LCS Championship Grand Final: FlyQuest Earn Another Shot at Team Liquid
After handily disposing of 100 Thieves, FlyQuest will now square up against Team Liquid in the LCS Championship grand final to settle once and for all who the best team in the LCS is.
The two teams matched pound for pound during their previous battle last weekend, where Team Liquid barely managed to walk away with the win, if not also slightly battered and bruised.
If their previous bout was an accurate indicator of these two teams' relative strength, then we're in for a thrilling grand final.
The deciding matchup: APA vs Quad
Last time the two mid laners faced off, which came last weekend in the upper bracket finals of the LCS Championship, Quad showed the world he was ready to hang with the big boys.
APA has dominated all season long in the mid lane, even earning the Most Improved Player award for his exceptional play during the Summer Split.
During his last series against FLY, APA showed viewers just what all the hype was about when he scored a pentakill on Corki in game 3 of the series; the first pentakill of the LCS Summer split.
As it turned out, however, Quad took that personally.
His back against the wall with TL leading the series 2-1, Quad decided to take matters into his own hands and answer APA by getting a pentakill of his own, this time on Zeri.
APA and Quad lead all LCS mid laners in the LCS Championship for KDA and damage per minute, and they will not be looking to slow down now.
Expect high dps picks in the mid lane from these two players, especially ones with high amounts agency in the late game. While Quad has shown favor towards Azir, Zeri, Aurelion Sol or Smolder, APA has been far more reticent to stray away from his tried and true picks. Across the LCS Championship bracket, APA has found success on Corki and Taliyah, with Ziggs always ready in his back pocket.
The two mid laners have been incredibly reliable sources of damage for their respective teams, and the series between Team Liquid and FlyQuest may be decided by which one of these two players can go the extra mile in the end.
Champion picks to watch out for
Renekton
FlyQuest's run in the LCS Championship has been far longer than that of Team Liquid. Across the 16 games FLY has played in the tournament so far, the team has picked Renekton a total of 10 times for Bwipo in the top lane. With a ridiculously high number of picks for a champion across a single playoffs bracket, Bwipo holds a fantastic winrate of 70% on the champion.
Before his series against 100 Thieves, most people would have come into the grand final expecting TL to simply rid themselves of the problem altogether by banning Renekton out. Now, however, things are not quite so clear.
100 Thieves tried banning Bwipo's Renekton in game 2 and 3 of their lower bracket final against FlyQuest, expecting Sniper to have an easier time in lane. Bwipo answered the thieves by destroying the team first on Rumble in game 2, and then on Olaf in game 3. Picking up a staggering 18 kills across two games, the Belgian top laner showed TL that, in the end, a Renekton ban may be wasted ban.
The question then is, if Renekton is left open by TL, will Bwipo choose to go for the pick he has favored all tournament long or will he find a way to delight fans of the eccentric yet again?
Aurelion Sol
Last time the two teams matched up, Quad surprised TL by picking Aurelion Sol in game 2 of the series. Expertly piloting the champion, the South Korean mid laner finished the game with a 5/0/11 KDA.
Despite a subsequent loss on the champion in game 3 against TL, Quad picked the champion again in his team's lower bracket finals against 100 Thieves, where Quad dominated on the pick once more.
With APA being historically good on Aurelion Sol himself, the pick could turn out to be highly contested in this grand final.
Ziggs
The mad bomber is an interesting pick in that, while FLY can look to ban it away all series in long in order to avoid dealing with one of APA's favorite champions, the team can also opt to pick Ziggs for Massu in the bot lane.
Massu recently played Ziggs against 100 Thieves, marking only the second time he picks the champion all Summer Split, leaving the door open to the possibility.
With Ziggs being so well-suited for the current pro play meta, it will be interesting to see whether FLY decide to remove him from the board altogether or if they'll be willing to play with fire.
Team Liquid vs FlyQuest - The very best in the LCS
If there is one thing this LCS Championship has shown us, it's that Team Liquid and FlyQuest are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the two best teams in the region.
Despite FLY's third place finish in the regular season behind Team Liquid and Cloud9, the team has demonstrated incredible growth throughout these playoffs.
FlyQuest dominated their series against NRG, Cloud9 and 100 Thieves on their road to the grand final. Their only loss of the bracket came against Team Liquid, and, as stated before, that was in a tense back-and-forth series that could have gone anyone's way.
As for Team Liquid, there is little to be said that hasn't been said already. Having completed the first undefeated season in LCS history after their 7-0 run to finish the regular season in first place, TL are now only one series away from sweeping the LCS Championship as well.
The final showdown
Yup, you read that right. It's been almost half a year since the last time TL lost a series. And, while we're at it, it's worth noting that said loss came against none other than reigning World Champions of Faker and T1 at the Esports World Cup.
Will FlyQuest's remarkable surge in form prove enough to end Team Liquid's unprecedented North American run?
Find out by tuning in to the official LCS channels on Twitch or YouTube, where the grand final will be broadcast live this Saturday (September 7th) at 1 pm PT/10 pm CET.
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Image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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