFM)

Japanese League of Legends team DetonatioN FocusMe have made history at Worlds 2021, becoming the first team from the country to make it to the group stage. The team defeated Cloud 9 during the play in stage to secure the victory.

https://twitter.com/teamDFM/status/1446151706304139266

Their victory secures a group stage spot for an LJL team for the first time in Worlds history.

DetonatioN FocusMe have become somewhat of a staple of international League of Legends competition in recent years. The team reached their first Worlds in 2018.

They followed it up with an 8-9th place finish at the 2019 Mid Season Invitational, and another trip to Worlds that year. Again the team failedd to make it out of the Play-in stage, but still took at least one series win that tournament.

The team missed out on Worlds in and MSI in 2020, but returned for MSI 2021, and now Worlds 2021. The playoff position already marks the highest finish at an international tournament for both the team, but the LJL region as a whole.

Surprise at the victory swept over the Twitter world as the LJL team claimed a win over North America’s Cloud9. NA’s representatives in the play-ins have underperformed, and may contribute once more to the NA flying home early memes.

But beyond salty NA fans, most who love competitive League of Legends are excited to see the tiny Japanese server represented well on the international stage.

Categories
League of Legends

With Worlds on the Line, Sunday 22nd is Make or Break for 4 LoL Teams

TSM's chances to attend the LoL Worlds 2021 event are on the line in Sunday's landmark matchup. (image via Riot Games)
TSM's chances to attend the LoL Worlds 2021 event are on the line in Sunday's landmark matchup. (image via Riot Games)

League of Legends Worlds 2021 is set to kick off just a few months from now, but some of the best LoL Teams in the West find themselves on the edge of elimination from the event. Out of Team SoloMid, Cloud9, G2 Esports, and Fnatic, only two of these teams will make it to Worlds 2021.

In a landmark series of games over the weekend (Sunday 22), the very makeup of the LoL competitive scene is being reformed.

We break down these two huge matchups and how their outcomes will affect Worlds 2021.

Fnatic vs. G2 to Become an EU Representative at LoL Worlds 

Fnatic and G2 Esports are the two most decorated LoL teams in Europe. With dozens of championships between them, it would seem trivial that these teams would head to Worlds 2021. But, instead, we find them battling it out to even attend.

Despite their normal top-tier play, Fnatic has struggled in both Spring and Summer splits. Sitting strictly at the middle of the table, the team has barely made it to the playoffs in both seasons. Now they have to win this game to even find their way to Worlds 2021.

G2 Esports, with its new roster including Martin “Rekkles” Larsson (a former Fnatic player), has managed to top the tables but struggled in both post-seasons. After two playoffs, they now find themselves taking on historical rivals Fnatic for an international competition spot.

As the teams clash at 16:00pm BST, in a best-of-five competition, they’ll be battling for more than a semi-final spot. They’ll be fighting for survival and the chance to join the ascendant MAD Lions as Europe’s representative at Worlds 2021.

Cloud9 and TSM to Clash With LoL Worlds Spot on the Line

After an incredibly impressive 3-1 victory over Immortals on Friday, the regular season champs, TSM, now have Worlds squarely in their crosshairs. Their match against Cloud9 on Sunday is their most important all year.

On Thursday, Cloud9 3-0’d Evil Geniuses to secure their spot in this matchup. Having spent much of their summer split trying to replicate the success of Spring, the team now struggles in the post-season. By rights, they’d automatically be headed to Worlds alongside Team Liquid. But, instead, they face LCS rivals TSM for this semi-final spot.

What’s so crazy about this matchup is that it’s only round 3 of the Championship. There’s still a trio of incredible matchups on the way, although few will have as high stakes. In the morning, we saw the LPL and LCK have similarly high-profile matchups, and LoL Worlds 2021 feels closer than ever.

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
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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