C9 vs. CLG: LCS Playoffs Round 1 recap

Cloud9 won 3-1 against Counter Logic Gaming on March 24, the second match day of Round 1 of the 2023 League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Spring Playoffs at Riot Games Arena in Santa Monica, Calif., United States.

Cloud9 vs. Counter Logic Gaming

Game 1: C9 wins

Cloud9 took Game 1 against Counter Logic Gaming with a 38:23 win in which they trailed 16-13 in kills. C9 mid laner Jang “EMENES” Min-soo controlled the game on his 4/2/4 Yone, and bot laner Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol found a 5/3/1 performance on Varus. On the losing side, CLG mid laner Cristian "Palafox" Palafox and bot laner Fatih "Luger" Güven went 6/4/3 on Sylas and 3/0/5 on Zeri, and the team secured a Baron Nashor, a Rift Herald, three towers and a drake. Strafe Player of the Game: C9 EMENES, 1st

Game 2: CLG wins

Counter Logic Gaming won a close Game 2 9-6 to tie up their series versus Cloud9 in a game that lasted 34:39. CLG Luger found a 5/1/3 Zeri score and led in kills; Palafox finished 4/1/1 on Jayce; and support Philippe "Poome" Lavoie-Giguere added a 0/0/6 Lulu score. C9 found three drakes, three towers and a Herald in the loss. Strafe Player of the Game: CLG Luger, 1st

Game 3: C9 wins

Cloud9 won Game 3 9-5 in 28:28 to take a 2-1 lead against Counter Logic Gaming. Despite the low kill count, C9 Berserker was the biggest member of his team with the support of Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen's 1/1/8 Soraka and top laner Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami's 2/0/2 Gragas, but EMENES stood out too on a 2/1/4 Jayce pick. In their losing effort, CLG took one drake and three towers, and jungler Juan Arturo "Contractz" Garcia found a 2/1/3 KDA on Wukong. Strafe Player of the Game: C9 Berserker, 1st

Game 4: C9 wins

Cloud9 took Game 4 against Counter Logic Gaming 19-13 in 34:29 to win the Round 1 series and send CLG to the Loser's Bracket. Like the rest of the series, C9 overcame some occasional missteps, this time on the back of EMENES's 5/1/6 LeBlanc, Berserker's 7/2/10 Zeri, and perhaps most crucially of all, Zven's 3/0/15 Renata Glasc. CLG were able to take three towers, three drakes and a Herald despite the loss, and CLG Luger finished 5/4/3 on Xayah. Strafe Player of the Game: C9 Zven, 1st

LCS Player of the Series: C9 Berserker (16/7/18), 1st

Featured photos courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games.