PENTAKILL!!!: TL vs GG Lower Bracket Recap

Team Liquid Honda vs Golden Guardians played a tight Bo5 as they played all five games in the ninth series of the 2023 LCS Summer Split Playoffs! Here's how TL vs GG went in an all-out battle for Lower Bracket Finals.

Game 1: The Heartbreaker's Carry

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TL starts off the series with a bang as they lead 1-0 against GG. Hong "Pyosik" Chang-Hyeon showcased an amazing Viego performance as he gained multiple Possessions in team fights. Sean "Yeon" Sung and Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-In also performed admirably. The duo-bot synergy remained strong throughout the game as they performed admirably in lane and team fights.

Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes and Kim "Gori" Tae-Woo made TL sweat with their outstanding team fight executions. Stixxay dished out lots of damage and distanced well from TL's members. Gori had exceptional team fight initiations and on average found 3-member Pop Blossoms. Park "Summit" Woo-Tae and Kim "River" Dong-Woo were two members who seemed to be underperforming as they could not last in team fights. They had poor decision-making in their plays which they need to improve if they are to play carry champions.

In a heavy and close team fight game, TL was able to win the final fight. They broke GG's nexus with a final gold lead of 2.2k gold lead at a game time of 30:09 minutes.

Game 2: PENTAKILL!!!

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TL continue their lead 2-0 with a game dominating performance against GG. Pyosik with an absolute dominating performance secured himself his first pentakill in his LCS career! He caught GG's members multiple times and was able to make multiple plays that were backed up by the rest of his team. Eain "APA" Stearns with an exceptional performance on Neeko found multiple members of GG with his massive AoE CC. TL controlled team fights very well and GG was unable to do anything about it. After a one-sided team fight, TL end the game with a gold lead of 7.1k at a game time of 23:33 minutes.

Game 3: White Line Fever

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GG strikes back as they take over game 3 and break TL's perfect series. The issue for TL this game was their rushed gameplay to try and end the series. This is commonly known amongst athletes as "White Line Fever". Typically an athlete is positioned close to glory and rushes for it while throwing out all game sense. TL did just that and GG took advantage of this. Stixxay and Gori did amazing damage and were consistent in almost all of the team fights. River is to be commended for punishing TL's ignorant advancements as he found many picks. GG finally ended destroyed TL's nexus with a gold lead of 13.4k at a game time of 32:26 minutes.

Game 4: Golden Guardians

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GG tie up the series 2-2 with a dominating victory over TL. GG dominated the game as they stole baron, caught TL's members multiple times, and simply outplayed TL. In lane, Summit was died several times to Eric "Licorice" Ritchie. Stixxay and River found multiple picks and added more power to their kit later on. In all team fights, Choi "Huhi" Jae-Hyun was calculated and patient with his engages that helped GG win this game. However, APA was and Pyosik tried their hardest to even out their gold deficit. Unfortunately for TL, they had nobody to front line as Summit had to be in the back line for Call of the Forge God. If TL drafted a second tank instead of Milio, the game would likely turn out different. GG obliterated TL's members and base with a gold lead of 14.1k at a game time of 37:41 minutes.

Game 5: "gg no re"

Credit: Riot Games

TL closes the series 3-2 against GG. TL played a phenomenal team game as they moved well together and secured Ocean Soul. They worked together in their team fights, and pushed down lanes for turrets very well. GG did their best to make a lead for themselves and push TL back but were unable to. Unfortunately, They made mistakes getting caught out by TL or being fought in a poor position. In a big final battle, TL tore down GG's base. They destroyed the nexus one final time with a gold lead of 10.1k at a game time of 36:44.

Moving Forward

Congratulations to TL as they are guaranteed top 3 seeds for the 2023 Worlds Championship! TL also advance to the Lower Bracket Finals against NRG which is played August 19 at 1PM PST/4PM EST. Unfortunately for GG, they are eliminated from the summer split but will later face the 4th seed from LEC for a chance to participate in the Worlds Championship.

TL played incredibly coordinated in the final game of the series. In the earlier parts of the series, they seemed strong but made more mistakes than they planned. There seemed to be a level of disrespectful playstyle from Summit as he kept finding himself in poor positions, subsequently getting killed. If they keep him on split pushing champions and try maintain this playstyle in some games, Summit can shine again.

On the other hand, Pyosik showed just how far his potential can go as he scored his first pentakill of his LCS career! Starting out in the season playing mainly tanks like Maokai and Sejuani, he has shown that he is more flexible than you think.

APA seeming like a one-trick as he creates incredible combos with his ultimates. He is able to calculate excellent micro decisions in a quick manner.

Yeon and CoreJJ seem like they have a strong synergy in the bot lane. They are able to execute on trades and skirmishes very well in the early game, and can act as a unit in team fights. Look out for TL as they head on to face NRG in a high stake series.

Featured Image Source: Riot Games