Gen.G looked good in a 3-0 sweep over the west’s last remaining team, setting up a semifinal against EDG and the possibility of a Korea-vs-Korea grand final.
It was a big day for North American League of Legends. After several years of being a laughingstock, they were back in the knockout round thanks to Cloud9. Now up against Korean side Gen.G, would C9 do NA one better and advance to semis? Or will Gen.G break the ceiling their roster of several years seemed to have hit and get past the quarterfinals?
Game 1: Strange comp choices leave Gen.G the win
Game 1 was marked by several unconventional picks for Cloud9. In the first rotation, they picked both Ziggs and Yasuo. Gen.G would end up going for Aatrox for Gwak "Bdd" Bo-Seong to match that Yasuo.
Gen.G took a solid lead early, and continued to build on it. A midgame teamfight win thanks to some great Jarvan IV play from Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami gave C9 hope, but Gen.G continued to pile on the pressure. C9 wouldn't get close to winning another teamfight as Gen.G took game 1.
Not only was this the first win for Gen.G in the series, its also the first win ever for a team under their branding in an international best-of-5. In Worlds 2020, they exited the quarterfinals in a 3-0 loss to G2, and in 2018, they failed to advance from the group stage.
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Game 2: An absolute stomp puts Gen.G 1 win away from advancing
If game 1 was close until it wasn't, game 2 was an absolute curbstomp straight out of ranked.
Bdd and Kim "Clid" Tae-min picked on Cloud9's solo laners all across the map. They outfarmed and outkilled Cloud9 until there was no feasible way they could lose.
At one point, Bdd was 0/0/6, with his assists coming from three different members of C9 - and they hadn't even left laning phase. It was a dominant game and playstyle, setting up Gen.G incredibly well to close out the series.
Game 3: A close win seals the deal for the LCK
Game 3 was a much tighter affair. Cloud9 actually opened up an early game lead for the first time all series, and things looked hopeful.
As the game progressed, though, they struggled heavily in teamfights. Clid routinely picked off Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen on Miss Fortune, a key teamfight piece Cloud9 desperately needed. The second half of this game was a masterclass by Gen.G as they pulled off the comeback to sweep the series.
With the win, Gen.G advance to the semifinals, where they'll play Edward Gaming. Three out of the four LCK representatives have advanced to the semis. EDG should be slightly favoured against Gen.G, but not by much, and it'll be a close match as Gen.G tries to make it an all-Korea grand final.
This article will be updated as the series progresses. Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news and updates.
